I consider myself pretty plugged into Magic. I player Commander every week. I draft a ton on MTG Arena. I probably know more about the organized play system (such as it is) than all but maybe a dozen people on the planet. All in all, I'm as deep as you can get.

But even I can't keep up with the pace of releases sometimes. It feels like we barely even have the cards in our hands before the next round of previews start. Modern Horizons 2 blended smoothly into Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and there's already more Commander decks along with that. Before you know it, we'll be into Innistrad territory again, and even sets that came out more recently than I changed my air filters (your friendly reminder to do so) have faded into obscurity like my draft skills. It's something we've harped on regularly on my podcast, but simply put: it's nearly impossible to keep up.

There's probably been a dozen cards I've seen over the past six months that I've wanted to put into one of my Commander decks, but we've already moved on by the time I get around to it and I forget, and I know I'm not alone. We spent a lot of time in the Magic writing world talking about new cards - and rightfully so - but it's easy to get lost in the endless hype cycle and not take a look back to see what's actually caught on.

With that in mind, I wanted to take a look back at Strixhaven and Kaldheim to see what's really resonated from the set! EDHREC.com is great for this, as it can sort cards by set so we can see what players are finding helpful. What lived up to the hype, and what has surprised?

Kaldheim

Remember Kaldheim? Remember how Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern was going to break the format because it combo'd with absolutely everything? For a few weeks, we lived in fear of games devolving into Tergrid boardwipe battles.

It didn't quite work out that way. Tergrid is the most popular commander from the set, but it just barely edges out Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge, and doesn't even crack the Top 30 in terms of cards most played from the set.

What to make of this? I think there's a few things going on. For starters, Tergrid is pretty straightforward to build, and straightforward can often equal boring. There's only so many times you can drop Tergrid and wipe the board before your friends just remove it on sight - keeping your deck from ever doing its thing - or they just stop playing with you altogether. While the banning of Hullbreacher has created a lot of noise this week, I think that was the exception to this rule: Commander is inherently self-selective. There's a ton of cards that just aren't very much fun to play against - stuff like Jokulhaups come to mind - and players just tend to not play those cards in high numbers. Whether you attribute it to Rule 0 conversations or just normal playgroup dynamics, Commander is the most resilient format in the game.

So, if Tergrid was a bust, what has found a home?

This may come as a surprise, but The World Tree is actually the most popular card from Kaldheim in terms of inclusion in its respective archetype. I'll be honest - I have no idea how many people are putting The World Tree into God Tribal decks. That last ability makes it a fit for five-color decks, but my inkling is that the Tree functions mostly as an incredible mana-fixer in those brews. Six lands is trivial, in Commander, and so The World Tree acts as a harder-to-kill Chromatic Lantern. It's the perfect card in five-color decks and its stats reflect that.

Discounting lands, Birgi is the second-most popular card in the set, trailing just behind the aforementioned Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge.

Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty is just fascinating. I'll start with the backside, Harnfel, Horn of Bounty. It's expensive at five mana, but the card advantage is undeniable, which is an effect that Red decks are definitely looking for. If you play Birgi as your commander, having the option to turn it into card advantage in the late game is the kind of utility Mono-Red commanders have desperately been searching for.

But I suspect that most people are actually in it for the Birgi, God of Storytelling side. It's a storm machine, and is strong enough as a 3/3 for three that even when you aren't doing actual degenerate combo things with it, Birgi is still good value. It functions as a discount of sorts if you're casting multiple spells a turn, and getting to take the mana into your combat phase is a sweet bonus that can lead to some cool moments.

I might have expected Toski to actually be the most popular creature in the set, but I suppose there's roughly infinite options in Green for the Squirrel to compete with.

But this thing is a beating - it's probably the scariest four-mana 1/1 in the game today. Uncounterable and indestructible, it's really difficult to keep Toski off the board, especially if it's starting in the command zone. Even in the 99, Toski provides a huge swing whenever it hits the board, usually allowing one of your other creatures to cash in for a card immediately, and if left unanswered for more than a turn it can completely take over the game. We knew Toski was going to be good, but unlike Tergrid it looks like it's largely lived up to the hype.

Looking at one final card from this set, would you have guessed that Ravenform would be more popular than Tibalt's Trickery or Binding the Old Gods, the noncreature spells that immediately follow it in popularity?

It came as a surprise to me, but maybe it shouldn't. Blue is hard-up for single-target removal - we see Pongify and Rapid Hybridization regularly - and Ravenform fits into that mold. It gives up instant speed, but gains quite a bit in return. For starters, the foretell cost allows you to put the removal spell on layaway on turn two, and come back later for just a single mana when you need it. Plus, it gets to target artifacts, making it one of the most versatile, cheap interaction pieces Blue has; and, your opponents only get a 1/1 for their trouble instead of a 3/3!

Strixhaven

Strixhaven was one of the wilder sets we've seen in recent memory. Not only was the learn-lesson mechanic one of the most innovative ever (plus it played really well in Limited), but the addition of the Mystical Archives made it truly a one-of-a-kind Draft experience. And we got some pretty cool cards for Commander!

Unlike Kaldheim, where the creatures and lands led the way, it's this incredibly versatile removal spell that tops the chart, making an appearance in a full 20% of the decks it could be registered in since its debut.

It's easy to see why. Fracture is a worthy successor to Mortify, a card I played for a very long time in Commander before cutting it for better options over the past year. Fracture can't hit a creature, but since when have Black and White ever had a problem answering creatures in Commander? In exchange, you get the ability to take out planeswalkers, something that's becoming a bigger and bigger part of Commander, and you get some Putrefy vibes thrown in by being able to take out artifacts.

This one surprised me. I've looked up and down at Culling Ritual, and ultimately didn't put it in any of my decks. I'm happy to hear from you in the comments if you disagree with my take on the power level of this card, but I figure this either kills my own mana rocks, or it only hits half of the problematic permanents on board - especially with how many good three-cost mana rocks we've gotten recently.

The ceiling on Culling Ritual is certainly high, but I generally want my boardwipes to actually, well, wipe the board. Instead, Ritual refunds you some mana, but that's not exactly something I've felt like was missing in my Green decks.

Players are certainly warming to the card, as it appears in nearly as many decks as Fracture. There's clearly something going on here.

Remember what I said about Red needing more options? Storm-Kiln Artist is actually the most popular creature from the set, which does make some sense given how powerful it is. It slides into any artifact deck you have since it will grow huge from any spare artifacts you have laying around, and if that's a problem the Artist paints the table Red by building itself with every instant and sorcery you cast.

What I love about the Artist is how much is going on beneath the surface. It's a fairly straightforward card with two abilities, but those abilities just cover so much ground in Commander. If you want a beater in your Daretti deck, you've got it. If you want a self-contained threat with incremental value to play alongside your Guttersnipe, you've got it. If you just want to do some Red ramping, the Artist has you covered. Great addition to the format all around.

This is a card I made sure to add to my decks. Everything I said about incremental value with Storm-Kiln Artist applies to the Archmage in spades. If you want to combo through your deck, Archmage Emeritus is your guy. If you want to play a scary threat that clears the way for your more expensive spells, Archmage gets it done. If you just want to draw a couple extra cards - or set up a turn where you play the Archmage along with a cantrip like Ponder - you've got plenty of opportunities to do so with the four-mana spell.

I slammed this thing into my Keranos, God of Storms control deck as well as my Azami, Lady of Scrolls combo build. It's just that powerful, and I'm not surprised to see it perform so strongly.

The final card I want to touch on is another Mono-Blue card that has found a home in the format. I may be on record saying that I think Commander would be better off without quite so many tutors, but I like searching my deck as much as the next Azami player, and Solve the Equation has certainly caught on.

Flexibility is the name of the game here. While Mystical Tutor tends to set up really powerful surprise turns by getting cast in the end step before untapping, the sorcery speed of Solve the Equation actually subtly changes its uses - I've seen this used to grab removal far more than I've ever seen a Mystical Tutor do the same. I've even used this to grab something as simple as a cantrip early in the game to ensure I make my land drops. That's not something I would have predicted when this card was previewed, but it's been a really fun twist to see it play out differently than expected.

It's easy to get caught up in the never-ending preview seasons in Magic, but we truly live in a world with an abundance of riches, and plenty of options to choose from. Are there any cards from recent sets you think are flying below the radar?

Thanks for reading,

Corbin Hosler

@Chosler