It’s that time again. We have a new set fully revealed, the prerelease weekend happened, and people are trading and buying and brewing, and now that I got my initial impulse saying, “I have to brew The Gitrog Monster now,” out of my system, I think it’s time to take a look at the full list of cards in the set and find some good 75% cards for our decks. I think there are some very good cards in this set but, more than that, I think there are cards that function well in 75% decks specifically, and I have a lot I’d like to talk about. This is a great set for us Commander players, and I’m excited to dig into it.

• Scalable spells help tailor your cards to the power level of your opponents' decks.
• Always start weak and improve the deck—never weaken a better deck.
• You can skew toward power provided you skew away from consistency.
• It is better to punish everyone equally for doing something rather than prevent someone from doing it.
• Building around a theme will keep the power level from skewing too high.
• Imposing limitations encourages creativity and promotes balance.
• Do what you need to do to protect the execution of your strategy.
• Try to vary the game experience, and build with multiple paths to victory in mind.

There are plenty of cards in this set that help us hit one or more of these targets when we build our new decks and tune up our old ones, and a lot more of them are at common and uncommon than you may think. With the different ways I like to build a deck 75% in mind, let’s move on to my picks from this set. As always, if I miss something, please contribute to the discussion by suggesting it in the comments. I build a lot of 75% decks, but I don’t build all of them, and I’m sure one or more of you will find the perfect card for one of your decks that won’t even occur to me. That’s the beauty of this way to build. Without further ado, I present to you the rest of the article—like, the part where I actually do the thing I said I was going to do.

Accursed Witch — Curses are always fun, and a card that allows everyone to target the player who is furthest ahead (or whomever you enchant, I guess) for cheaper and that also Subversions that player seems solid to me. It’s even a good chump-blocker early or a deterrent to the player attacking you. It’s solid in punisher decks and a great addition to the arsenal of a black-based enchantment deck. Is there a term for like, an evil pillow fort? Anyway, I like this a lot in decks like Erebos, God of the Dead and Daxos the Returned. This life-gain even offsets Phyrexian Arena. What’s not to like?

Altered Ego — Clone variants are always solid. One of my main tenets is, “Scalable spells help tailor your cards to the power level of your opponents’ decks,” and this is a great way to achieve that. Clones are always cool, and with a mana sink to help your Clone outshine the original, this is never a dead draw. Decks like Kruphix, God of Horizons and Vorel of the Hull Clade want to jam this immediately. If you are cloning someone’s best creature, you’re not coming at opponents with anything too powerful for them, although yours having a significant power and toughness advantage does help you. We’re still trying to win, after all. You can put this in the spot you have in the deck where Prophet of Kruphix used to be. (Insert compensatory laughter and inconsolable sobbing.)

Always Watching — This is kind of a bad Glorious Anthem effect in some contexts since, a lot of the time, we’re building big armies with tokens, and Intangible Virtue is not run a ton, but I could see a few Boros decks that could make use of this. The vigilance certainly helps this warrant a spot in the deck. This isn’t for everyone, and the price of the card reflects that, but it has its uses.

Angel of Deliverance — Delirium is very easy to attain in Commander, which makes this big, durdly Angel a monster. The fact that it doesn’t specify combat damage means you can find creative ways to make this deal damage in multiple ways, such as with Mage Slayer or Quicksilver Dagger or Grappling Hook. I like Admonition Angel a ton, and having more ways to exile opponents’ creatures stapled to a creature seems fine to me. This is slow, and 75% doesn’t mean “terrible,” so be prepared to cheat this into play, ramp into it, or make the game take long enough for this to matter. I think this has a lot of potential, and I can’t wait to brew with it.

Angelic Purge — I don’t have a ton to say about this card because it looks a little too “fair,” but I like cards like Hatching Plans a ton in 75% decks, and this is a potential build-around or way to sac permanents you’re borrowing so you don’t have to give them back. It’s narrow, but I like this effect a ton, and you’ll always have targets for the spell’s effect, so if you can benefit from paying the cost, go nuts.

Anguished Unmaking — This is obviously a good card, and it’s fair to a fault. It’s cheaper than Vindicate, and it’s at instant speed. Blowing up one land isn’t really something we steer away from in 75%, so not being able to target a land isn’t exactly a bonus in a 75% context—but it doesn’t hurt. I feel that this is a fine alternative to Vindicate, and I might even replace a card like Unmake. Not a ton to say—good cards are good in 75% or otherwise.

Archangel Avacyn — If you like Avacyn and finding ways to Flicker it, such as with Galepowder Mage, Cloudshift, or other cards, this may tickle your fancy. I like the idea of an Avacyn that says, “This helps me protect all of my creatures from the Wrath of God I’m about to play”—which is a great play in a 75% deck—but that doesn’t say, “This helps me protect my lands from the Armageddon I’m about to play,” as the other Avacyn does. This also lets you play red. I’m all about this as an alternative to the other Avacyn, which I think is built around fairly linearly.

Asylum Visitor — This rewards you from playing hellbent, playing against hellbent, and stripping opponents’ hands. So far, 75% articles have been pretty agnostic with respect to hand destruction. I think it’s way easier to recover from it than it is to recover from mass land destruction (MLD), and if you’re going to waste a turn Mind Twisting someone and not affecting the board, you had better have a plan for when that player comes swinging at you and when the other people at the table decide they might be next. I am throwing this in my Nath of the Gilt-Leaf deck as well as Rakdos, Lord of Riots. A fair Dark Confidant? I’m loving it.

Avacynian Missionaries — I like Fiend Hunter–type cards, and I also love playing Equipment like Sunforger and Quietus Spike, and you’d know that if you read and of the hundred times I’ve mentioned these cards. This is solid removal.

Behold the Beyond — This card seems very bad to me, but a lot of people are very interested. I don’t like tutors in 75% decks because they encourage you to try to win the same way every time, and I think this encourages that more than most tutors. You need to make sure the cards you find win you the game, which encourages combo plays. Still, this card isn’t inherently anti-75% if used judiciously, so I figured I’d mention it. If you always grab the same thing, don’t use it. If you want this to be the wackiest toolbox card ever, it could be good.

Bound by Moonsilver — I love Arrest effects, and being able to move this around is great. Benefiting from sacrificing another permanent is even better. This could be fun.

Brain in a Jar — I like Crystal Ball a lot more than I like Sensei's Divining Top. Top is not a bad 75% inclusion because it’s so good, it’s a bad inclusion because it’s so annoying. People Top just to Top. This is slower than Crystal Ball, but it has potential, and the scry can be a benefit instead of the impetus and that makes me want to try this in a deck like Mizzix of the Izmagnus.

Briarbridge Patrol — This makes you go very deep on Clues in your deck, and green doesn’t have a ton of ways to give you Clue tokens, which is too bad. I love cheating with cards like Elvish Piper, and this is great if you can scrape enough Clue tokens together. Maybe Second Harvest can help.

Burn from Within — It kills Gods. Do you need to do that? This does that. Then again, so do cards that exile creatures or enchantments.

Bygone Bishop — I like Mentor of the Meek, and this does stuff like that does. I like this. It even helps you reach metalcraft, in case you wanted to have metalcraft.

Crawling Sensation — Sidisi, Brood Tyrant and The Gitrog Monster wouldn’t hate this.

Creeping Dread — This is very powerful in multiplayer. I like it in the same Erebos or Daxos deck that set up a ton of enchantments to hurt your opponents. This will paint a target on you, but if you already have Subversion, Painful Quandary, and Hissing Miasma out, I think you are ready for that.

Cryptolith Rite — A pseudo-Earthcraft that is less prone to being broken, this is a pure advantage engine that makes all of your creatures useful in a pinch. I like this a ton and I’m sure it’s going to be the cog in quite a few advantage machines. I don’t have anything against Earthcraft in a 75% deck, mind you, and this is a great complement or replacement, depending on how you build.

Declaration in Stone — This is solid, fair removal that can potentially turn a pile of tokens into Clues for you or an opponent you find yourself allied with.

Descend Upon the Sinful — Do you like Martial Coup? This is kind of like that. I like this.

Diregraf Colossus — One way to build 75% is to build along a theme to keep your card pool narrow and allow you to build the best thematic deck without having to worry about the power level of any individual card. Tribal is a good theme, and this is a good tribal card.

Drownyard Temple — I don’t like Armageddon, but I don’t hate this and Dust Bowl, and I certainly love this in a The Gitrog Monster deck and anywhere else it can be relevant. This has applications for sure.

Duskwatch Recruiter — This is better than a lot of the rares in the set.

Eerie Interlude — This is sometimes a slightly worse Ghostway, sometimes a slightly better Ghostway, and all the times essentially a second Ghostway. Yep. Sign me up.

Engulf the Shore — If you’re going to commit heavily to blue, why not play another Evacuation? The decks this is best in are the decks that Vedalken Shackles is also good in. I like Vedalken Shackles.

Epiphany at the Drownyard — This is closer to Steam Augury than it is to Fact or Fiction. It may not be good enough to play, but it is a decent political card if you made a friend at the table.

Epitaph Golem — Many decks can make use of this effect, so remember this card exists. I prefer decks that mill you out and use this to loop something to decks that always win with Laboratory Maniac. I am not saying don’t win with Lab Maniac, I am saying don’t only win with Lab Maniac and don’t always win with Lab Maniac. It will be just as boring for you as for everyone else.

Essence Flux — Cards that do this are desirable.

Ever After — Cards that do this are also desirable.

Falkenrath Gorger — Tribal is a good way to build thematically, and this is a good tribal card.

Fevered Visions — People are brewing with this in Modern, which I didn’t see coming. Brainstorm Brewery previewed this card, and I was afraid I would accordingly overvalue it because I was so happy to be able to preview another card. This is obviously nuts in Nekusar, the Mindrazer, but a lot of decks run Howling Mine effects, so why not punch players when they benefit? Punish opponents for doing something rather than prevent them from doing it. This card could end up in a lot of decks.

Flameblade Angel — This is slow, but it doles great punishment. 75% decks should run cards that punish opponents.

Forgotten Creation — This card is amazing. Fill up your ’yard, fill up your hand. A ton of decks will love this.

Fork in the Road — This might have applications outside of a The Gitrog Monster deck, but even if it doesn’t, The Gitrog Monster decks are going to be everywhere.

From Under the Floorboards — This is a great Zombie card and mana sink, and it gains some life to boot. What’s not to like?

Geistblast — I want to find a way for both halves of this card to feel equally worth it.

Goldnight Castigator — I think I would much rather Donate this to an opponent than attack that player with it. This is so fun to throw onto someone’s field with Bazaar Trader or Donate or Zedruu the Greathearted or Juxtapose that I can’t wait for this card to drop in price so I can start figuring out ways to make my opponents each have one of these.

Groundskeeper — This wasn’t reprinted in the same set as The Gitrog Monster accidentally. This is barely played in Commander now, though, so I guess what I’m saying is I want to build a The Gitrog Monster deck. But you knew that.

Hermit of the Natterknolls — If City of Solitude is good, this is better in a 75% context since we want to punish opponents for doing something rather than preventing it. I wish Wizards would print a card that said you draw two cards every time an opponent activated Sensei's Divining Top on your turn.

Hope Against Hope — I like this as a finisher in a token army deck. Many cards do this, but this also does this.

Malevolent Whispers — I like Threaten effects in red to help us scale by using opponents’ creatures instead of our own, thereby making sure we’re playing at their level. Madness could make this a good choice over one of the many other variants. I like that the power boost isn’t permanent as well, making this a good choice.

Nahiri, the Harbinger — I like this more than the other Planeswalkers because this does things Boros doesn’t necessarily do that well. Boros is regarded by many as the worst of the ten two-colored combinations, so any help Boros receives is good. I want to snag a Wurmcoil Engine with this after Rummaging a bunch of excess lands away, but killing opponents’ tapped creatures to make sure you win the race is cool, too. This is a good 75% inclusion, I feel, whereas the other Planeswalkers feel more optimized for Standard.

Odric, Lunarch Marshal — Concerted Effort is a cool card. Now it has feet.

Olivia, Mobilized for War — I would like to see this card, which is obviously optimized for one-on-one, made into a decent multiplayer Commander. I don’t know a ton about French, and I’m certainly not building a 75% French deck, but this seems good in that. Still, this is a solid madness enabler and could get there.

Open the Armory — This is an amazing card. I love toolbox tutors, and this is a great one.

Pious Evangel — I love this card a lot. It can’t go in as many decks as Soul Warden or Blood Artist, but it does double-duty, and I like both of those effects in 75% decks. I love this card to pieces, and I bet foils are dirt-cheap.

Root Out — I wish this were an instant or a straight cantrip, but this is a good enough card.

Seasons Past — This is a great way to cap off a great run through your deck with Birthing Pod. For the mana, you might just want Praetor's Counsel instead, but I think people will have fun with this.

Second Harvest — This (conceptually) says double on it, and that’s all I need to hear. This card does Commandery things, and I want it.

Silverfur Partisan — I didn’t mention most of the Werewolves I like because the deck is a little durdly right now without a dedicated commander. This, though, has potential in a ton of decks. I like the idea of suiting him up with a ton of Auras and Equipment and generating a ton of value. This is probably optimized for Standard, but it is good enough to remind me to look back at the Werewolves in the set if we see Ulrich in Eldritch Moon.

Skeleton Key — Skulk isn’t quite unblockable, but Edric, Spymaster of Trest decks and other decks might benefit from ways to make creatures sneaky, and generating a loot trigger to boot is sweet.

Tamiyo's Journal — This card is very fun. It reminds me of Ring of Three Wishes, and that’s a solid card in decks that don’t have good tutors. I think this is durdly enough that I can forgive its inclusion if used to tutor, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to make a bunch of Clue tokens from this.

The Gitrog Monster — This card warrants its own article.

Topplegeist — I’m positive you can find a way to use this to your advantage.

Vessel of Nascency — This is very cool. Helping to attain delirium is a bonus.

Warped Landscape — You might want to be able to produce colorless mana with your Terramorphic Expanse. This will be played way less, but it’s good to know it exists.

Wild-Field Scarecrow — I like the effect outside of Reaper King decks, but it’s obviously made to go in a Reaper King deck.

There are a lot of good cards in this set, and I skipped a lot of them because I don’t think they’re great choices in 75% Commander decks. Do you want to make the case for something I skipped? Use the comments section. This ended up being a very substantial piece, so I’ll spare you a decklist this week, but next week, we’ll be back to brewing and seeing if our brews can teach us anything about how to build a 75% deck in the future. Until next week!