Hello awesome folks! Over the last few weeks I've been turning my Top Ten into Underused cards in Commander, last week I did my Top Ten Underused Planeswalkers and the week before just my Top Ten Underused Cards of All Time that has a piece of equipment in it. That inspired today list of the best most underused equipment of all time. That would be top of my list, but you get the idea.

Equipment is more used in Commander than planeswalkers. It's rare to see a deck without equipment somewhere, and equipment as a theme is the third most played theme in Commander according to EDHREC.com. Outside of equipment decks, cards like Skullclamp, Swiftfoot Boots and Umezawa's Jitte are heavily played in numerous builds, and some like Lightning Greaves are downright essentials. My planeswalker list looked at any card under 5k, but all but one were under 3k, since that's a less played card type with a color identity, but here I am looking at bigger numbers of play to come up with this list! I will not look at any cards printed in the last year. I'll also try to keep this under 5k but there might be a few over. We have uncommons hitting our #2 and #1 spots!

Ready?

Honorable Mention #1 - Hedron Matrix

Our first card is this equipment with just 1,667 decks registered over at EDHREC.com. I really like this in several styles of decks. If your Commander costs four mana, then this will likely be a fair mana spent to give a +4/+4 boost and this fits. If your Commander costs five or more to cast, then this feels like mana saved from other power and toughness boosters. So, for example, if your Commander is Rith, the Awakener then giving this flying 6/6 for 6 mana into a 12/12 feels pretty strong. It's really good with evasive Commanders, Battlecruiser Decks, Voltron's with four or more costs, and more. Try it out and see if you like the Matrix!

Honorable Mention #2 - Strider Harness

This heavily printed common is our next Honorable Mention. It's in just 986 decks, but I love it so much I run it in my iconic Abe's Deck of Happiness and Joy. Three to cast, 1 to equip, and it's mega cheap on the secondary market for those that care, and they often make my Budget Commander builds. Haste is very important in multiplayer formats like Commander where you can be the first to swing after mass removal, give your Commander an extra turn to kill with Commander damage and can tap your Commander's tap ability right up front. Unlike most haste enablers not mentioned in my prelude above this is just one mana to equip so you can cast your Commander, it's tax if any, and then just save one mana for hasting. This also gives a decent +1/+1 boost, and that's pretty useful too. For example, if you have a 6/6 Commander, you'd normally kill in 4 future punches. Now it'll be 3 with a 7/7 body, and since you can swing now with haste, it's just two more turns, so you speed up your kill in five more turns to two more turns. See how strong this thing is? And you don't need to spend a lot to pick one up and try it out!

Honorable Mention #3A. Short Swords

There are many pieces of equipment that cost one, equip for one, and then have okay play levels which I am calling Short Swords after one of the most played. They are very strong in equipment decks where the Commander gets value equal to the number of equipment on them as well as cheap for cast triggers, but they need more play there since they seem like auto-includes. The Leonin Scimitar is in just 609 decks, but it seems very strong with one mana card drawing Sram, Senior Edificer (993 decks), or the mad card flow of the attack trigger of Wyleth, Soul of Steel (1969 decks) as two commonly played examples. You can get a 2/2 with Chishiro, the Shattered Blade (431 decks) for one mana and loads more. Enjoy it bunches!

Honorable Mention #3B. Bonesplitter

But...by far the best common Short Sword is this double power boost common. This is the Rancor of equipment since it gives +2/+0 and can be replayed for 1 mana, and lacks trample but can be used by any color. It's only in 3718 decks, more than most Short Sword, but not nearly enough to show just how powerful this axe looking thing can be. It's pretty strong in loads of places. Also, a shout out to Leather Armor, a 1 drop, 0 equip option that is even better in many of these cards and in just 1,870 decks.

#10. Gorgon Flail

There not that many pieces of equipment that are colorless and grant deathtouch. The Flail is a 2-drop, 2 equip +1/+1 and deathtouch and is played at 3,378 decks. I love it with a trampler in the Command Zone since they combine nicely, and with pingers and such. The Gorgon's Head is 5292 almost 2000 more and it has the same equip cost and doesn't give a power or toughness boost and I think this is better, so why is it getting run in more places? No clue!

#9. Pariah's Shield

This is in 3,024 decks and this 5-drop will send all damage you take to the equipped dork which helps you stay alive. I love this with indestructible dorks like Darksteel Sentinel or the high toughness brews like Indomitable Ancients in your Doran, the Siege Tower deck. I also like this in decks that deal damage to each player like decks built around Pestilence and Pyrohemia or Earthquake. I love this on Brash Taunter and Stuffy Doll. Try it out yourself!

#8. Worldslayer

When this was first printed, I tossed this into Abe's Deck of Happiness and Joy to see what playing with it would do. It's a bit pricey, so I understand it not making the cut in some decks. It also will destroy all other permanents including lands, so that's not welcome in a lot of kitchen tables, hence why it falls outside of my Top Five proper. However, since it will just destroy when the creature it equips deals damage to a player, there are ways to brew around it. I never disliked mass removal of lands if it ended the game quickly, like Desolation Angel with kicker or my friend's Obliterate, drop a Mountain, float mana for Phage the Untouchable and attacking with the haste from that Anger that was just destroyed. I love it on Commanders with indestructible that won't get destroyed and remain out on the battlefield post Wrath, with the Slayer of Worlds still on it for future turns like Anara, Wolvid Familiar or a God. I also love it with indestructible granting spells like Heroic Intervention. It's pretty strong, consider it!

#7. Tenza, Godo's Maul

Our third-highest scoring uncommon this fun thing. Three to cost and just one to equip. This fun thing has a few good things going for it. An equip cost of one with a boost of +3/+3 on your Commander is outsized, and works quite well in any Voltron deck even one that's not Red. In Red, it can give trample as well and is even better, but just a boost of +3/+3 each time you use it is enough to run it, and yet it's only in 3,930 decks and most Voltron and Equipment brews run red (Boros, as an example).

#6. Deathrender

It's just in 2,720 decks and that's pretty small for such a useful ability, and it's just a few dollars on the secondary market so that can't be the reason you haven't played it unlike more expensive options. Since most decks will have their creatures eventually dying, giving a free dork from your hand seems pretty solid, and I love this after a mass removal spell to be the first one to get a dork out. Note that this only works with death, not other leaves play effects like an exile, bounce, or tuck. With the boost of power and toughness and the ability to reload again and the free equip, it seems like a pretty nice place to start, am I right? I'm right!

#5. The Kaldra Pieces with a Shoutout to Kaldra Compleat

Each of the first three pieces of Kaldra are run in fewer than 5k decks and the Compleat is run in just more than 10k and thus is an actual staple, nice! Each of the three Kaldra pieces from the first Mirrodin block were heavyweights in kitchen table play and played all over the place. Sword of Kaldra is the best since it gives a nice +5/+5 for 4 to drop and 4 to equip, better than you might expect, and then has the exile trigger added to it as well. Helm of Kaldra gives the valuable haste for 2 equip and 3 to drop and then gives first strike and trample as well. Shield of Kaldra is four to drop and equip but gives these three valuable equipments and the creature equipped indestructible.

Although we had Darksteel Plate printed with cheaper costs since then, this is still the second best indestructible giving piece of equipment, and heads into my Commander decks quite quickly after the Plate when I need another source of indestructible for my leader. All three are pretty good, and then you can make Kaldra and equip with it with your three pieces when you control all three, and that was pretty good in Commander with your equipment Tutors, and droppers like Stoneforge Mystic. Love it loads split up and together as well.

#4. Lashwrithe and Nightmare Lash

Our two Lashes! They are run in 4,467 and 2,062, respectively. They are 4 drop pieces of equipment, equip for life, that give +1/+1 to the equipped dork for each Swamp you control. With all the Urborgs at the kitchen table, they are essential in Voltron decks that add in black and player killers in mono-Black brews. They each will turn a modest Commander into a Commander Damage kill quite ably, and are very strong. The former Lash has Living Weapon so you get a powerhouse from the drop and it's strong after mass removal to kill out of nowhere with a 6/6 or 8/8 for 4 mana. It's also our second highest hitting living weapon (cough....#3...cough) Massive pair, please play them more!

#3. Scytheclaw

4,248 decks, loads of missed opportunities. When it deals (combat) damage to a player they lose half their life. Like the previous two set this is also a win-con in equipment form. Sure, this is three to equip, so I get not rocking the same number of options, but it loves decks with unblockable things already in the brew. I also like it with commanders with evasion as well as those that have combat damage triggers that you are already building an infrastructure to deal combat damage. Consider the power of this with Medomai the Ageless (flying and combat damage) or Brago, King Eternal, the Dragon cycle of Rith, and loads more. This should get loads more play than it does, especially since it's colorless!

#2. Grafted Wargear with a Shoutout to Demonmail Hauberk

The Wargear is in just 4,423 decks (and 1,122 for the Hauberk). This is just a quarter here at CoolStuffInc.com. In a Voltron Commander deck the free +3 power is very strong and you won't unequip it, so the disadvantage doesn't matter and it gets the best power boost for the mana in this card. Those are multiple turns gained for a Commander Damage clock. I also like this as a free sacrifice outlet in Commander decks that need one, since you can equip the Bloodghast and then unequip it to kill it, but a simpler way to do that is with the Hauberk which can sacrifice anything to give +4/+2 to a dork you control, like your Commander. I have run both in multiple builds and they are very strong. Love them loads.

One card left! It's played in fewer than 500 decks, so what it is?

#1. Civic Saber

462 decks? Are you kidding me? This thing is clearly one of the best kept secrets in equipment form! First of all, this is a Short Sword with one to play and one to equip, so it has synergy with those decks. On a two-color Commander like Boros's Voltron or Equipment-matters, this is a Bonesplitter. In a three color Commander, this is the best Sword variant since it gives a 3 power boost for one mana to play and one to equip. Three color Commander decks are all over the block. They are quite dominant in metagames. Taking a Commander damage clock and speeding it up by turns makes this a Time Walk in those decks. In a four-color deck with a four color leader (not partners), you get a powerful double Bonesplitter. Then in your Five-Color brews with five color leaders, this should be an essential, yet it's underplayed and not even crossing 500 copies among all decks despite the fact that it's very strong and five color is heavily played at the kitchen table. Let's be honest...did you forget that this thing existed? Well...it does!

And there go! What did you think about these choices for my list? What would hit yours? Anything in here that is missing or that I got in the wrong order? What are you trying out in the next build?