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Blame David Letterman? Nope. It had to be the music industry. There were Top 40 countdowns before the Late Night Show's Top 10 lists. Swedish rock's Europe brought us "The Final Countdown." I guess it could have been sports-related. In any case, we have become a culture obsessed and fascinated by ratings and rankings.
I find myself reading articles listing the most likely candidates for the Republican nomination. There are daily polls about the most popular movies, music, and web videos, and a running list of celebrities who are nearest to death. The lists are diverse. Some attempt education, while the majority are consumed like entertainment potato chips.
Magic players are no different. We snack on "best-of" lists and compile pick orders for drafts. While our community is in need of the deep evaluation and probing exploration of information, we are just as likely to find a few moments to weigh in on our opinions of the "best Blue card ever printed" or the "top mythic rare from the New Phyrexia expansion."
Rather than serve a three-course meal of Commander theory, this week we will dine on appetizers! Magic players are consummate list-makers. Like John Cusack and Jack Black in High Fidelity or Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman in Bucket List, we are going to set about the business of constructing some fun and educational Commander lists that will help shape our worldview, give us an understanding of the metagame, and maybe even guide us into the key cards that we should collect before we die.
Dining on Jalapeño Poppers and Bang-Bang Shrimp
After a couple of weeks' worth of dense content and theory, I decided to let the readership in on a little game that I like to play. My cardboard-flipping friends and I typically trade metaphorical punches by counting down our favorite Commander cards. We make lists by color, by card type, and just about any other categorical qualification or filter you can imagine. Over the course of this article, I will share some of my favorite cards for each color and then will dive into the some eccentric categories that might not get the Internet debate and coverage that they deserve. Feel free to play along in the comments section or join me after this article posts on Twitter (@MTG_Commander).
We will begin broadly and move to specifics. The countdown lists will rank cards in descending order of value, importance, and/or awesomeness. A ranking of 5 is the lowest on the list; a ranking of 1 is the highest rating. For example:
Top 5 Monocolored Decks for Competitive Commander
5. Red
4. White
3. Black
2. Green
1. Blue
If you attempt to build a monocolored deck, Red and White can be underwhelming. While they have a niche following, they need a great deal of support, or might be considered colors to "splash" alongside the top three contenders. While White hosts some of the best removal and plays a role in some of the sickest available strategies, it is almost always in need of a color crutch. Red cannot hold a flame to the other colors and could stand some serious Commander development.
Black houses tasty tutors, some spot removal, and graveyard shenanigans. If you want to build mono-Black, it can be tough to be ultra-competitive. The choices for Commanders are sparse. I recommend Geth, Lord of the Vault. You should also try to assemble Cabal Coffers and a certain Tomb of Yawgmoth. Cards like Urborg and Nirkana Revenant pair nicely to make Strata Scythe and Exsanguinate ridiculous threats.
Green was backbreaking when Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary marched through the early turns. While his banning dealt mono-Green decks a blow, new Commanders are rising to take his place. Azusa, Lost but Seeking seems to be the heir-apparent, and other choices like Omnath, Locus of Mana can represent a great threat. I expect folks who loved Rofellos to eventually find Azusa and restore the early Green beats to their rightful place.
Mono-Blue is king. For better or worse, there are about three ways to build competitive mono-Blue decks that are better than other color counterparts. I am a personal fan of Azami/Wizards/High Tide/Storm, but have seen gruesome work done with Vendilion Clique leading the charge or Erayo, Soratami Ascendant flipped early in a game. Whether you are trying out Arcum Dagsson and tricky artifacts or stealing everything you can get your Magical hands on with Memnarch, Blue is deep and powerful.
Top 5 Creatures for Each Color in Commander
White
5. Reveillark
3. Karmic Guide
White creatures offer a mix of old and new. Some of the recent mythic creatures like Iona and Baneslayer Angel have threatened to oust some of the older, stalwart dragons like Eternal Dragon and Yosei, the Morning Star. As equipment rolls out, the Stoneforge Mystic and Stonehewer Giant targets are making those creatures better considerations. The ability to fetch equipment is only bested by searching up powerful enchantments. Academy Rector has quickly become one of my favorites. There are so many impressive enchantments that she is a staple when you can fit her in a deck. Karmic Guide and Reveillark round out the list with the ability to recur the amazing creatures you tend to find populating your graveyard during a game of Commander.
Blue
5. Trinket Mage
While there are some great selections, these standouts make my Top 5 for utility and card advantage. Trinket Mage has access to high-value targets like Sol Ring, while Sower of Temptation can take opposing Commanders and is less likely to die to spot removal than in Standard or Extended. Keiga is a classic defensive threat, while Venser handles the dirty work of keeping annoying spells off the stack. Consecrated Sphinx generates an overwhelming advantage in multiplayer games. I tend to think this card should have been Legendary. If you have ever witnessed two of these cards hanging out in a multiplayer game, the game state quickly devolves. Pack a Reliquary Tower and enjoy your ninety-card hand.
Black
While notable runner-ups like Reiver Demon and Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed knock on the door of this list, I predict that they will be soon forgotten once players pass a few turns with Sheoldred in play. I hate to hype an unplayed card, but sometimes you can just tell. As for the battle-proven members of the list, Ink-Eyes is tricky, fun, and profitable. I love the interactions and problem-solving that you can do with a Puppeteer Clique, and we already covered some of the broken interactions with Nirkana. Braids is the only Black Commander to ever be banned. There is a reason. If you build a deck and play about her with tutor and recursion, she is an unlikely menace that will haunt your opponents.
Red
2. Anger
Red is my least favorite color. I don't care for the narrow Dragons and endless supply of Goblins, although I respect their place in the game. Each selection I made in Red was a sort of aficionado pick. Each card requires a certain taste for its flavor. The cards are not very good on their own, but are a sort of means to an end. They turn on some really cool Commander interactions. Squee is great with Survival of the Fittest; Taurean Mauler is one of the best tribal picks for Red. Kiki-Jiki is great with Pestermite and the Exarch, while still having great synergy with ETB creatures like Duplicant. Anger makes Haste, and Imperial Recruiter is a very expensive way to fly VIP personalities in for the weekend. I am sure players will opt for lists full of Hellkite Chargers and Angels of Fury, but I like the subtle Red creatures.
Green
3. Terastodon
2. Genesis
The deepest color is naturally stocked with all the goodies a creature-lover could want. I could have made this list forty creatures long and would have still missed some. I like the access to the graveyard recursion and the ability to destroy permanents. These cards do a supreme job. My list is devoid of some of the creatures that I play in nearly every Green deck. The unnamed masses of Green ramping creatures should not be ignored. Maybe someday I will write an article with a Top 5 for them alone.
Top 5 Non-Mono Creatures in Commander
1. Duplicant
If you can reasonably play a card from this list, it should make your deck. These cards are staples and do a tremendous amount of work. There is an argument that folks might make about hating the inclusion of Eldrazi and the Annihilator mechanic. The sword can cut both ways if you pack one of these guys. It can be the target of Bribery or some other mechanic, and then you'll likely be facing down the nightmare that you planned to unleash on the rest of your table. I still think he makes the list and can be a huge threat. Cards like Blightsteel Colossus and Ulamog will always be threatening and can be a liability. However, it's hard to think of times when you do not want to pack in the Knight, the Angel, and the two artifact men. They are solid gold (and silver).
Top 5 Commander Spells OF ALL TIME
3. Mana Drain
1. Time Stretch
Enter the controversy. There are so many cards in the card pool that making a Top 5 of All Time list is daunting, risky, and the most fun you can have debating cards with your friends. Demonic Tutor drew me into the format. By the time I got around to learning Magic and playing cards, all the tutors had come, dominated, retired, and were eventually banned or handicapped by increasing the converted mana cost. Then I played a couple of games of Commander. There were all of these awesome tutors and ways to make a hundred-card Highlander deck consistent. I was hooked. Demonic Tutor is my favorite and my first love.
Hallowed Burial is a controversial pick but represents what I believe to be the most effective board-wipe in Commander. It costs a tad more than Wrath of God or Damnation, but puts creatures on the bottom of the deck, deals with pesky Commanders, and never allows tokens to hit the graveyard. These are all serious benefits. Decree of Pain is my second favorite board-wipe, but is not as efficient as Hallowed Burial.
Mana Drain is another of those cards that saw its "glory days" before my time. When Mark Tedin drew that strange little parasitic brain, little did he know it would attach itself to one of the most iconic counterspells of all time. This card is rare, might become more affordable, and is definitely a card to chase for your pimped-out decks. In a format known for casting 10cc spells and dropping giant fatties, the mana-ramp after countering something significant can be almost as good as taking two turns.
Yawgmoth's Will is another bright star from the past. At a CMC of 3, we have access to Eternal Witness, Pernicious Deed, Rhystic Study, and any number of Commander staples. Here's an idea. Play them all and then play them again with Yawgmoth's Will. I always like to run-back a great time.
Boom. I said it. I think Time Stretch is the greatest card that you can cast in Commander. After being drawn to the format by Demonic Tutor and fancy Mana Drains, I found my love for casting very expensive, fantastic spells. That is one of the greatest appeals of the formats. 1-drop beaters are rarely worth mentioning. Tarmogoyf who? I care about 10-drops and amazing board states. In a world filled with Gods and Titans, the herculean granddaddy spells will rule them all! Spending 10 mana on a spell is nearly exclusive to Commander. These giant-casting-cost game-enders are ours. We own them. They define the format and represent one of the glorious things that is different about this style of play from Standard, Legacy, and Vintage. We cast bigger.
Foil Top 5
This is less of a list than a recommendation. Take some time on the forums and explore your favorite Top 5 lists. Do you agree with my picks or have entirely different selections? Maybe include some categories that I did not cover. Then take some time and consider picking up (when available) foil copies of each card in your Top 5. I started doing this a couple of years ago. Here are some results.
Two years ago, I tried to foil out the Top 5 creatures in each color. Karmic Guide cost me $30. Now she sells for $75 if you can find her. Foil Genesis was $3, and now is headed to $20. Duplicant and Solemn Simulacrum both topped $20 after being in $2-to-$5 binders. My judge foil Demonic Tutor ran me about $35, and my Yawgmoth's Will fetched $19. A foil Time Stretch, Bribery, and Eternal Witness could be found cheap, but each of these cards is becoming scarcer. The prices are increasing with the popularity of the format. Take some advice. If you like foils, identify your favorite cards and pick them up earlier rather than later. Thanks for reading. I look forward to reading your lists in the comments and on Twitter.
