Category: Cards

Categories
Archive Cards

Best EDH Political Cards for Commander

Speak softly and carry a big stick.

Theodore Roosevelt

Ignoring what you may think of his politics, the sentiment is powerful. And it is something very few players implement when building EDH political decks.

That said, the Big Stick idealogy is one of the best mindsets to have for EDH political cards. After all, rather than forcing people to do something with mechanics like Goad. It’s better to make them choose it on their own. This is exactly what makes these cards the best political cards in commander no one uses.

What Makes a Political Card in EDH Good?

Just like politicians, a political card is best when your opponents think it’s in their best interest. Doing so means they are more likely to not worry about you and be incentivized to attack the other person you are wanting dead. After all, we are much more likely to protect someone that gives us stuff rather than those who take the stuff away. And EDH political cards in commander do the same thing.

In fact, I would consider political cards to be the best kind of group hug cards out there. The best EDH political cards do at least one of the following:

  1. Distract opponents
  2. Incentivize combat
  3. Make people protect you.

If a political card in commander can do one of these things, then your deck becomes unassuming until it is too late. Leading to the other 3 players’ demise as you win by politicking your way to victory. Let’s go over 12 EDH political cards in commander that do this.

1. Breena, the Demagogue 

The first on the list and one of the most famous. Breena incentivizes people to not hit you, but your opponents. All the while, your creatures can get bigger and can even draw you cards as well. Making this a great one for having your opponents hit each other until it is too late.

2. Humble Defector

Humble defector is better known as the king of bribes. Play this card and watch as people do what they can to get 2 extra cards on their turn. This is one card that has some serious shenanigan potential and can drastically change games when played.

Edric, Spymaster of Trest

Edric, aka draw daddy, is a favorite commander political card of mine. Play this, and it doesn’t matter if others are goaded or not, a bloodbath will ensue as people fight it out to get as many cards drawn as possible. After all, who doesn’t like getting more cards in hand for beating up your opponents, it’s a win-win.

Fulminator Mage

I mentioned this card before in my budget staples for under a dollar, but I love this card. It doesn’t necessarily bribe others to attack someone else, but it does make people not mess with you. Especially when you declare “anyone who messes with my board loses a land”. Most people don’t like losing lands and fulminator mage makes it to where no one wants to mess with your board. Keep him around long enough and eventually, it will be too late for your opponents to do anything to stop you.

Curse of Bounty

Bear Totem, Sword of Feast and famine, and Curse of Bounty. Curse of Bounty is a really good but really dangerous political card for commander. While it allows you to be able to swing in at an opponent and give all your creatures pseudo vigilance, it also does the same for everyone else. Basically inciting a standstill as everyone will have blocks. Stalling the game until it is your moment to shine.

Kaervek the Merciless

This is actually a really fun political card that I saw on game nights. The trick with this one is to cast the spell and say “as long as none of the damage is coming at me or my cards, you get to choose the targets for the spell cast.” But be sure to retain rights to control who gets hit if it looks like they are running away with the game. No one will want to mess with you because they will also have access to this card. Making this a really cool political card for commander.

Nevinhyralls Disk

Hostage situations like Nevinhyralls Disk are a great way to make people not commit pieces to a board. As talked about in my article on best boardwipes, having a nuclear button that you can use at instant speed makes a great deterrent for anyone trying to mess with your board. Meaning people won’t mess with you as you continue to make more and more deals in your favor.

Curse of Opulence

Early form ramp, that allows for that early damage to be targeted at someone else instead of you. Just make sure to be careful though, as this one often gets the person cursed hostile at you, meaning why you have 2 people willing to help you out, you have 1 who wants to kill you. That said this early form of ramp is something that anyone would love to have and is definitely a card to consider for decks trying to be political.

Curse of Verbosity 

While the curse of opulence is a great form of ramp, the curse of verbosity is a great form of card draw. While letting other people draw cards, also helps you draw cards. And in the spirit of group hug, this does the trick. With this, you can expect all players to love your new political card for commander as everyone gets to draw and accelerate their board. Meanwhile, you will always pull out just slightly more ahead which is all you need to win.

Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant

Much like Breena, Karazikar the eye tyrant is a great card option for players looking for EDH political cards in commnader. With this, you can tap down a blocker and ensure your creatures connect, and in exchange, everyone will get the chance to draw cards and make for a much more impactful and fun game.

Monarch

Any card that gives you monarch. This adds such a cool and fun mechanic to the game that everyone will be wanting to make deals such as “let me hit you with this one creature so I can be monarch and I will help you destroy that deafening silence” This mechanic is a great way to ensure combat damage is happening all the while helping people not focus on you until it is too late.

Coveted Jewel

A personal favorite, Coveted Jewel is like the monarch mechanic, upon casting you will get to draw 3 and tap for 3 mana of any one color, but after that, you can help others by letting them take it only to make a deal to let you take it back. This works much like a humble defector in that players will love to make deals with you to get it. Just be sure to be careful about it as sometimes people might covet it too much and try to take it from you by force.

EDH Political Cards Conclusion

There you go! 12 EDH political cards for commander to spice up your games! Be sure to enjoy them to the fullest and see what unique deals you can make to try and come out ahead and win the game. If you enjoyed this article and are wanting to start using these in a deck, check out my article going over effective deck building. It does a great job at explaining the functions of cards as well as their deck uses to make your deck do what you want every time. Have a great day and remember to speak softly and carry a big nevinhyrals disk. 

Categories
Archive Cards

Best Mtg Boardwipes In Each Color

Boardwipes are a necessity for most decks to function. Their power is simply something that can’t be denied. But, there are so many boardwipes out there it is hard to find the best board wipes for each color. Luckily I took care of the work for you and created a guide on the best board wipes for each color. That way all you need to worry about is playing the deck.

Each of these cards will have one of the 4 quality traits necessary to make a boardwipe the best. If you are looking to understand the power of boardwipes in your deck, then I suggest this article to get a good understanding. But to give you spark notes, the best board wipes are one or all these things:

  1. Low Mana Value
  2. Instant Speed
  3. Asymmetrical 
  4. High versatility

Best Blue Boardwipes In Commander

The best blue boardwipes are Cyclonic Rift, Curse of the Swine, and Rivers Rebuke. Each of these meets some if not all the requirements needed to make it the best blue boardwipe for MTG. Let’s go over why

1. Cyclonic Rift

Cyclonic rift is the powerhouse of all boardwipes. When people think of the worse card to be hit with, it’s a cyclonic rift. Cyclonic Rift is the best boardwipe for commander due to several reasons. One it has high versatility, able to remove a single threat or every threat. Two, it is asymmetrical by only hitting your opponents. And finally, it is instant speed. Meaning cyclonic rift can be activated right before your next turn, or as soon as a threat becomes apparent. Making this one of the best boardwipes ever made in magic.

2. Curse of the Swine

Curse of the swine is a little lesser known boardwipe, but serves as a versatile and powerful removal effect. The goal of this card is to be able to use it in a pinch by having the option to exile a single indestructible effect, or by being able to surgically hit every threat that is helping your opponents. Worrying about an opponent’s seedborn muse and someone else Drannith Magistrate? Curse of the swine for x=2 is a solid way to take care of 2 birds with one stone. The only downside is this does not work great against token decks so if you find yourself fighting token decks a lot, this next card might be better for you.

3. River’s Rebuke

People always assume boardwipes need to hit all your opponents. The reality is, that is not true. More times than not a board wipe is needed, not because everyone is ahead of you, but because one person is ahead of you. That’s where River’s Rebuke comes in. While lacking in 3 of the 4 reasons a board wipe is one of the best. Its ability to reset a single opponent makes this an overwhelming powerhouse on multiple occasions. Making it the final include in best blue boardwipes for commander.

Best Green Boardwipes In Commander

Green is not known for boardwiping. In fact, there is no classic board wipe in green. This makes for a very interesting list of the best green boardwipes.

1. Ezuri’s Predation

The best mono green boardwipe for commander is ezuri’s predation. While not, guaranteeing the removal of key threats, will fill your board up with an army of 4/4’s that can block, attack, and remove threats. Couple this with the fact they fight all other creatures when entering, and you get an asymmetrical boardwipe that has a high degree of versatility by giving you creatures to work with afterward.

2. Wave of Vitriol

Do you know that one player who refuses to run basic lands? Here is their kryptonite. Wave of vitriol is considered one of the best green board wipes for a couple of reasons. The primary reason is versatility. While not able to hit creatures, this hits enchantments, artifacts, and non basic lands. Making this a great way to remove treasures, enchantress decks, and multicolor decks. Add that to the fact that it sacrifices makes indestructible effects much easier to circumvent. Making this a great boardwipe in creature-heavy decks.

3. Apex Altisaur

One of the more interesting boardwipes in existence. Apec Altisaur is one of the best green boardwipes by being a versatile and asymmetrical boardwipe. While unable to remove every creature on the board, this works much like curse of the swine in that you remove multiple key threats from the board. Which, afterward Apex can stay on the board, resetting his toughness to 10 and allowing him to be able to boardwipe again on your next turn if he blocks or gets blocked. Making him a fantastic option for those looking for the best green boardwipes in commander.

Best Red Boardwipes In Commander

Red is damage. Infamous for spells like lightning bolt, the best red boardwipes do the exact same thing. 

1. Blasphemous Act

We all know it, we all love it, Blasphemous act is the premier best red boardwipe. Dealing 13 damage to all creatures on board and casting as little as 1 red mana, this red boardwipe puts in work. It just goes to show you how important lower mana value boardwipes are for being effective staples in any deck.

2. Chain Reaction

Terrible when there is only 1 creature on board, fantastic when there is more. Chain reaction is one of the best red boardwipes due to its’ relatively low mana value making it a great option for nuking boards in a color that does not have many. Just be sure to time it correctly as this spell is only as good as the number of creatures on board, making this weak against metas with low creature counts.

3. Delayed Blast Fireball

A new addition to the best red boardwipes, but a great addition nonetheless. Delayed Blast Fireball will only deal 2 damage to all your enemies creatures. But, if you cast it from exile (something red is prone to do) then this will do 5 instead. And in worse-case scenarios, you can even fortell the card to cast it for a bigger payoff. While this may not seem high 2 damage will take care of low to medium level threats and 5 will take care of everything except big Voltron creatures. Making this one of the best red boardwipes for its versatility and asymmetrical ability.

Best Black Boardwipes In Commander

Black boardwipes are unique and oftentimes powerful. Able to circumvent most forms of creature protection, many of the best black boardwipes get their power from the versatility and flexibility needed to rain death on the enemy.

1. Toxic Deluge

No best black boardwipe is complete without including toxic deluge. Toxic Deluge is one of the cheapest boardwipes ever printed. Costing only 3 mana, this spell can devastate enemy creatures. It even comes built-in with the flexibility of paying life for -1/-1 counters. Meaning that if you have a big enough creature, it can survive the boardwipe. Therefore adding a small addition of asymmetrical power in the right circumstances.

2. Damnation

If you are running white, damnation is not good. 4 mana to destroy all creatures is considered the baseline for what a boardwipe should do nowadays. That said, if you are not in white, then damnation is one of the only spells of its kind. Making this one of the best black boardwipes you can have. There isn’t too much to say on this. The power comes from its ability to break the color wheel and have a simple but powerful effect.

3. Meathook Massacre

It was all the rage in innistrad, and has proven to be a great boardwipe for a couple of reasons. The first is versatility. Having an x in its cost functions similarly to toxic deluge where you can kill relevant creatures but keep your potential big creatures alive. Meanwhile, this also has a lasting effect of being an enchantment that synergizes well with sacrifice-based strategies. Making this a powerful effect for decks that synergize well with it. While mana intensive, this is in no way a card to hesitate on if your deck has even some synergy with meathook massacre’s second effect.

Best White Boardwipes In Commander

1. Farewell

This is a card that is neither low CMC, asymmetrical, or instant speed, but man is the versatility on this card powerful. Farewell shuts down any strategy. Effectively resetting the game in every way except lands. This exiles circumventing death triggers, indestructible, and several other niche effects. This hits all nonland cards and graveyards, crippling any strategy people come up with, and this can allow you to keep key pieces of your board by not choosing that effect. Making this the best white boardwipe for resetting the board.

2. Elesh-Norn, Grand Cenobite

Not a traditional boardwipe, but a powerful boardwipe nonetheless. This gives all creatures on your opponents board a -2/-2 for as long as elesh norn stays out. Making this a boardwipe that Stax your opponents by preventing them from playing other creatures to accelerate their board. On top of all this, even if an opponent plays a creature that survives, elesh norn boosts your creatures by +2/+2 making any of their creatures highly unlikely to be able to impact your board. 

Couple this with the fact that creature spells are hard to counter and you get one of the best white boardwipes to stopping creature strategies. 

3. Austere Command

The budget version of Farewell, the flexibility on this card is the main selling point. While this only destroys, this can hit creatures, enchantments, or artifacts. Allowing you to customize how you want to boardwipe to best preserve your boardstate. Allowing some asymmetrical features to the boardwipe as well. Needless to say, if you like Farewell, Austere Command is another great option.

Best Colorless Boardwipes In Commander

Coloreless boardwipes are cool because they can go in any deck. While more universal in their deck inclusion, these kinds of cards usually have a higher mana value to prevent them from being auto-included in every deck color. That said, you will find some of the best boardwipes in mtg are colorless.

1. Ugin, The Spirit Dragon

The classic colorless boardwipe. It exiles, can be asymmetrical if you don’t run colors, and has versatility afterward if ugin is alive. This is a powerhouse in the right decks. Planeswalker and artifact decks will love it as a boardwipe option for all the reasons stated above. Even if someone plays a creature threat after you Ugin, you can still always uptick him to deal 3 damage to that creature. Most likely killing it. In short, a great colorless boardwipe for you deck.

2. All is Dust

The eldrazi boardwipe is a fitting description. Besides decks like Tergrid loving this card, This gets around a lot of ways to protect your creatures and wipes out all permanent types besides colorless ones. Meaning, this can be a powerhouse for colors like blue usually utilizes very few blue permanents and relies on colorless artifacts, or only a few creatures to advance their board sate.

3. Nevinhyral Disk

Nevinhyral disk is my favorite of the colorless boardwipes. Why you might have to wait a turn before activating it, you can do this at instant speed. Plus the fact that this is a revealed card, has a lot of power behind it. It functions like all the other cards I mentioned in my political cards article. If people know that you can blow up all effectively all their non-land permanents at will, they are most likely not to play into the card. No one likes losing their cards when someone else can force the issue. Couple this with the fact that while everyone else is playing cautiously, you can advance your board until it is too late for them to interact.

Best Multicolor Boardwipes In Commander

Multicolor boardwipes are usually a favorite among players. The reason is that multicolor boardwipes dip into several different color wheels allowing for a large degree of variety when choosing your boardwipes.

1. Fire Covenant

The best multicolor boardwipe I can recommend. This not only is asymmetrical, instant speed, and low cmc, but can be a powerhouse removing multiple key threats with only one card. I recommend this to everyone in red black. Especially for its cost to buy. Just be sure to preserve your life total or this card will get too expensive real quick.

2. Pernicious Deed

A great boardwipe for enchantment and recursion decks. This is a known threat, much like nevinhyral disk so can be used politically, but its key function is replayability and asymmetrical boardwipes by pumping in only enough into it to kill your opponents threats while hopefully keeping yours alive. If you run a muldrotha deck this is by far the best multicolor boardwipe for you.

3. Toxrill 

The other Elesh-Norn. This not only applies a consistent stax effect every end step, but this also gives you creatures that can be used for attacking or sacrificing to draw cards off of toxrill’s other ability. Making this an expensive but powerful asymmetric boardwipe that has a large degree of versatility. Just be careful as unlike Elesh Norn, people can still play creatures to progress their board, especially if they have haste.

Conclusion

21 of the best boardwipes for commander. These should hopefully make your decks function that much more smoothly and allow for some great deck-building potential. If you are interested in boardwipes for your deck, then I highly suggest checking out my article that goes over the nature of boardwipes and how many to include in your decks. I think it sheds some great insights for those looking at deck building and how to make your decks perform better.

Categories
Archive Cards

Top 11 Dominaria United Spoilers

11 Dominaria united spoilers that I think are great includes in any deck or are powerful options for specific deck archetypes. I even included a hot take of a popular card that people love and stated my reasons why I don’t think it is good. Enjoy the read!

White Dominaria United Spoilers

1. Prayer of Binding

Prayer of Binding is a simple card but is a great addition for enchantress decks. It’s another one added to the list of cards like banishment. One of the great things about this is the instant speed on the card. The big problems with enchantress is its lack of instant speed synergistic interactions, and this definitely helps. While 4 mana can be a lot to have to leave open the fact that it can reliably cantrip thanks to commanders like Sythis, makes this a powerful include for any deck needing removal in enchantress.

2. Serra Paragon

Next up we have Serra Paragon. Serra Paragon is a powerful engine in any white deck, but especially so in blink decks. With Serra Paragon and blink decks you can not only activate Serra Paragon multiple times a turn, but you can also remove the exile trigger on your other permanents. Allowing them to go back to the graveyard if they were removed. There are tons of ways to make this card from Dominaria United broken, but this and displacer kitten becomes a broken combo that any blink deck will love to have.

Blue Dominaria United Spoilers

3. Academy Wall

Academy wall is a new Dominaria United card that spell slinger decks will enjoy. While maybe not as good as archmage emeritus, this will allow you to be able to loot through more of your deck as you cast more instant and sorcery spells. Combine this with the fact that spellslinger decks have a lot of ways to cast stuff on other people’s turns and this is a card that can easily let you see up to 2-4 cards a round. Throw in some grave recursion like mizzix mastery or underworld breach and all those cards you discard can just add fuel to your fire and come back with a vengeance later in the game.

Black Dominaria United Spoilers

4. Cut Down

Cut down is the new card that Cedh players love. This is considered one of the more pushed cards of the set and will absolutely demolish in several of the more competitive games. The reason for this is simple. The bigger threats in casual games are things like Avenger of Zendikar, while in more competitive games the threats are cards like tymna. Meaning the power behind this card will shine in those metas rather than the other ones. So, if you find yourself in games where the lower power creatures are your threats then this is a great card to keep an eye on.

5. The Cruelty of Gix

The Cruelty of Gix is a personal favorite of mine. While its first ability is not worth the 5 mana, the ability to read ahead is what makes this great. This effectively works like a mystic confluence where you can choose the abilities that you want. Letting you tutor any card you want, then reanimate on your next turn. This can allow for some great combo potential with things like demonic consultation and reanimation a thoracic, or a sac outlet and reanimating a protean hulk. Add in the fact that if you do want to use the 1st ability, you can add more fuel to the reanimation targets making this one of the more powerful sagas of Dominaria United.

Green Dominaria United Spoilers

6. Defiler of Vigor

The defiler cycle is an interesting cycle. While weaker than a card like krirk son of yawgmoth. This is a card with lots of potentials. I feel like commanders like Chulane and Animar will love this card the most. The biggest thing about defilers is their mana reduction is actually the secondary effect to focus on since it is heavily restricted.  What will make the defiler good or not is the final ability that is unique to each of them. The ability to put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control every time you cast a green permanent, allows for all your creatures, including the defiler to get really big and swing for game when you are ready. Making this a great Dominaria United spoiler.

7. Tail Swipe

Tail swipe seems unassuming but is a great card for those big stompy creature decks. This adds another fight card to your arsenal that can be used as part of the 20 control cards that I recommend for every deck-building strategy. But, the most important thing about this, is its low cmc, Savage Swipe, Blizzard Brawl, and Prey Upon are all popular fight cards that cost 1 mana, but they have specific conditions to buffing your creatures and are sorcery speed. Tail swipe on the other hand is one of the newest Dominaria United spoilers that cost 1 mana, is instant speed, and has some of the lowest restrictions to getting a buff. Making this a great include in decks like Neyith of the Dire Hunt.

Multicolor Dominaria United Spoilers

8. Tear asunder

There are some really good multicolored spells in the Dominaria United spoilers that lots of decks will love. My favorite one is tear asunder. Tear Asunder is a great option for those in green/black, that love cards like anguished unmaking but aren’t in those colors. Not only is this one of the few exile effects green or black has for artifact and enchantment removal, but this can also get even better by kicking it and hitting any non-land permanent. This allows for any green-black deck to function better with this solid form of control.

9. Warhost’s frenzy

I really like this card. It works great for go-wide strategies in more token-focused decks or in sacrifice decks. Making this actually a personal favorite for decks like Garna, bloodfist of keld which I built for everyone to see in an earlier post. The reason is the versatility behind it. It can work as a good finisher when you have a large board presence or can draw you a lot of cards if you are going to sacrifice a bunch of creatures this turn or are about to be boardwiped. Add to the fact that this is instant speed and you can use this at the last possible moment for either scenario. Just be wary that you need 4 mana to do this.

Colorless Dominaria United Spoilers

10. Karns Sylex

One of the new stax pieces that decks are looking at running. This one seems to have potential, especially considering that there are going to be new phyrexian cards. A set of cards known to use life to do things. This can hit a lot of things such as force of will and toxic deluge, but its most powerful mechanic is shutting down fetchlands. This makes this a great option to consider in low-color decks like mono red prison stax, or in decks that are going against higher-powered metas. But my favorite part of this card comes from the board wipe attached to it.

I talk about why I love cards like nevinyrral’s disk as a political card in my article coming out on 10/3/2022. But a short synopsis, is The ability to threaten a boardwipe whenever needed, forces people to hesitate so they don’t overcommit. Allowing you the time needed to secure the victory as they slowed down.

11. Relic of Legends

The final card of Dominaria United spoilers, but a really interesting one. Now, I am not a fan of 3 mana ramp. In fact in cards that ramp for 3 mana, the ability to tap for mana should just be an added benefit, the real value comes from its secondary effect. A great example of this is chromatic lantern, a great card for 4+ color decks as it fixes your lands and ramps you.

Now, while I think chromatic lantern is better than this card, I think letting your commanders and any other legendary creature you control tap for mana, makes this a solid anthem effect that can give you as much as 3+ mana the turn you play it, making this a huge boost to mana. So, if you love your legendary creatures or playing partners, this is a great option for you.

Hot Take

Finally, we have my hot take for Dominaria United spoilers. The Phasing of Zhalfir is not that good. The phasing of zhalfir is trash and not a good boardwipe in most situations. The reason for this is the fact that they get 2/2 creatures afterward. The thought behind this is simple, a boardwipe is played when you are behind. This usually means they have 1) a lot of creatures or 2) a huge value board.

If they have a huge value board then a board wipe that gives them an army of 2/2s can be useful as they do not get many creatures replacing their value. If, however, they have an army of creatures, then all you are doing is replacing them with an army of 2/2s. Combine this with the fact that this fails to meet any of the requirements in my best boardwipe article (comes out on 9/19/2022 but states a boardwipe needs to be: 1:Low CMC, 2: Instant Speed, 3:Assymetrical, 4: High Versatility), and this fails to do any of those significantly. I would not consider this card for even my mono-blue decks. But let me know your thoughts on my hot take, do you agree or disagree, and why?

Dominaria United Spoilers: Conclusion

11 Dominaria United spoilers that I think are great card options for decks. While there were many great options, notably none of the red cards stood out. In your opinion, is there anything interesting missed? Twinferno seemed like a good option but, I feel like it lacked something that would make it truly noteworthy for the top 11. Meanwhile, cards like phasing of zhalfir are hot topics, but I feel like are overhyped and not worth it.

If you liked these cards though and are looking for a new commander, Dominiaria United spoilers have tons of new legendary creatures and I highly suggest checking out my top 3 recommend Dominaria United commanders here. It has budget decklists that can cost below $100 while still able to function in several low-mid power games and have recommendations if you are wanting to go to high-powered games as well. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Categories
Archive Cards

11 Cards Like Rhystic Study

We all want cards like Rhystic Study. What was once a 25-cent common is now a $30 rare. Which, unless you have a ton of money, it can be hard to own multiple copies or even a copy. 

So, to help all you commander players out there. I have searched, playtested, and compiled a list of 11 cards like rhystic study. Giving you access to cards not as broken but still a good bang for your buck. 

Plus if you have trouble hitting the 20 card draw recommendation that the Rule 20 guide states, then these are some great includes in addition to rhystic study. So without further wait, let’s go over these cards like rhystic study.

Ghostly Pilferer

First up is ghostly pilferer, with cards like Jeska’s Will, Underworld Breach, and a plethora of other exiles/reanimation card draw engines, ghostly pilferer puts in work. Not only does an early ghostly pilferer mean you will draw off people’s commanders, but you can also filter your hand by discarding and drawing with their second ability. For two mana this is a great choice for those looking for a card draw engine.

Verity Circle

Mana dorks are your best friend. Chances are someone is playing green, and if they are playing green, they are probably playing mana dorks as well. Which turns into a card draw engine for you. I have noticed that it’s not always a huge payoff but I can usually get 1-2 draws off of it every game at worst or 6+ if going against multiple green players. All in all a solid choice.

Runic Armasaur

Not the usual card like Rhystic Study, Runic Amasaur can put in work depending on your meta. Even in casual, there are tymna, thrasios, and a plethora of ability commanders. Which makes this a great choice in those matchups. This is a solid choice if you find yourself constantly going against commanders with activated abilities or people who like to run combos like Kiki-Jikki, Isochron Scepter, or birthing pod. Making this actually really good in the right situations.

 Compost

Another Meta dependent card, but a solid choice all the same. Great against, sacrifice, discard, and vampiric tutor decks, compost is another great card like rhystic study. While not as popular of a color as green, black cards usually love being put into the graveyard. Which lets compost draw you cards consistently throughout the game. Not only that, but a cool deck tech of compost is that the cards don’t care how they end up in the graveyard. So mill decks will get so much value out of this card. Making this a really fun alternative to rhystic study.

Insight

The other version of compost is Insight. Insight cares about cards not going to the graveyard but cast. Which, with green being one of the most popular colors for commander, means you will draw a ton of cards off this one. If you can get this down early, then all sorts of ramp cards will allow you to draw. But, if you get it down late, then all sorts of big creatures will allow you to draw cards as well. Meaning no matter which part of the game you are in, drawing will be happening. Honestly, this is my second favorite card like rhystic study just because this always performs better than I expect.

Viridian revel

Treasures are a thing. While the debate over treasures is lengthy, the fact is most decks use treasures nowadays. Meaning Viridian Revel becomes great against treasures. While a popular card for the mentioned reason, I find the card to either perform or underperform, but never just okay. Meaning if you are in a huge treasure meta, this card is fantastic and is an auto-include, but if you find yourself very rarely against treasures, it’s a dead card that draws you 0-1 cards a game. But, the draw function is nothing to sneeze at just be aware that this variance is higher than most.

Heartwood Storyteller

More friendly than the other cards like rhystic study, but still a great alternative. Heartwood storyteller is only good in creature-heavy decks. The reason being is this card can help your opponents too and as such needs to be used as cautiously as possible. If you are playing in more casual settings where removal isn’t common, or are playing a group hug deck then heartwood storyteller becomes the best rhystic study alternative out there. Being both political, it can allow players to cast noncreature spells to let others hopefully draw into removal, or if an opponent is trying to win via non-creature spells, it makes it much harder for them to do anything without feeding everyone else. Becoming a great way to shut down spellslinger, artifact, and enchantment decks, while also feeding your creature-heavy deck.

Everwatching Threshold/cunning rhetoric

Another version of propaganda, but definitely has its uses. Reliant on opponents attacking you is never fun, but today’s meta is much more combat-heavy than it was 3-4 years ago. With the making of really powerful creatures in magic, combat now has more significance besides just killing your opponents. So this works as a great way to prevent people from attacking you, or to get a lot of card draw as people swing 2-3 damage your way to get value from combat. An interesting take on rhystic study, but still not without its merits.

Nezehal Primal Tide

The most expensive alternative to rhystic study, but an absolute powerhouse if you can get on board. Able to draw you a ton of cards, this is no small threat to the board. A 7/7, can’t be countered, no maximum hand size, draw engine off every noncreature spell, and a form of protection? This card wins games. If you are in a deck that can ramp you a lot quickly, this is the card I would recommend to put into your decks. Able to win the game with damage, able to protect itself if targeted, and able to draw you cards reliably, this is the best card like rhystic study in most games. 

Wandering Archaic

Wandering Archaic may not seem like card draw, but cantrips, draw spells, and other forms of instant and sorceries that draw you cards, make this a great include. Consisting of only colorless mana, this can go into any deck and find a great way to be a value engine against other players playing stuff like a demonic tutor, blue sun zenith, and read the bones. I originally did not think of this as a draw engine, but wandering archaic works as a great way to draw a few cards throughout the game. Making this another solid alternative to rhystic study.

Mystic remora


Finally, the best card like rhystic study. While yes, the most known, its’ power can’t be understated. Play this early, and ramp spells draw you cards, play this later, and value/removal cards draw as well. Meaning, that you can play this at any point of the game and still draw your cards. Thus making this the best alternative to rhystic study. Highly recommend.

11 Cards Like Rhystic Study: Conclusion

Not only are each of these great budget alternatives to the commander staple, but these are also great includes in addition to rhystic study. Able to draw cards off other players’ work is a blessing that can work wanders when going against 3 other players. Meaning cards like rhystic study, mystic remora, and insight, become great ways to power your board state to a winning position. Allowing for more games to be won, and for your deck to do what it wants every time. 

If you are looking for other great ways to optimize your decks, I cannot stress enough my FREE book, Rule 20. It is a solid way to transform the power behind your decks with only simple tweaks. Allowing for your games to be that much more fun. Till next time! Happy drawing.

P.S. A great way to support this site is by clicking on this link here when buying your cards from TCG. They give me a nice kickback that can be used on magic cards of my own to playtest and report to you. Thanks!

Categories
Archive Cards

20 Commander Storm Cards You Will Love

What is Storm?

Before we get into 20 commander storm cards you will love, let’s talk about what storm is. To do this we are going to answer four questions: (1) what is storm (2) what kind of players like playing storm decks,(3) what makes commander storm cards good, and (4) how does storm win.

Storm in the most simple terms is an archetype where you cast a lot of spells in one turn to win. This can be achieved with a variety of effects which will be talked about later, but let’s talk about what kinds of players like commander storm decks.

What Kind Of Players Like Playing Storm Decks?

In general, there are a few defining traits that make up a storm player in commander. These are:

  • A love for value cards rather than big mana cards
  • Like to win through complicated lines that are hard to keep track of
  • Are not afraid to go all in.

If you notice that when you play games you love getting a ton of value off your cards and are not afraid to risk losing the game to win, then this is an mtg archetype you will love. So, let’s answer the final question, what makes commander storm cards good?

What makes commander storm cards good?

Storm cards in commander are great for generating additional value. In fact, that is what makes storm decks good in mtg. They generate so much value that it can be hard to stop once their board gets established. As such any card that generates good value for what it does will make for a good storm card. Especially if it has a low mana value. A good example of this is Krark/Sakashima whose two mana commander gets a bunch of copy effects making low-value cards with low mana costs become great. In fact, we will use krark/sakashima as an example of how storm decks in commander win. So let’s go over that now.

How Do Storm Decks Win?

So now that you know the general basis of what makes up a storm deck, let’s go over how to win. Commander storm players try to win usually by reaching what is dubbed “critical mass” in this situation, a storm player has enough cards on board to make up an “engine” that once starts is hard to stop. Because of this storm players have very little presence until their “engine” comes online. Once this happens they begin casting a series of spells to eventually draw, cast, or ramp enough to win the game.

This can be seen in krark/sakashima where a player’s goal is to get 2+ krark’s on the board. Every spell they cast has a 50% chance to come back to hand and still go off. Allowing them to solve the issue of drawing, ramping, and casting enough spells to win the game. Once they developed their “critical mass” they can then use any number of spells such as Grapeshot, Young Pyromancer, or Guttersnipe to win the game. Through this, they develop enough value that wins them the game. But now that you have a general run down of what storm is, and how it works, let’s talk about the cards that make storm decks good.

Storm Decks: Best in Class

These are the top 10 storm cards your decks will love. Ranked in order from great to broken.

10- Rite of flame

The biggest weakness to storm decks is running out of mana before you can get enough value to win. Rite of Flame, seething song, desperate ritual, and other cards are designed to help keep the mana flowing so your storm deck can… well… storm off. Making this a necessary card for any commander storm deck.

9- Bolas Citadel

To anyone familiar with storm decks, this may not be the most apparent, but works. As mentioned in rite of flame, storm decks struggle with mana generation and card draw. Because of this, storm players in commander will gladly pay life, sacrifice their board, and do all sorts of shenanigans to be able to win the turn they want to. Bolas citadel takes care of all those issues. While not in the usual storm colors (blue/red) this can be a powerhouse for any storm deck looking for a new commander storm card.

8- Harmonic prodigy

On its own, this is not great. While being able to eventually become a big enough beater that can kill a player, what you really want is that first effect. For one reason or another most creatures needed for storm in commander are either shamans or wizards. So doubling up on their abilities when casting spells make this a great include for just about any storm deck.

7- Mind’s desire

If you ever need a payoff for casting a bunch of spells, this is your go-to card. While costing 6 mana this instantly refills your storm turn by getting you easily 6+ cards you can cast for free. If you aren’t able to win immediately after that, there is a good chance you are set up to win the next turn.

6- Birgi

Show me a ruby medallion and I will show you a Birgi. While it does not reduce mana costs immediately as the medallions do, this card gives you fuel to keep your turn going well beyond the point of exhaustion. Your two mana rocks now are free, and your cantrips are now instantly reimbursed. With this card alone your decks get a huge boost to their mana cost. Plus, if you ever need more draw, her backside is draw as well making her incredibly versatile.

5- Archmage emeritus

Archmage emeritus is the draw engine storm needs. With this card, every spell you cast will cantrip allowing for the storm party to keep going the more storm cards you play. Not only can it be great refilling a hand for each cast, but grapeshot now becomes a solid way to refill your hand. This is a must for most storm decks looking to go to the mid-game.

4- Underworld breach

Underworld breach is the ultimate reanimator card. For 2 mana you can cast any spell you want in your graveyard, getting back your win-con pieces or getting your value engines to accelerate you back into the game. The amount of times someone wins off casting a value underworld breach is insane. Making this a great storm card for commander.

3- Storm-kiln artist

There have been several inclusions of ramp packages for storm decks, and that just goes to show just how important mana is for a storm deck. This is the second-best storm card for ramping and absolutely puts in work. With this card, you can now filter your mana into the colors you need, save your mana for explosive turns, or keep the engine going like Birgi does. Put this in your storm deck and you will never want to take it out.

2- Treasonous ogre

This card is Treasonously good. Puns aside this is the best ramp in the game for storm cards. For a simple cost of 3 life, you can gain red mana. You only need to play this card once to realize that the turn it comes down is the turn you win. While 3 life may seem like a lot, when you have 40 life, it becomes easy to use, and more importantly, easy to abuse.

1- Krark, The Thumbless

Now for the best storm card for commander storm decks; Krark. Upon its first announcement, people have constantly found ways to make this card good. Warping formats and making decks that were once weak into powerhouses people fear. With this card, you get your spell cast triggers, thus feeding all the cards previously mentioned. After that, you will either get it back to hand to allow you to recast it, or get a copy making your cards twice as effective. Combine this with duplicate effects from harmonic prodigy or sakashima, and coin flipping becomes one of the most powerful decks for commander.

Win cons

Now that we have discussed the 10 best storm cards for commander. Let’s go over some additional cards that are great for storm. More importantly, Storm win-cons.

1. Temporal fissure

Temporal fissure is a great win-con. Serving as removal in a pinch, this can remove pesky threats from the board in an emergency. Or force the opponents to concede by bouncing all their lands, threats, etc back to hand. I have played this many times and it serves as a really solid way to win.

2. Mizzix Mastery

Much like underworld breach, this card wins games. Overloading Mizzix Mastery usually creates such an intertwining stack that most players just lose from the value your deck is suddenly creating. This is a card that people love to put in their storm decks and you probably won’t be different.

3. Aetherflux reservoir

A lot of times, storm decks have great value, but little pay-offs. This on the other hand serves as a great payoff. Not only does it reward you for casting more spells per turn, but this serves as a great way to just win the game by burning 50 life to kill a player that refuses to die. Combine this with being able to hold a nuclear option for anyone who tries to mess with you, and you are in a good position.

4. Thousand-year storm

While aetherflux reservoir gives you the payoff you need. This card gives you the value you need to win. Copying cards in storm decks is great. The value per cast becomes much higher the more copies you get. So being able to get more copies the more your deck storms, is a great way to just win for a storm deck. There is nothing like looping an extra turn card 10 times to just win a game. A great win-con in most storm decks for commander.

5. Brainfreeze

This card is bonkers for several reasons. One this gets rid of top deck tutors, two this can debilitate enemies with a high enough storm count, and three this fuels your storm turns. Before Underworld breach was made, Grapeshot would take up the last spot as a win-con for storm. That said, Underworld breach + lotus petal + brain freeze gets you the storm count you need to just mill every player and win. The fact that none of these cards are dead in storm, and the combo can be achieved easily unlike grapeshot, submits this in the final slot for a great storm win con.

Budget Storm Cards

Finally, we have great budget cards for commander storm decks. I understand that while all the cards mentioned above are great, some are a bit pricey. As such, I figured I would help those who want to play storm but can’t afford all those cards. 

The only thing to note is that while these are cheaper, these are still very effective ways to end a game just a little bit different than those mentioned above. These usually try to develop a board of tokens that then proceed to go wide for the kill. Making these great options for the non-combo players.

1. Goblin electromancer

A great mana reducer for decks that have about 30-40 instant and sorcery cards in them. This card will help make sure all those 2+ CMC cards are now easier to cast and allow you to cast more cards on your storm turn.

2. Crackling Drake

A solid finisher when you are spent. If for one reason or another your storm turn fizzles out and you have not been able to kill the board. Play this card and get a powerful card that can avoid most blocks. 

3. Young pyromancer

The best token generator for Commander storm decks. Cheap to cast, and easy to swarm, this card makes a serious threat by developing a swarm of 1/1 that you can make bigger with proper instant and sorceries. Making this a great way to swing for the kill.

4. Guttersnipe

Burn hurts and guttersnipe can do the trick. Guttersnipe may be tempting to cast in the early game, but it should be held onto as once you play it, every board perceives you as a threat. Playing this means that anyone below 20 life is in easy kill range with the proper storm cards. Making this a terrifying goblin to your enemies.

5. Surge to victory

Finally, we have one of the best budget storm cards for your commander deck. Surge to Victory is a card that wins games. With this, your board state can easily swing for lethal while also getting a ton of value off being able to cast your most valuable spell multiple times with each hit. This is a card that does not see the most play in storm decks but is a great storm card that many players are sleeping on. Definitely recommend it as a great budget win-con for storm.

Conclusion: 20 Commander Storm Cards You Will Love

There you have it! 20 storm cards your commander decks will love. This should give you enough storm cards to work off to build a proper storm deck for EDH. Though if you are looking for ways to make sure your decks can do well, I strongly suggest getting my FREE Rule 20 book. This teaches you all the knowledge that professionals use to deck building as well as giving you exercises to improve your play patterns to make you a rival at any table and have the joy of letting your deck do what it wants every time. I cannot recommend it enough. I hope you have a great day and happy storming!

Categories
Archive Cards

20 Budget EDH Staples in 2022 That Transform Deck’s

We all have those EDH Staples we love. Dark Confidant, Blightsteel Colossus, Jeska’s Will. But the truth is those cards are pricey and if you have more than one deck, or are just starting out, you can’t afford to buy multiple copies. 

That’s why you are here today after all! 

You are interested in upgrading your decks for cheap with cards that make great budget EDH staples in most decks. Let’s begin.

Budget Ramp Staples

The importance of ramp cards is discussed in detail in my 18-page instructional deckbuilding guide “Rule 20: Make Your Deck Do What You Want Every Time” So if you are interested in learning why ramp is so important or how to make your decks do what you want every timem I highly check it out. 

That said, ramp as defined in Rule 20 is simply “anything that nets you more mana”.

With four main versions of ramp, people can see.

  1. Storing mana for later
  2. Mana rocks
  3. Mana reducers
  4. Burst ramp

So with that understanding in mind let’s talk about EDH staples great for ramp.

Simian Spirit Guide- Burst Ramp

First on the list is Simian Spirit Guide. This is a great card to ramp with. On turn 1 you can have 2 mana to work off allowing for a ton of great uses. A good example is using the spirit to cast sol ring then use your sol ring and land to cultivate. Thus leaving you with 5 mana on turn 2. And the number of uses is endless. If that doesn’t get your brain thinking, think about any time you needed just 1 more mana, and put a simian spirit guide there.

Strike it rich- Storing Mana

Strike it rich is a ramp card that is great for turn 1&2 plays and okay afterward. On your early turns, you can store the mana that is wasted for a bigger play later and the same can be said in later levels when you have nothing to do with your mana but need more. It also synergizes really well for spellslinger and artifact matters decks.

Tinderwall- burst ramp

Tinder wall is basically a ritual that can block. A 0/3 defender blocks a lot of early-game opponents, plus it has the added benefit of being able to kill the attacking creature or ramp you into your dragons, commanders, or other threats later. Though requiring both red and green in your decks, it is something well worth it.

Wild growth- mana rocks

Land enchantments rock. These are budget staples that are not played enough but really should. While some people complain that it puts a target on your lands for being destroyed the payoffs are well worth it. Being able to ramp earlier means being able to play your big spells sooner. Which usually means more fun for your deck.

Beanstalk Giant- mana rocks

If you are a fan of kodama’s reach, and cultivate, I think this one is better. In exchange for not adding a second land to hand, you get a land onto the battlefield untapped and can be used later to give you a big creature that can finish games. It is definitely one I recommend to a lot of new players who are looking for good Budget ramp cards.

Blood Pet/ skirk prospector/ goldhound- storing mana

Finally, we have treasures before treasures were cool. These budget staples are cards that function the exact same way as to strike it rich in where you save mana you can’t use now into something later. But what is great about it is they are also creatures! So these can block, attack, or synergize with other creature-based strategies. Making a really strong synergy with what your deck is trying to do. 


Budget Draw Staples

Next on the list of budget EDH staples under $1, we have draw engines. These are anything that allows you to see more cards. Scrying, tutoring, drawing, exile effects, recurring, and milling are all common ways that work for card draw and are commonly used. 

In general, you will want long-form draw engines over burst draw due to how grindy EDH is. As such this list focuses mainly on long-form draw engines that transform your decks with these 2022 EDH staples.

Oakhame Adversary- draw

Dark Confidant is a popular draw engine for CEDH, but a contender for card draw is oakhame adversary. While not as consistent as Dark Confidant, Oakhame will cost you only 2 mana pretty often, and let you draw cards easily being a 2/3 deathouch creature. Meaning most of the time you are getting a card without losing life. An auto-include in most of my green decks.

Whispering Madness- draw

If you are a fan of windfall but can’t afford multiple copies, whispering madness is a great choice for a budget alternative. While costing 1 more, this spell can also be put onto a creature allowing you to windfall multiple times with the same spell. Overall it is a nice include. Especially for those that like combat.

Witching Well- scry/draw

While best in graveyard and artifact decks, this is a card that can go in any blue deck and not feel wasted. For 1 mana you can scy 2 allowing you to get deeper into the cards you actually want to draw. Then when you begin running out of cards, you can pay 4 to draw 2. Giving you more options to work off of. This has some serious value power that may not seem obvious at first.

Skull Winder- recursion

Eternal witness is a card that ranges from just over a dollar to 5+ dollars pretty easily as the card constantly has tons of demand. Skullwinder is a 25-cent version that does nearly the same thing AND has deathtouch. While this may seem bad giving another player the ability to recur a card. In a lot of games, this can be used either politically or aggressively to allow other players to not mess with you or to work with other players to remove key threats. Either way, if you love eternal witness and want it in every deck, here is a good budget staple.

Dire Fleet Daredevil- exile

This may not seem like card draw, but getting an instant and sorcery card from 1 of 3 other players’ graveyards is quite juicy. This can get you an expensive card that other players can afford or simply a good value card. After all, who doesn’t like getting to choose between a Jeska’s Will, Demonic Tutor, and Cyclonic rift?

Keen Duelist- draw

Ever wanted to play dark confidant but love running big creatures? Keen Duelist is the best draw engine for you. Not only is this a 2 mana creature that draws you cards on your upkeep, but it also deals damage to another player equal to the CMC revealed! Old gnawbone? Take 7. What about blightsteel colossus? Take another 12. This is a great way to not only draw cards but kill your opponents too.

Control Budget Staples

Finally, we have control, aka “protect your stuff and stop other people’s stuff”. These cards make for great edh staples in 2022 for controlling the board.

The following edh staples for under $1 are:

Autumn’s veil

If you are terrified of counterspells, but can’t run them due to colors. Here is a great mtg card under $1. Autumn’s veil takes care of most forms of removal and counterspells by giving your creatures hexproof and your spells uncounterable. Making this a solid budget staple if you find yourself going a pesky blue player often.

Blacksmith’s skill/ tamiyo’s safekeeping

Do you know what sucks? Losing your favorite cards and when you have a deck that can’t run counterspells, it becomes harder to keep your favorite cards. Blacksmith’s skill and tamiyo’s safekeeping are the solutions! Giving a permanent hexproof or indestructibly will take care of most forms of removal and allow that important piece to remain. Just beware of farewell, cause that card is dangerous.

Mogg salvage

Free spells are game-changers, and while not as significant as fierce guardianship or force of will, Mogg salvage is a great piece of removal. Sure vandalblast looks like it has tons of value, but really you only need to remove one threat to progress your board state, and having a free artifact destruction spell means all that mana can be used to advance your board state rather than stopping others.

Whirlwind denial

This one is great against combo players and sacrifice decks. While 3 mana to conditionally counter a spell is usually deemed weak, 3 mana to counter every spell and ability on the stack can be really good. Here are a few cards this is great against, counterbalance, stormkiln artist, birgi, beast whisperer, and there are a dozen more that this card breaks parity on. 

Frogify/Kasmina’s transmutation/kenrith’s transformation/ witness protection

The biggest annoyance commander has, is that if you remove a player’s commander they can just recast them again. This makes it hard to use removal on them as all you are doing is breaking parity with them and not actually disrupting their board long term. That is why these transformation enchantments are good budget staples. Putting this on a commander removes the threat while also preventing them from recasting them. Forcing them to use even more resources to get their commander back besides just tapping for mana.

Mind Harness

This is in the same realm as frogify but more like gilded drake in my opinion. While somewhat dependent on your meta, mind harness allows other commanders to be your own. While the cumulative upkeep can get annoying denying someone else their commander and letting you use their commander gets you great value for the 1-3 turns you will keep it.

Seal of primordium/ seal of cleansing/ seal of removal

These are very telegraphed plays but that is what makes them great. When you telegraph artifact/enchantment/ or creature removal, people are less likely to play their threats as they don’t want to be the one losing a card. After all, losing a beastmaster ascension, lightning greaves, or even a sol ring sucks when someone else could have lost theirs instead.

Fulminator mage

Fulminator mage is an okay card. While useful for removing Gaea’s Cradle or other cards like that, this is great as a nuclear button against the other 3 players. Simply state, “the one who messes with me the most loses their land.” and watch as no one messes with your board until it is too late.

Where To Get These EDH Staples?

Best Price

The best place for the price is going to be TCG player. TCG is a great resource for buying cards from a variety of shops and allows you to get the best price possible.

Best Quality

Besides them, if you are willing to pay a little extra for your edh staples in 2022 there is card kingdom and channel fireball. Both are trusted by the community and are great resources for those looking to ensure their cards in top quality and are guaranteed to be authentic.

Best Resource

Finally, if you are looking to get these budget staples, it’s best to know effective strategies for utilizing staples. That’s why I recommend getting my Rule 20 book. It not only goes over several strategies to build more effective decks but goes over the math behind it and explains common myths players think to be true.

P.S. Looking to find EDH staples for more specific deck builds? Check out my review on 20 edh staples for Storm Decks!