When a new set comes out, I like to take a look at the cards and mention cards that I think get better in multiplayer formats - cards that get an advantage with multiple opponents or are just better in environments where games are more likely to go long. Double Masters offers plenty of great cards for Commander players, but many of these cards don't fare well with the criteria I just described. Think about Avenger of Zendikar. It is a Commander staple because it has a big splashy effect. It works best in games that allow you to have tons of land, which is regularly seen in Commander, but it isn't necessarily better with more opponents. The same could be said of Doubling Season. I love Doubling Season and it finds its way into many of my green decks, but it works with what you give it, not with what your opponents offer.

10. Maze of Ith

The Maze is great against a single opponent, but even better against multiple opponents. There are so many times when the player on my left decides it is time to attack and looks at my Maze and decides it is pointless so attacks elsewhere. Then the next player does the same thing. Then the next player does the same thing. Often, the best thing your opponents can do is force you to tap the Maze early in the round, leaving you open to the remaining players, yet that first player just can't see that, and you are protected.

Maze of Ith fits in virtually any deck that isn't pushing its mana base to an extreme. I have found room for Maze of Ith in 3-color decks when I have plenty of fixing. I have put it into Mono-Black decks since I know that Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth can often make it into a Swamp that I can also tap of mana when I need it.

Another situation where Maze works well is making friends. Most people assume that you will only ever untap a creature that is attacking you. Why limit yourself when Maze of Ith can do so much more! Often an opponent will attack someone just to draw a card, or get a benefit from doing combat damage. Maze of Ith can shut that down and limit their gain, even when a defenseless opponent can't stop it. You can use Maze to prop up a weak ally, or earn a favor for later in the game.

Finally, there is the very rarely used occasion when you will want to Maze your own creature. You attack an opponent and are surprised by a combat trick. Tap the Maze so your creature doesn't take any damage and you have untapped it so it can now block against other opponents for the rest of the round! Maze is an all-star.

9. The Scarab God

The Scarab God made the top 10 because two of its three abilities get better with multiple opponents. On your upkeep, every opponent loses life, not just one. The damage just scales up with multiple opponents and it cost you nothing more to make that happen!

The second ability loves multiple opponents! More opponents means more graveyards and better options for creatures to copy. In multiplayer games, you will likely always find a creature in a graveyard to copy. You don't even necessarily want the biggest creature, since it will end up as a 4/4 Zombie, but multiplayer games are loaded with creatures that have enter the battlefield triggers, so this ability, much like The Scarab God itself, is golden!

While not relevant for multiplayer games over others, I do love all the different directions you can take a deck that uses The Scarab God. Zombie-themed, stealing opponents' creatures, and limiting opponents' graveyard recursions are just a few of the obvious ways to take a deck. This card is a treat!

8. Basilisk Collar

Basilisk Collar may be the most boring pick in the Top Ten, but it earns its spot. A creature with deathtouch and lifelink is a real powerhouse in multiplayer games. Equip any creature with a Basilisk Collar and your opponents will think twice about blocking it. When their blocking creature will most certainly die if it blocks, players are often willing to just take the damage.

Basilisk Collar really shines on defense. When your opponents know the creature they choose to attack you with is going to die, they tend to look elsewhere. It makes sense; why get only one attack with a creature when you can attack other players multiple times? The Collar gives you that protection.

The lifelink is also beneficial in multiplayer. Creatures with lifelink provide a slow incremental life gain that doesn't draw attention to you, while giving you more options that you just don't have when your life total drifts below 15 life.

And the joy with Basilisk Collar is the same as it is with most equipment; when your opponent does get rid of the creature, you simply pay two mana and you have another creature that continues to be the thorn in the side of your opponents.

7. Ensnaring Bridge

Ensnaring Bridge is another card that ramps up with multiple opponents. More opponents mean more creatures that could attack you, so Ensnaring Bridge really offers so much more in multiplayer environments.

Ensnaring Bridge is an all-star in combo and token decks. It provides you with extra time to put together the combo or swing in with your small token army without fear of their massive creature swinging back at you.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the card. I have found that I limit the amount of card draw I'll use when I have it in play, so I am reluctant to run it again as it is a downside that I don't like, but I have watched many others draw a massive hand and discard it all away at the end of their turn, making the Bridge into a beautiful soft lock.

6. Blasphemous Act

I don't remember the last time I paid more than one Red mana for Blasphemous Act. This is only because my multiplayer games are loaded with creatures. I understand the limitations of the card. It doesn't take out indestructible creatures. It is a sorcery, so I am limited as to when I can cast it. But it does 13 damage to every creature for only one Red mana! This has been a great card in my Firesong and Sunspeaker deck since it was first built. Gaining at least 100 life when you cast Blasphemous Act for one mana is a beautiful thing!

Firesong and Sunspeaker: Now with More Cowbell | Commander | Bruce Richard

• Commander (1)
• 1 Firesong and Sunspeaker

• Creatures (12)
• 1 Archangel of Thune
• 1 Backdraft Hellkite
• 1 Balefire Liege
• 1 Charmbreaker Devils
• 1 Guttersnipe
• 1 Monastery Mentor
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Treasonous Ogre
• 1 Young Pyromancer
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Neheb, the Eternal

• Instants (18)
• 1 Aurelia's Fury
• 1 Boros Charm
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Comeuppance
• 1 Deflecting Palm
• 1 Deflecting Swat
• 1 Electrodominance
• 1 Fork
• 1 Increasing Vengeance
• 1 Invoke the Divine
• 1 Lightning Helix
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Reiterate
• 1 Reverberate
• 1 Serene Offering
• 1 Starstorm
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Warleader's Helix

• Sorceries (10)
• 1 Banefire
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Earthquake
• 1 Fumigate
• 1 Jaya's Immolating Inferno
• 1 Reforge the Soul
• 1 Star of Extinction
• 1 Subterranean Tremors
• 1 Terashi's Grasp
• 1 Vandalblast

• Enchantments (2)
• 1 Double Vision
• 1 Smothering Tithe

• Artifacts (17)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Azor's Gateway
• 1 Boros Signet
• 1 Darksteel Plate
• 1 Farsight Mask
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Mind's Eye
• 1 Primal Amulet
• 1 Pyromancer's Goggles
• 1 Seal of the Guildpact
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sunforger
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Temple Bell
• 1 Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1 Well of Lost Dreams

• Lands (40)
• 11 Mountain
• 11 Plains
• 1 Boros Garrison
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Hammerheim
• 1 Miren, the Moaning Well
• 1 Plateau
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Rugged Prairie
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Slayers' Stronghold
• 1 Spinerock Knoll
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Temple of Triumph
• 1 Vivid Crag
• 1 Vivid Meadow
• 1 Windbrisk Heights
• 1 Wind-Scarred Crag

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5. Land Tax

Land Tax is another multiplayer all-star. With multiple opponents, there is always at least one who has mana ramp that allows them to have far more lands than you do. This means that not only are you always going to have a land to play every single turn, but you'll likely always have a full hand of cards all the time. This means that you always have a card that you won't mind discarding. It means that if you are running a deck that recurs lands, you'll have cards to find.

I know that lately we have been seeing people say that deck-thinning, especially when it comes to a single card is not really relevant. While I appreciate that taking a card out of your deck doesn't dramatically improve your chances of drawing a single other card, consider the following. If I play a Land Tax on my first turn, then draw three lands from it in the next three turns, where will I be on turn five? On my upkeep I search for three more lands. For my draw, I have a 1/76 (1.3%) chance of drawing a specific card as opposed to someone without Land Tax, who will have a 1/88 (1.1%) chance of drawing a specific card. That might not sound like much difference, but what if I am just comparing the likelihood of drawing an action card again drawing another land? If my opening hand had three land and I've taken out 12 more with Land Tax, there are only 25 land left in the deck. I have a 67% chance of drawing an action card, as opposed to my non-Land Tax opponent who only 60% chance. If the quality of my draws going forward are 7% better, I'll take that every time!

4. Beacon of Unrest

With multiple opponents, Beacon of Unrest is going to be outstanding. There will be a creature or artifact that you are thrilled to get every time you cast it. I can recall one game where I was able to ramp out early and the best thing that was in a graveyard at the time was a Sol Ring. I was initially disappointed since you are always hoping early on that someone will discard some massive creature that they won't be able to play until much later in the game, but Sol Ring was an all-star, especially through the mid-game when the extra mana was great.

Part of the reason I love Beacon of Unrest is to just take a creature away from an opponent. Someone is invariably looking to bring their Eternal Witness back from the graveyard to keep some value loop running. Getting the chance to put a stop to that is great!

And, while I realize the likelihood of drawing and playing it a second time in a game is low, it can happen. Several of us have stories of the player who had only one card left in their library and cast Beacon of Unrest over and over just to get it back in their library so they would have something to draw the next turn.

3. Geth, Lord of the Vault

Take what I said about Beacon of Unrest and apply it to Geth. More opponents means better quality stuff to steal! I'm not going to go too deep here, but getting to use Geth again and again is delightful. Eliminating a lot of smaller options early on can stunt opponents' ability to move to the endgame. Even just having Geth out there can act as a deterrent to even try recursion options since they know you can respond and take their card away from them. Geth and The Scarab God together can do some real damage to all of your opponents' graveyards!

2. Austere Command/Merciless Eviction

These two cards are mass removal spells that give you options on what has to go. With multiple opponents you are going to get at least a seven for one if you want it and that is amazing. I don't think I need to discuss why it is a good thing to have mass creature removal in your deck. However, the ability to remove all artifacts and/or enchantments is key. Most of us still aren't running nearly enough enchantment removal in our decks, so either mass removal spell is very helpful to have when our opponents are trying to take advantage of that.

1. Cyclonic Rift

I hate this card and I have grown very tired of it. When your opponent is running Blue, once they hit seven mana, you have to assume this is coming. If you don't have a counterspell, then there is little that you can do, other than try to get as much land as you can on the battlefield and hope you can bounce back fast enough. Games with Rift either end because the Rift caster just overwhelms their opponents or they reset the board and the game continues with no real long term change. I hate watching a single act as a "you win" card without any real effort.

Having said that Rift is simply amazing in multiplayer games. Bouncing all nonland cards that aren't yours is usually a game winner. At worst, you give yourself a couple of turns to find something to shut the door to their ability to rebuild. It is hard to imagine a scenario when you shouldn't have this in your deck if you are playing Blue. I hate to end the Top Ten with a card that behaves like Cyclonic Rift, but it is undeniably the best multiplayer card in the set.

I'd love to hear your suggestions for other cards in Double Masters that shine in multiple opponent formats. Jump into the comments below or reach out on Twitter!

Bruce Richard

@manaburned