Top Ten lists are great fun! I get to tell you what the Top Ten Commander cards for 2019 are, and you can then tell me I'm crazy for including/not including whatever card you think belongs in the list. Since the lists are often subjective, it becomes rather difficult to say someone is wrong, since they are basing the list on their personal opinion.

Luckily for you, this list is not subjective! After a careful, rigorous process, these ten cards came out on top. In fact, the order they are listed in, is the order resulting from that rigorous examination. So not only can you tell me that a different card should be in the list, you can also tell me I'm wrong for thinking Number 4 is better than Number 7! So what was involved in the rigorous process to reach the Objectively True Top Ten for the year?

Skip this Part (aka. The Basis for Determining the Top Ten)

While I really enjoyed Abe's list from Friday, the cards he listed were particularly good with particular deck types. I wanted something that looked at things a little more abstractly.

First off, I looked at the power of the card. Does it completely dominate games? Will your foes weep when you cast it? Is it just ridiculously better than other cards that do something similar? All of this is considered in the Power rating for the card.

Utility was the second consideration. Should the card go in every Green deck between now and the end of time? Is it so useful that you should be asking yourself not whether it belongs in the deck, but why you should take it out, because it should just be in every deck unless shown otherwise.

The final consideration was the coolness factor. You see this card and you just want to run it. It may not be powerful or offer utility, but what it does is just so much fun, you can't imagine not running it.

Now you know the rigorous process that went into determining the Top Ten, so read on and understand that there is no point in suggesting any other cards, since this method is completely objective.

Number 10. Sanctum of Eternity.

Sanctum of Eternity offers just enough power to go with a ton of utility to make it to Number 10. Once you have cast your commander from the command zone a second time, Sanctum of Eternity helps you to avoid an onerous commander tax by bringing the commander to your hand. This lets you cast it again without suffering more and more from the tax. This works so well with commanders who have enter the battlefield triggers that you want to activate again and again. It also provides a way to avoid removal spells. Simply having the mana up to do it will make most opponents reluctant to waste a spell killing it when they know you are just going to bounce it to your hand and recast it right away. When you also realize that fits seamlessly amongst the lands in your deck, no matter what colors your deck is running, there really isn't a reason not to run it in most decks!

Number 9. Kykar, Wind's Fury.

Kykar, Wind's Fury is one of the cards on the list that registers in all three categories. A 3/3 flyer than makes more flyers for no extra mana makes it a powerful card. Giving you a steady stream of chump blockers and/or Red mana makes for great utility. The card is also very cool in that decklists that use Kykar are all over the place! Some are abusing the Red mana to cast big stuff early on. Some are using it to create Spirit tribal builds. Some are looking at the noncreature spell aspect and running it with similar cards to get a wall of effects every time you play a small artifact or cast an instant on an opponent's turn. I personally like Shu Yun, Silent Tempest and Kykar offers similar options, among others.

Besides, I like to pronounce it as though I'm a crow, "Ky-KAR!" Try saying it that way about a hundred times in a game and let me know what your opponents think.

Number 8. Fabled Passage.

For those of you who are getting concerned that my love of lands is altering the objectivity of the Top Ten, know that this is the last land in the Top Ten. Fabled Passage gives you an untapped basic land almost every time you use it. I say that because as long as you don't keep it in your opening hand, the land will probably end up being untapped and that makes Fabled Passage an amazing option for any deck running two or more colors, or a deck that just wants landfall triggers.

And for those of you who don't think the untapped part is all that relevant, know that I was once in agreement with you. Then I considered a crucial statistic that explains it perfectly: most games don't get past turn twelve. This means that if you play an enters the battlefield tapped land on the first turn, it can be tapped for mana eight percent less often than one that doesn't. This is the best case scenario too, since you might not be playing that land until turn five. Then it only has seven opportunities to tap for mana and you are losing one. This makes it 15% worse. If you are prepared to run lands that are that much worse, you better be getting a solid effect (i.e. Theros temple lands letting you scry 1). The utility of Fabled Passage is good enough for it to make the list.

Number 7. Feather, the Redeemed.

While Feather scores low on the utility rating, the power and coolness of the card are off the charts. Feather has created a new decktype category! Cards that used to be deemed mostly useless in Commander now have a place in the Standard Feather deck. Feather has brought an alternate style to Boros decks that opponents have to respect.

Part of the coolness score comes from getting a character from the story that Magic players have wanted for a long time. Add to that the fact that Feather brings this unique deck just gives the card a mystic or cool that you really want.

Number 6. Dockside Extortionist.

As soon as I saw Dockside Extortionist I knew I wanted multiple copies. Nothing puts on display just how useful a card is in plenty of decks when you find yourself wishing you had multiple copies for all your decks running Red.

Assuming you cast it on turn two, you are still likely to get at least one treasure. Unlike most two-mana creatures that just get less and less valuable as the game goes on, Dockside Extortionist's power climbs with the game. I've seen the Extortionist create nine treasure tokens on turn five, and that was in a game where no one was featuring artifacts in their decks. Decks that can flicker it can get out of hand quickly! I run it in my Brudiclad build and it has allowed me to sacrifice 20 treasure tokens to empty my hand. It has also given me six treasure tokens that each became a 4/4 golem. Even without a deck that leans into the card, Dockside Extortionist is a chump blocking body that more than pays for itself.

Number 5. Golos, Tireless Pilgrim.

So you get to search for a land and play three cards in your deck for only seven mana? Golos has utility, does cool stuff, and the power level is off the charts. Golos is another commander that can be built in a variety of ways. Many players set up the top of their library to get the biggest bang they can for seven mana. Other players enjoy a certain amount of chaos, just flipping cards to see what comes next. When you have all the options available in Magic for your five-color build, the deck can go in all sorts of ways!

Number 4. Chulane, Teller of Tales.

Whenever you cast a creature spell, you can draw a card and play a land. I'm not sure how much more power and utility you could want in a card. There is a part of me that believes that the only reason this card isn't banned is because most players just decided it was too easy. Green and White offer so many valuable two- and three-mana creatures that it wouldn't take much to always have a full seven cards in hand and play two lands per turn whenever Chulane is on the battlefield.

The joy with Chulane is deciding where to build with it! With a large supply of creatures, perhaps you want to build a deck loaded with utility lands since you can play multiple lands per turn. Perhaps you simply want a deck with a crazy curve, since you know with Chulane you can really ratchet up the number of lands you have on the battlefield.

Number 3. Electrodominance.

Getting an X damage spell as an instant is pretty powerful all by itself. Not enough to make this list, but pretty good. Letting you cast another spell that costs X is what shoots the power level of this card through the roof! Deal five damage to a target, then play a five mana creature, all for seven mana?

The part that I really love about Electrodominance is the quasi-flash it grants. You can play it in response to an opponent declaring an attack on you. You do four damage to one of their creatures, then play a four mana creature from your hand to use to block! It absolutely turns games on their heads. Do five damage to an opponent on their turn, then cast a mass removal spell for five that your opponents wouldn't expect to see!

Number 2. Smothering Tithe.

You knew it was coming. This card has changed more decks than any other card on this list. White struggles with ramping unless it pairs with a color that can do it well. Smothering Tithe doesn't cure the problem, but it forces opponents to deal with it when it hits the battlefield. Every deck that has White needs to be asking why Smothering Tithe is not in the deck.

This is even more powerful than Rhystic Study. Rhystic Study activates when people play spells. It makes them consider whether it is worth it to play the spell or worth it to activate. They get a choice. With Smothering Tithe, there is no choice. You are going to draw the cards and most times you simply can't afford to pay two to stop your opponent from getting one mana one time. The power and utility of the card make this a staple that will likely be a staple in Commander for a very long time.

Number 1. Arcane Signet.

I didn't want Arcane Signet to be number one. It isn't cool. There is nothing exciting about it. No one is ever going to look at Arcane Signet and pump their fist because it is in their deck.

However, it is the best utility card printed since Revised? For two mana you get an artifact that taps for any colored mana you need. And you can tap it right away, so on the turn you cast it, it effectively cost only one colorless mana. The only reason it isn't in most Commander decks is the dollar value. I spent almost an entire article singing the virtues of this card when it came out and if anything I'm even more convinced of the utility of the card.

And there you have it. The objective Top Ten Commander cards from 2019. If you'd like to discuss cards that would be in the Ten Twenty, since the Top Ten are now set in stone, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and on Twitter.

Bruce

@manaburned