(Wort, the Raidmother | Art By: Dave Allsop)

There are many mechanics in Magic: The Gathering. Some are more common than others. Keywords like trample or haste are everyday amongst the card pool. Let's discuss the Top 5 mechanics that require more support in the Commander format. Will we see any of these make a return in upcoming sets? Maybe one might be a big player in Edge of Eternities later this year?

1. Conspire

First up on the list is a mechanic that, as of writing, only has two commanders that provide an avenue for a build around.

To me, the most considerable downside to the mechanic is that you need colored creatures to make the strategy work. That means colorless creatures are your worst enemy, and monocolored tokens can put you into awkward spots, not allowing you to copy certain spells. Both Wort and Rassilon take the conspire mechanic in different ways.

Wort rewards you for playing instants and sorceries, often wanting you to maximize Goblin tokens with cards like Krenko's CommandKrenko's Command and Dragon FodderDragon Fodder. Once you build up enough of a board using something like a Battle HymnBattle Hymn and then ending the game with Comet StormComet Storm effect.

Rassilon, however, does not care what cards you conspire as long as they are cast from exile. Having recently gotten demolished by a Rassilon deck built around conspiring cards, I can tell you firsthand that the foretell mechanic and cards such as Alrund's EpiphanyAlrund's Epiphany do some incredible work. I suggest that if given the chance, you play against Mike Carrozza and his version of this deck.

I would love to see more conspire cards in Commander in the future, perhaps with restrictions on specific card or creature types. At a minimum, I would love to see more cards with the Conspire mechanic, as there are only 13 cards in the game currently that feature it.

2. Cipher

Next up is a mechanic that not only has no commanders with the ability, but also has no cards that aren't sorceries. With only 15 total cards and all of them in Dimir, Cipher is the next mechanic on the list.

This one has always had a special place in my heart as the person who taught me how to play used to demolish me with a Nekusar, the MindrazerNekusar, the Mindrazer deck running Whispering MadnessWhispering Madness.

I have no problem if this mechanic was never outside of the color combination, but I think there should be more cards added to this minimal list.

It gives an angle to the color combination that it has only been dipping into over the years. While none of the cards with cipher have the best effect, a few of them are not embarrassing if found in a decklist.

Stolen IdentityStolen Identity works excellently as a repeatable clone, and Hidden StringsHidden Strings is a powerhouse in Pioneer (but this sadly has nothing to do with cipher).

I would love to see the cipher cards combined with the Rogue archetype. To me, it fits the flavor of the creatures, as well as their growing commitment to attacking and dealing damage.

Who wouldn't love to dive through some dungeons by making copies of Rilsa Rael, KingpinRilsa Rael, Kingpin or triggering card draw thanks to a Sygg, River CutthroatSygg, River Cutthroat and a Shadow SliceShadow Slice?

3. Emerge

Emerging its way onto the list is, well, emerge. Featured primarily on Eldrazi creatures and two cards from Universes Beyond products, emerge is a clean and straightforward mechanic.

Play a large creature for cheaper by sacrificing something smaller; then, since most of these are Eldrazi, they come along with a cast trigger. Most of these creatures have probably never been seen outside of a few.

CrabominationCrabomination gives what I think is the best example of a way that they could expand on this mechanic, giving creatures the ability to use emerge from noncreature permanents. You could have emerged from enchantment, or if they ever bring back Battles, something could emerge from those.

I could see Eldrazi creatures returning to the game with Edge of Eternities, and so maybe we will see the return of emerge.

4. Landwalk

This is the one that I expect most people to disagree with me on, bringing back landwalk. Yes, there are some "feel bad" factors for this, as it is not always great to be on the receiving end of not being able to block. The breakdown of the different rates at which a specific can be walked on is awkward to say the least.

• Islandwalk: 42
• Plainswalk: 5
• Swampwalk: 49
• Mountainwalk: 22
• Forestwalk: 44
• Legendary Landwalk: 2
• Nonbasic Landwalk: 2
• Snow Landwalk 2

The biggest problem I have with landwalk, and why I want to see it come back, is that most of these cards are extremely old. The newest card that I can find with a landwalk ability is The Flood of MarsThe Flood of Mars from the Doctor Who set.

I will concede that making stronger and more efficient cards with either swampwalk or forestwalk run into issues due to Urborg, Tomb of YawgmothUrborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, and Yavimaya, Cradle of GrowthYavimaya, Cradle of Growth.

We know that they won't be giving us lands to finish this cycle, but newer creatures with different landwalking abilities should end up in the game, in my opinion.

I'll even give the folks from WOTC a free idea if they want to read this, then go back in time to when they were working on Edge of Eternities, "spacewalk"!

5. Will of the council & Council's dilemma

Finally, a two-for-one special to end the list. Two mechanics that both originated from Conspiracy and Conspiracy: Take the Crown. Mechanics that, as of now, only have one commander for each variation on the voting mechanic.

There is also not a single red card across the 19 total cards between the two mechanics. The difference between the two mechanics is that, with Council's dilemma, you get both effects if they receive votes, and the Will of the council gives whichever effect gets the most votes.

Either way, there should be more voting in Commander. People have praised the goad mechanic as great, as it forces action and requires players to make decisions.

Outside of cards like ExpropriateExpropriate and Tivit, Seller of SecretsTivit, Seller of Secrets (if you're playing cEDH), the remaining cards are all well and good.

The easiest place to put these cards is in the precons, and whenever there is a set with four or five different decks, there should be space to include one card for each deck. Council's JudgmentCouncil's Judgment and Coercive PortalCoercive Portal have even seen competitive play, and everyone should try out Sail into the WestSail into the West in your Simic Commander decks.

Wrap Up

Those are my five (secretly six) mechanics that I think should receive more support in Commander. What mechanics would you like to see receive more support? When someone plays the card ExpropriateExpropriate, do you vote for Time or Money?

Lastly, do you think any of these mechanics will make an appearance in any of the remaining sets for 2025? Let me know the answers to this or your favorite card with cipher in the comments or on Bluesky. As always, I have been Nick, and I hope you liked the list.