I love Roger Zelazny. He's not my favorite fantasy writer, nor my favorite science fiction author, for that matter, but he has great chops. He's a strong mythologist. He's probably best well known today for his Chronicles of Amber series. Zelazny wrote many books, short stories, and novellas in multiple genres and won awards for many of them. For example, his science fiction short story, A Rose for Ecclesiastes, was voted the 6th best science fiction short story from 1928-1965 by the Science Fiction Writers of America and put in their collection, the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One. Personally, I consider his book Lord of Light to be his best, as do many others. It has a strong, mythological, and powerful feel to it.

Zelazny wrote in the early days of the overly genre-fiction of American literature whereby the various aspects of these genres had been largely codified. Many writers in the same era of Zelazny are writing to the expectations of audiences that want the tropes of a great fantasy or horror style work. Zelazny hated it, and he forcibly pushed back against it. Virtually every work he wrote was different, with different voices and styles. His fantasy has science fiction elements (cough Amber cough). His science fiction has fantasy elements (cough Lord of Light cough). There is a reason that he almost never returned to the same world or concept again. He wanted to do something else. It was a wonder we even got ten books from him in the Amber series, where he creates his own mythos that equals many other real ones.

In a very real way, I am Roger Zelanzy when it comes to my Magic writing.

I always try to write something new. I cannot write the same thing more than once. I need a different way to discuss a topic or a different approach. Once I have a cool idea, I'll then write about it and then I tend to leave it. If it has legs, someone else can pick it up. For example, earlier this week I published an article for you where I made two Brawl decks with the two planeswalkers from the Global Series. Now I hadn't read or seen that elsewhere, so I was really excited. I found a niche! I wrote my article. And now...? Am I going to write that article every time a new two-series of planeswalkers comes out for a new set? I doubt it. I mean I might, I left it open. But I doubt it. I want to do the new thing, not the old.

When you have written almost 1500 Magic articles, you might sometimes forget you wrote something immediately. I'll Google an idea to see if I've written it. I usually haven't, but I am sometimes surprised. I think, "Of course I've written that, don't be silly," then I check and guess what? I haven't touched that topic.

Which is why I am shocked that I have never written this topic before.

Today, I want to countdown my favorite ten cards of all time!

10. Silklash Spider

I wrote an entire article on trying to find more Silklash Spiders. That's how fond I am of them! Now, the ongoing creature power creep has reduced their ability. This has subsequently dropped from 3 to 10 on my list of favorite cards. But it's still Silklash Spider! A 7 toughness five-drop with reach is blocking, and surviving, most of the mid-game stuff that gets tossed out there. It can sweep and resweep the skies and it is an awesome mana-sink for Green mana ramp decks that want a powerful, game changing ability that they can continue to push. It's Silklash Spider! Play it, and I suspect you'll fall in love as well!

9. Equilibrium

After I pass from this world, if anyone wants to tell the story of my writing and my gaming, you could not tell the story without discussing Equilibrium, and in particular, the deck called Equinaut that I created and made my own. It is endemic to my Magic journey. I love that it's extra mana is a cast trigger and that it can't be countered in the normal way. In my deck, I twinned this with self-bounce dorks like Whitemane Lion and Fleetfoot Panther to self-bounce themselves over and over and piling up enters-the-battlefield, cast, and leaves play triggers from various effects. This was the key engine as it would let you bounce opposing critters ad nauseam as well as your own to save something or to reboot your self-bounce dorks to recast them and keep going. It's remained one of my favorite engines, and I use it in Commander, Type Four, and lots more. It's Equilibrium!

8. Vhati il-Dal

I've always had an affinity for Vhati il-Dal, but I never realized just how much I adored him until I gave him the key role in a Commander deck a few years ago. Vhati is so awesome! The best part about Vhati is his sheer flexibility. You can block something in combat, and then tap to drop its power to 1, so it won't kill your Vhati. You can tap to drop the toughness of something to one and then it might not want to attack for fear of getting taken out. It works incredibly well with effects like Caltrops, Circle of Flame, Powerstone Minefield and other "Take damage when you swing," effects out there. There are tons of ways to put fear into an owner of a dork with a one-toughness, such as first strike or double strike. A simple Black Knight can keep people from attacking into you. Vhati is good for both offense and defense, and thus does a lot of stuff. In any Commander deck designed around him, Vhati can singlehandedly dominate a table unlike most Commanders. He's the real deal and a pack of salt as well.

7. Tooth and Nail // Wargate

Who among us doesn't like a good Tooth and Nail? Search your library for a dork or two of any size, and then toss them out onto the battlefield. It's an iconic card at the casual table. Shoot, I even wrote an article called, "What Your Tooth and Nail Says About You," which just looks at some of the different ways people play Tooth and Nail. I also really lean into Wargate as an awesome adjunct, as it will get anything. You can Wargate a land for just the three initial mana. Everything from planeswalkers to dorks to artifacts can be Wargated up to the battlefield and I use it all the time in my various decks. Any deck with the colors sees Wargate added. I'll play in my Five Color Planeswalker deck, my Equinaut heavy-critter deck and lots more. Tooth and Nail and Wargate for the win!

6. Sylvan Library

Sylvan Library remains one of my favorite cards of all time. Because it has this bizarre, old-school wording, you actually draw three cards, and then you pay four life or return one to your library. That's different than just resorting your top three cards like effects such as Mirri's Guile or Sensei's Divining Top. It's a great effect by itself, but it's also great at pinging my own Johnny radar as there are many cards out there that love your Library's draws:

These are just a few of the cards that come to mind. You can get three cards from Parallel Thoughts instead, or three triggers off Abundance. Dredge will replace your card draw, as will Tomorrow who'll give you a ton of cards. Draw six cards in your draw step with Thought Reflection and then put just two of those back. Sylvan Library is just such a fun and strong card! How can you not be drawn to it?

5. Vedalken Orrery // Leyline of Anticipation

I love casting things at the end of someone's turn! Or at the last-minute right after they attacked me! And that's the awesome place this duet plays into, with a shout out to things in this oeuvre like Winding Canyons. These are cards that more powerful the cleaner your board looks and the bigger your grip is. If I have no creatures in play and a grip of seven cards, people often won't attack me for fear that I will cast something that would block and take out their attacker(s). I could just have lands in my hand, but the weaker I look, the stronger people suspect that I am! It's a powerful intoxicating threat at the kitchen table to control one of these!

4. Ashes of the Fallen

Spirits. Zombies. Elementals. Dragons. Slivers. Elves. Goblins. Fungi. Nightstalkers.

Yes, Nightstalkers

These are just some of the awesome tribes that I have called out when I dropped Ashes of the Fallen. I have abused tons of decks and concepts that have cards that care about creature types in the graveyard. It was designed in Kamigawa Block to Spirit-ify everything of yours that had died so you could return it with a soulshift card that died such as Nightsoil Kami. But it has massive synergy with other tribes as well. Call out Elementals in a Horde of Notions Commander deck! Call out Dragons in a Bladewing the Risen deck! You get the idea. Shoot, there are tons of cards printed in 2018 that will abuse Ashes of the Fallen, like Liliana, Untouched by Death's -3 ultimate ability or Angrath's Pirate recursion as just two quick examples. There are many others out there if you dig around. Ashes of the Fallen is awesome!

3. Volrath's Stronghold

I have won more games with Volrath's Stronghold than by any other card in Magic. At first, you might not see much. Hey, the Stronghold isn't card advantage! It doesn't need to be when I can put Mulldrifter or Etched Oracle back on top of my library. Hey, the Stronghold doesn't answer anything major! It doesn't need to when I can put Ravenous Chupacabra or Acidic Slime on top of my library. Hey, the Stronghold doesn't really impact the board much! It doesn't have to when I can put some nasty big beater like Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Avacyn, Angel of Hope on top of my library. I can get mana with Sakura-Tribe Elder, re-cycle Krosan Tusker, or recast Solemn Simulacrum. I can reload a key creature into my library to protect it from graveyard destruction or your reanimation effects. The Stronghold rules multiplayer. I named it the most powerful card in the history of multiplayer for you. It hasn't lost its perch.

2. Commander Eesha

By the way, I am still shocked that Commander Eesha has never been reprinted in the Commander deck series as she would be great to show a new generation of players. She is a great card that I adore leaning on in times of stress and sorrow. She is my favorite dork for most multiplayer games. She is the perfect blocker. She will never take damage from someone who is swinging into her. There is no creature you cannot block and handle. Her flying allows her to block most dorks. Now, like any creature, there will always be a small subset of creatures that Eesha can't block. Something with shadow or protection from white will slip on by her. But if she can block it, then you are going to be safe and secure. And there is a bonus. No creature can block her. She cannot be stopped! And that makes her a great carrier of auras or equipment. As a nice bonus, she cannot be targeted by critters, so many of the commonly played targeted removal tricks won't work on her either. I have killed someone who had Nekrataal and Angel of Despair in their hand. Any creature you are running that you are expecting to deal with target creature isn't working on Eesha. Plus, she never draws that much heat. People tend to save their Swords to Plowshares or Terminates for bigger and nastier effects. Eesha is perfectly awesome!

1. Scarwood Bandits

Going back quite a ways, Scarwood Bandits has been my favorite card. In fact, I even wrote an entire article about my adoration of the Bandits. One of my first articles written back in 2002 was about the Bandits. As I shared then, and reiterate now, Scarwood Bandits is a symbol of the thousands of cards that are forgotten. That have fallen into the cracks of Magic.

Let's stay that you categorize Magic cards into five categories:

Let's look at other cards from the same set. Examples include Sorrow's Path at 1, Maze of Ith at 5, Ball Lightning at 4, Scarwood Bandits at 3, and Brainwash at 2. Now, the vast majority of cards in most sets are going to be clocking in at 3. Those cards are the lost cards of the game. You might see the worst cards inspiring a Johnny to play them. You might see a 2 get reprinted in a later set for limited play, such as Deadly Insect, or for a Cube or something. Who targets the many Scarwood Bandits of Magic for anything?

And I also like the card. No one who has artifacts wants to lose them, so they keep 2 mana open until you do the 4 mana trick once, and then they change that. (At the end of their turn, tap the Bandits, try to steal their shiny toy, they tap 2 mana. Untap. On your turn, Tap the Bandits and now successfully steal their shiny toy). Unlike other stealing effects, they can untap and keep on going. You also have Forestwalk if you want to slip in for some unblockable damage. I enjoy stealing a nice piece of equipment, equipping the Bandits, and then sending them in for 5 damage with your Loxodon Warhammer or such. Oh, and they are on the Reserve List too, so you will never see another version.

Find your Scarwood Bandits!

And there we go! I hope that you enjoyed this tour of my favorite cards of all time! What are yours? I'd love to read them and see!