<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystic Remora|sld|406" href="#" target="_blank">Mystic Remora</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.kelogsloops.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kelogsloops</a></em></p>
<p>Blue is pretty much <em>the</em> cEDH color nowadays. From flash enablers and interaction, top-class card draw engines and compact combo pieces, throwing blue into a deck's color identity is a handy way to give a buff to just about every aspect of your strategy.</p>
<p>So, what's the best of the best? Let's dig in.</p>
<h2>#5 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa&#039;s Oracle"></div></div>
<p>Starting us off at number five on our list is a bit of a contentious pick. That's because - at face value - this card does nothing relevant in cEDH, outside of being a combo piece. Paying <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> for a 1/3 that gives you a slightly-worse version of "scry X, where X is your devotion to blue" isn't exactly game breaking.</p>
<p>However, if Thassa's Oracle's enters trigger resolves while you have an empty library (or a number of cards in it less than or equal to your devotion to blue), then the game is yours.</p>
<p>Emptying out a library is trivial in cEDH. Both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Consultation" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Consultation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Pact</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are instants that can do so for one or two mana, and that's just the cream of the crop.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Demonic Consultation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tainted Pact"></div></div>
<p>It's exactly this combo-ease that has made Thassa's Oracle ubiquitous in cEDH. Being a creature means its more difficult to counter (there are far more playable noncreature counterspells in cEDH), the mana cost is readily achievable in the early turns, and the bevy of complementary options extends across the color pie.</p>
<p>Simply put, Thassa's Oracle may not do much on its own, but it does so much with so many other cards that it has more than earned a mention.</p>
<h2>#4 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gifts Ungiven" href="#" target="_blank">Gifts Ungiven</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gifts Ungiven"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of assembling combos, our next pick is made possible due to its recent unbanning in Commander, and that is Gifts Ungiven.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, this instant allows you to pick up to four cards with different names from cards in your library, reveal them to target opponent, then have that player choose two. Those cards are put into your graveyard and the rest are put into your hand.</p>
<p>When it comes to assembling piles of cards, Gifts Ungiven is blue's best-in-class. At worst, it serves the role as a double-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Entomb" href="#" target="_blank">Entomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, providing plenty of fuel for cEDH's burgeoning field of graveyard-based strategies. Once you go up a notch and pick a third card, then Gifts Ungiven becomes a second copy of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intuition" href="#" target="_blank">Intuition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the previous best pile assembler that blue has access to.</p>
<p>At the four-card mark, Gifts Ungiven gets access to all the combos that Intuition could assemble (usually involving <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation" href="#" target="_blank">Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), a laundry list of more convoluted packages, and the option to add interaction on top of the rest.)</p>
<h2>#3 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Borne Upon a Wind" href="#" target="_blank">Borne Upon a Wind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Borne Upon a Wind"></div></div>
<p>So far, we've talked about the cards that go into combo piles, and the cards that find them. Next up, it's time to talk about how these wins get forced through.</p>
<p>Borne Upon a Wind is cEDH's premier flash enabler. An instant for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, this spell draws a card and gives all your spells flash for the rest of the turn. It may not be a terribly complicated or text-filled card, but it has come to define cEDH just about as much as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Competitive Commander is a game all about timing. If you attempt to win first, then your risk the combined forces of each of your opponents. Going second makes the odds more in your favor, but this requires you actually surviving the first win attempt.</p>
<p>With Borne Upon a Wind, survival becomes a whole lot easier, as a well-timed cast of this spell in response to an unanswered opposing win-attempt will put you atop the stack, winning the game before opposing threats ever have a chance to resolve.</p>
<p>On top of forcing windows, Borne Upon a Wind is also a bit of a combo piece, too, as resolving one in the end step post-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropotence" href="#" target="_blank">Necropotence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> activations will provide you access to all the power of an instant-speed, pre-discard hand.</p>
<p>It's one thing to have all the resources in the world, but it's another to have the opportunity to use them. Borne Upon a Wind is that opportunity.</p>
<h2>#2 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystic Remora" href="#" target="_blank">Mystic Remora</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mystic Remora"></div></div>
<p>Our penultimate pick is cEDH's second-best card draw engine, an enchantment from way back in <em>Ice Age</em> that costs just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>...well, on the first turn, that is.</p>
<p>Outside of its mana cost, Mystic Remora also has a cumulative upkeep cost for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. This means that, at the beginning of your upkeep, you'll put an age counter on Mystic Remora, then sacrifice it unless you pay its cumulative upkeep cost X times, where X is the number of age counters on it.</p>
<p>Once you've paid all of Mystic Remora's taxes and costs, what your left with is an enchantment that allows you to draw a card whenever an opponent casts a noncreature spell, unless that player pays <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-4" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>.</p>
<p>If Mystic Remora didn't have cumulative upkeep, then without a doubt it would be higher on our list (no surprise there), but - fortunately for all of cEDH - that cumulative upkeep is both small enough to keep the card playable while also being significant enough to keep it away from needing an emergency ban.</p>
<p>Noncreature spells make up the bulk of cEDH casts, so a one-mana engine that triggers off of each of them is invaluable.</p>
<h2>#1 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study|j22|114" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhystic Study|j22|114"></div></div>
<p>What else could it be but Rhystic Study? You know it, you hate it, it's the strongest card in cEDH, and it is very, very, <em>blue. </em></p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, this enchantment presents your opponents with one simple question: do you pay the <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> (when you cast a spell, that is)? If you don't, then the Rhystic Study player gets to draw a card.</p>
<p>It may not be as immediately cheap as Mystic Remora, but it also works when creatures get cast and it doesn't have cumulative upkeep - two incredibly real boons. Couple that with the fact that noncreature permanent interaction is highly limited in cEDH, and a resolved Rhystic Study will stick around as the game goes on, drawing a game-winning amount of cards in the process.</p>
<p>Mana is simply too tight in cEDH for players to pay Rhystic Study's tax (most of the time), effectively errata-ing Rhystic Study to "whenever an opponent casts a spell, draw a card."</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>There we go, the top five most powerful cards in blue - and five of the most powerful cards in cEDH, come to think of it. The best engines, an excellent combo-compiler, a potent combo piece, and the best flash enabler on the market, all wrapped up in a single color.</p>
<p>When you see blue out in the wild, odds are it will be these cards, so keep your interaction ready.</p>
<h3>Read More:</h3>
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The Top Five Blue Cards for cEDH

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Test of Endurance" href="#" target="_blank">Test of Endurance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/denmanrooke" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Denman Rooke</a></em></p>
<p>Competitive Commander tournaments can be daunting affairs, both for new players and battle-tested veterans. A single all-or-nothing match, triple the number of opponents, all intertwined with a wholly unique political element.</p>
<p>So, how can we make sure to bring our A-game, time after time? Here are five ways to get an edge, before the match begins.</p>
<h2>Track Your Games</h2>
<p>I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that, if you're playing in a cEDH tournament, you've probably had some experience with the format before. Kitchen table cEDH, game night at the local game store, anywhere and anyway doesn't matter, as long as everyone is playing with a competitive mindset and a high-powered list.</p>
<p>So, with that assumption out of the way, let's start with the most important thing you can do for tournament (and long-term) player improvement: track your games.</p>
<p>Keeping a sheet handy that lists your average win turn, standout cards from games (both best and worst performing), and most detrimental cards from opponents can provide crucial insights into how your deck plays.</p>
<p>cEDH is in a slower meta overall right now, but that doesn't mean that your deck necessarily reflects that. Maybe the newest set made it a turn faster, or it did nothing at all. That pet card you added a few months ago? Maybe you never end up casting it, despite loving it to bits.</p>
<p>Spreadsheets have a tendency of revealing hidden information in a brutalist fashion, exactly the kind which will benefit any players with tournament aspirations.</p>
<h2>Study the Tournament Structure</h2>
<p>Since cEDH tournaments aren't official <em>Wizards of the Coast</em>-sanctioned events (by-and-large), the individual structure of each event varies wildly. The average tournament structure usually centers around a series of timed, pre-cutoff best-of-one matches, with a number of rounds being determined by player count.</p>
<p>After these conclude, the players with the best records are invited for semifinals, which are untimed and single elimination. The top four pod is singularly structured: an untimed, single match.</p>
<p>Importantly, however, there is plenty of room for variability in this structure. For example, are draws worth any match points, or are they functionally identical to losing? What about the length of a game - eighty minutes, plus an untimed final turn? Or is the last turn timed, too?</p>
<p>These individual details can provide valuable insights into what kinds of decks - and what playstyles - will walk into the tournament with a hidden edge.</p>
<p>If draws are worthless and the final turn is timed, for instance, then turbo decks start off with a structural advantage. Slower decks might not have enough time to really get their positions cemented, providing faster pilots with every incentive to play full-throttle. In less time-crunched environments, such as those with untimed extra turns and/or rounds lasting longer than an hour, midrange decks are presented with ample flexibility to play slow and reactive.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Divine Intervention"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>If this resolves, do I get one point or none?</em></p>
<p>Fortunately, just about any-and-every well advertised cEDH tournament will post their structure well in advance. By reading up on this information, you'll not just be clued into something as simple as "How long will this take?" but the hidden edge of individual strategies, as well.</p>
<p>It's also worth noting one piece of general rules documentation that's becoming more and more universal across cEDH tournaments: the competitive rules addendum (linked <a href="https://topdeck.gg/mtr-ipg-addendum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>). Currently hosted by the tournament organizer TopDeck, this document has become uniquely popular with tournament organizers (regardless of whether or not TopDeck's software is being used to run the tournament). As such, reading up on it is well worth the time.</p>
<h2>Follow Meta Lists</h2>
<p>Unlike 1v1 competitive <em>Magic</em>, cEDH's multiplayer format significantly complicates the ability to predict how any one deck will interact against another.</p>
<p>As such, attempting to understand your deck's matchup against a another deck is a largely futile task. A game of cEDH is a complex phenomenon which is emergent from the interactions of each deck with each other deck at the table, rather than the sum of each individual 1v1 matchup.</p>
<p>So, how do we deal with this conundrum? Learn how opposing decks work from the pilot's perspective.</p>
<p>The simplest way to start learning what another deck seeks to do is simply to look at its decklist. For many of cEDH's top contenders, the strategy is pretty self evident.</p>
<p>Blue Farm plays the best cards in a midrange fashion, then assembles a compact A+B win-con when the time is right. RogSi rams mana and card advantage as quickly as possible, seeking to spike the game before other players can get a footing. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> runs just about every efficient piece of mana in the format, dumps it all into some spooky creatures, and finds a way to get infinite mana after commanding the board.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ad Nauseam"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seedborn Muse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rule of Law"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Seeing these cards can immediately flag how a deck works.</em></p>
<p>cEDH is absolutely a diverse format, but that diversity is topped off by a small cohort of dominating decks. By reading through the stock lists and primers for tournament-winning decks, a savvy player (yes, that's you!) can sit down across from three other opponents, make a rough guess of what everyone is trying to do, and chart a course from there.</p>
<p>Don't concern yourself with understanding how your deck plays against those of your three opponents - try and focus on how you play <em>alongside. </em></p>
<h2>Stock Up on Supplies</h2>
<p>Commander decks are <em>massive</em>. Couple that with a long day of shuffling, and the odds are decent that a sleeve will split - or, at the very least, get nicked in a way that'll make it stand out against the rest of your deck. Bringing extra sleeves may sound like a mundane step, but - in the worst case scenario - it can save you from a tournament disqualification.</p>
<p>I once had to resleeve my entire deck with a new box of freshly-purchased sleeves in the 20 minutes before the first round because I forgot to bring extras of the same color I was already playing with. Don't be me; bring backups.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stock Up"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>This one was obvious.</em></p>
<p>Similarly, cEDH is also a format that's overflowing with information to keep track of. Cards revealed off of tutors, hands revealed off of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gitaxian Probe" href="#" target="_blank">Gitaxian Probe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - the number of times an important bit of information gets revealed is just about as high as the number of game actions taken.</p>
<p>So, to take the most advantage of this, grab a pen and a notepad. Trying to retain a mental list of every card in every hidden zone is mentally taxing, to say the least, so cut yourself some slack and write down what matters. Losing the game to something that was revealed turns earlier but simply forgotten by the table doesn't just suck - it's preventable.</p>
<h2>Sleep and Eat Well</h2>
<p>Speaking of mentally taxing events, let's zoom out for a second and appreciate just how exhausting a day of cEDH can be. Even if you're staunchly opposed to the deal-making and info-sharing that is so common in multiplayer, the odds are pretty good that you'll be sucked into it somehow, even just as a hostage in the table's broader shenanigans.</p>
<p>Couple that with the regular mental toll of playing <em>Magic</em> for five or more hours, and it's easy to tire out.</p>
<p>Eating and sleeping well isn't just something that'll make you more comfortable or give you extra energy in the early rounds; rather, it's core to maintaining the ability to laser focus on the many details moving around the multiplayer environment. Writing down which cards were revealed is certainly helpful - otherwise I wouldn't recommend buying a notepad - but this skill is only as useful as your ability to first identify what cards are worth noting, as well as remembering to check your notes as the game goes on.</p>
<p>Similarly, going into a game well-rested and well-fed is conducive to reducing irritability, a crucial factor for cEDH's social element. Less sleep, more misplays, more frustration, more misplays, and the cycle continues.</p>
<p>Talking with the players in your pod is critical to proper threat assessment as the game goes on, and an irritable player is less likely to be welcomed into those conversations. So rest up, have a good breakfast, and play <em>Magic</em> comfortably - it'll earn you wins.</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>Like most competitive ventures, preparing for a cEDH tournament means covering all your bases - strategic information, backup supplies, and personal health. Once you've got that trifecta down (to the best of your abilities), you'll be ready to bring your best to any and every tournament that faces you.</p>
<p>Good luck in your games, and don't forget to enjoy the competition!</p>
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How To Prepare for a cEDH Tournament

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/jsraphael" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joshua Raphael</a></em></p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> certainly isn't a card name that rolls off the tongue, but you know what is a bit more pronounceable? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>That's right, <em>Edge of Eternities</em> has given us a mono-blue artifact-centric commander for cEDH that'll make pre-ban CounterTop Miracles players giddy with joy as they dig for their favorite namesake artifact game after game after game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand"></div></div>
<p>So, who is this Jellyfish, and what makes it worth considering for cEDH? Let's take a look!</p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Mm'menon is a 3/4 legendary Jellyfish Advisor creature with flying that grants all artifacts you control the ability "<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Add <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. Spend this mana only to cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand." Additionally, Mm'menon allows you to look at the top card of your library at any time, and you may cast artifact spells from the top of your library.</p>
<p>Zooming out, Mm'menon is a bit of a blend between <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Future Sight" href="#" target="_blank">Future Sight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, providing you with a conditional version of each of these two powerhouses' best effects. Urza's mana production is unmatched, but it isn't exactly an excellent source of card advantage - unless you already have infinite mana.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Future Sight is a perfectly powerful source of cast-from-library card advantage, but it doesn't provide you with any extra mana to get the ball rolling on casting your newly-accessible spells. Mm'menon, however, provides you with both - at the cost of doubling down on the artifact-theme.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza, Lord High Artificer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Future Sight"></div></div>
<p>Finally, it's worth noting that the mana production from Mm'menon isn't just limited to spells being cast from the top of your library. Should Mm'menon face some sort of removal spell (this is a very commander-centric deck), I readily anticipate that wise players will float mana from their artifacts in order to recast Mm'menon from the command zone during that same phase, should timing restrictions allow.</p>
<p>Similarly, while I don't advocate running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Echo of Eons" href="#" target="_blank">Echo of Eons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in Mm'menon, it is one of blue's more popular spells in cEDH with flashback, demonstrating another corner case where Mm'menon's mana production extends beyond the top deck artifacts you'll most assuradly be casting.</p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<h3>Baubles</h3>
<p>These low-to-no cost artifacts are the bread and butter of Mm'menon, comprising a nigh-insurmountable amount of mana advantage as they snowball into each other.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza&#039;s Bauble"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chromatic Sphere"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mishra&#039;s Bauble"></div></div>
<p>Remember, with Mm'menon in play, each of these artifacts can tap to either go mana positive or mana neutral the turn you cast them. This means that - as soon as the turn Mm'menon hits the field - it isn't wholly unsurprising to watch as an avalanche of artifacts get cast, one paying for the next, straight from the top of the library.</p>
<p>Outside of just being cheap, these baubles also represent card replacement thanks to their similar activated abilities. Whether it's sacrificing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chromatic Sphere" href="#" target="_blank">Chromatic Sphere</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to filter a <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> into <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza&#039;s Bauble" href="#" target="_blank">Urza&#039;s Bauble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to peak at a card from an opponent's hand, each of these cards can also clear a second card from the top of the deck thanks to their incidental card draw.</p>
<p>Mm'menon will always play a whole lot of artifacts, but that isn't the same thing as <em>only</em> playing artifacts, so any additional backup to clear lands or the like from the top of the deck is invaluable.</p>
<h3>Top-Deck Manipulation</h3>
<p>Speaking of messing with the top of your library, this next category of cards is the more expensive extension of the baubles mentioned above, but with that increased expense comes the benefit of repeatability.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scroll Rack"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grinding Station"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Codex Shredder"></div></div>
<p>Thanks to baubles, Mm'menon rounds out the deck's mana production and critical mass of low-cost artifacts. Top-deck manipulators, meanwhile, are the one-and-two cost artifacts which serve to maximize the likelihood that Mm'menon's Future Sight-esque effect will actually see a castable card.</p>
<p>Digging into some of these options more closely, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scroll Rack" href="#" target="_blank">Scroll Rack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides Mm'menon with the opportunity to take uncastable non-artifact spells from the top, put them into your hand, and put castable artifacts back on top - effectively drawing you as many cards as you have artifacts in your hand.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grinding Station" href="#" target="_blank">Grinding Station</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, meanwhile, forgoes the mana investment gating its activation in order to chew through the top of your library, rather than putting nonartifact cards into your hand. See an artifact on top? Cast it, trigger Grinding Station's untap, float mana from the artifact, then sacrifice it to Grinding Station to clear unusable cards from the top.</p>
<p>Last but not least, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Codex Shredder" href="#" target="_blank">Codex Shredder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the simple pinnacle of what these cards seek to do: mill (or otherwise clear) cards when you need to. At one mana, this artifact can pay for itself to cast a spell from the top of your library or tap to mill a card, giving you another shot at digging one card deeper either way.</p>
<h3>Flash Enablers</h3>
<p>Artifacts (as well as colorless spells overall) bring with them an extra few flash enablers worth considering, as these layer well with top-deck manipulation so as to provide maximum flexibility in moving cards between zones.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shimmer Myr"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter"></div></div>
<p>Starting off with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shimmer Myr" href="#" target="_blank">Shimmer Myr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this card brings with it the all-important artifact card type (as well as flash in and of itself), meaning that it can burst onto the scene at a moment's notice, either from your hand or from the top of your deck. Plus, being an artifact, it can tap for Mm'menon mana, repaying its cost in part.</p>
<p>Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter" href="#" target="_blank">Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also brings with it the artifact card type and the flash ability, as well as the broadening of Shimmer Myr's artifact-condition for flash so as to also apply to colorless spells even if they aren't artifacts (something that'll matter when we look at potential combos).</p>
<p>All in all, flash is a potent ability that most cEDH decks have <em>some</em> access to right now. What sets Mm'menon apart, however, is which enablers it uses: those that can be cast from the top of the library.</p>
<h2>How Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Win?</h2>
<p>As I not-so-subtly hinted at in the introduction, winning the game with Mm'menon, the Right Hand essentially comes down to one card: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. However, rather than just being an end-game the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, Sensei's Divining Top is also an incredibly powerful single-card engine in this deck without any other support (beyond the commander, that is). So, let's break it down.</p>
<h3>Sensei's Divining Top - the Card</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top"></div></div>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Sensei's Divining Top is an artifact with two abilities:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order</li>
<li><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Draw a card, then put Sensei's Divining Top on top of its owner's library.</li>
</ul>
<p>At first, Top looks like a relatively simple source of top-deck manipulation the likes of which low-color decks can especially appreciate in order to smooth out their draws. Given the repeat mana investment and the lack of actual card advantage, however, you wouldn't be mistaken in leaving the evaluation at that: decent, but not exactly striking.</p>
<p>With Mm'menon, however, all hell breaks loose, as this card fits just about every roll you could possibly ask for. Cheap enough to replace itself, thanks to Mm'menon's mana-granting ability? Check. Repeatable top-deck manipulation? Check. A way to clear non-artifact cards from the top of the library and put an artifact in its place? Also check!</p>
<p>In short, when Mm'menon isn't in play, Sensei's Divining Top is a totally reasonable card, meaning that it won't be a feel-bad to draw in the early turns before Mm'menon has been cast. In the mid-to-late game, however, this card is a brutal synergy piece that just short of plays itself.</p>
<h3>Sensei's Divining Top - the Combos</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Etherium Sculptor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glaring Fleshraker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aetherflux Reservoir"></div></div>
<p>Moving to the myriad secondary cards which form the basis of the combos by which Mm'menon wins, three different lines pop out readily. First off: cost reduction.</p>
<p>By reducing Sensei's Divining Top's mana cost to <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-0" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> thanks to any of the myriad artifact-reducers in this deck (such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Etherium Sculptor" href="#" target="_blank">Etherium Sculptor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), Mm'menon allows for the infinite-casting of Sensei's Divining Top from the top of your library, drawing your deck in the process. Simply tap Top to exchange it with the top card of your library, then recast Top with Mm'menon for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-0" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, and rinse and repeat.</p>
<p>This segues into either of the next two finishers, both of which deal lethal damage to your opponents: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glaring Fleshraker" href="#" target="_blank">Glaring Fleshraker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Glaring Fleshraker does two important things: first, whenever you cast a colorless spell (like Sensei's Divining Top), you'll create an Eldrazi Spawn token, which can be sacrificed for a colorless mana; secondly, Glaring Fleshraker will also deal one damage to each opponent, as it does this whenever another colorless creature enters under your control (such as the Eldrazi Spawn).</p>
<p>Paring this with Sensei's Diving Top, you don't even need a cost reducer, as the mana production from the Spawns perfectly keeps pace with the cost of Top.</p>
<p>As for Aetherflux Reservoir, this closer works neatly thanks to the fact that, in order to draw a bunch of cards with the Top and cost reducer combo, you'll need to cast a whole bunch of spells. That'll gain you plenty of life off of Reservoir's triggers, which you can then sink into blowing up your opponents.</p>
<h2><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> cEDH Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Squidward in Space (Mm&#039;menon cEDH)" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Aether Spellbomb
*1 Aetherflux Reservoir
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Candy Trail
*1 Chromatic Sphere
*1 Chromatic Star
*1 Chrome Mox
*1 Cloud Key
*1 Codex Shredder
*1 Conqueror&#039;s Flail
*1 Defense Grid
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Grim Monolith
*1 Grinding Station
*1 Helm of Awakening
*1 Jeweled Amulet
*1 Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Manifold Key
*1 Mishra&#039;s Bauble
*1 Moonsnare Prototype
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Mox Opal
*1 Pyxis of Pandemonium
*1 Repurposing Bay
*1 Sapphire Medallion
*1 Scroll Rack
*1 Semblance Anvil
*1 Sensei&#039;s Divining Top
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The One Ring
*1 Unwinding Clock
*1 Urza&#039;s Bauble
*1 Uthros Research Craft
*1 Voltaic Key
*1 Witching Well
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 An Offer You Can&#039;t Refuse
*1 Chain of Vapor
*1 Dramatic Reversal
*1 Fierce Guardianship
*1 Flusterstorm
*1 Force of Negation
*1 Force of Will
*1 Into the Flood Maw
*1 Mana Drain
*1 Mental Misstep
*1 Mindbreak Trap
*1 Pact of Negation
*1 Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
*1 Swan Song
*1 Whir of Invention
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Artificer&#039;s Assistant
*1 Displacer Kitten
*1 Etherium Sculptor
*1 Faerie Mastermind
*1 Foundry Inspector
*1 Glaring Fleshraker
*1 Hydroelectric Specimen // Hydroelectric Laboratory
*1 Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter
*1 Loyal Inventor
*1 Metalworker
*1 Phyrexian Metamorph
*1 Riddlesmith
*1 Shimmer Myr
*1 Spellskite
*1 The Reality Chip
*1 Trinket Mage
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Counterbalance
*1 Mystic Remora
*1 Rhystic Study
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Reshape
*1 Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn
*1 Timetwister
*1 Transmute Artifact
[/Sorceries]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Academy Ruins
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 City of Traitors
*1 Command Tower
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Flooded Strand
*1 Fomori Vault
*1 Gemstone Caverns
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*1 Island
*1 Minamo, School at Water&#039;s Edge
*1 Mishra&#039;s Workshop
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Otawara, Soaring City
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Prismatic Vista
*1 Saprazzan Skerry
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Seat of the Synod
*2 Snow-Covered Island
*1 Urza&#039;s Saga
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is easily one of the more interesting variations of the "big, blue, artifact" deck that has come out in recent memory. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is still certainly the long-running favorite of the category, but I honestly think that combination of mana and card advantage which Mm'menon offers is simply too high to pass up on.</p>
<p>Is it better than Urza? I'm not sure, but it just might be - and that's exactly why I'm excited to see it in the wild.</p>


Building Mm'menon, the Right Hand for cEDH

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe|P22|5" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://aurorefolny.com/">Aurore Folny</a></h6>
<p>In cEDH, mono-white is a color defined by support effects. Preventing your opponents from interacting and gaining gradual advantage: these are the strategies that carve out white's role in the format.</p>
<p>You won't find game-ending spells here; instead, you'll see the cards that help secure your window. So, what are white's five best cards? Let's take a look.</p>
<h2>#5 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grand Abolisher" href="#" target="_blank">Grand Abolisher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grand Abolisher"></div></div>
<p>Kicking things off is white's most effective defensive card, and that's Grand Abolisher. For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, this 2/2 Human Cleric brings with it an incredibly oppressive barrier to interaction:</p>
<p>"During your turn, your opponents can't cast spells or activate abilities of artifacts, creatures, or enchantments."</p>
<p>In a format defined by the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Borne Upon a Wind" href="#" target="_blank">Borne Upon a Wind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, where card advantage piles up whenever interaction hits the stack and when no one moment is truly safe, Grand Abolisher stands alone as the most forceful window-creator in cEDH. The only reason it sits so low on our list, however, is that casting cost.</p>
<p>Outside of low color decks - decks which, aside from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, are often among cEDH's worse - making two mana of a singular color is surprisingly difficult, especially when that mana isn't something you'd otherwise be stockpiling in order to cast a game ending spell.</p>
<p>Why put a plains into play when you could stockpile just about any other color of mana - colors with spells that easily win games?</p>
<p>Contemporary <em>Magic</em>'s answer to this has been <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voice of Victory" href="#" target="_blank">Voice of Victory</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: a Grand Abolisher look-a-like which forgoes the restriction on activated abilities in exchange for a much easier mana cost of just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> (among other small changes, like statline adjustments and Mobilize 2).</p>
<p>cEDH has certainly embraced this newer iteration, but usually as a second copy of Grand Abolisher, rather than a replacement.</p>
<h2>#4 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Smothering Tithe"></div></div>
<p>Next up on our list is an incredibly backbreaking engine, dwarfed only in mana-production capacity by green's very own <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and that card is Smothering Tithe.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Smothering Tithe answers just about all of your mana concerns for the rest of the game.</p>
<p>This enchantment has one potent triggered ability, which reads "Whenever an opponent draws a card, that player may pay <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. If the player doesn't, you create a Treasure token."</p>
<p>As was demonstrated by Grand Abolisher's taxing <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> mana cost, color fixing is a crucial consideration in cEDH's high-color piles, and Smothering Tithe's own minimally restrictive cost is one which has garnered plenty of support in the format.</p>
<p>There's nothing quite like suddenly having access to the critical third black mana necessary to cast a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropotence" href="#" target="_blank">Necropotence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, an a turn with Smothering Tithe will guarantee you get there.</p>
<h2>#3 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Silence" href="#" target="_blank">Silence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Silence"></div></div>
<p>Coming in at third place is a classic of white's interaction suite - Silence, the inspiration for Grand Abolisher (and another card later on this list).</p>
<p>For just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, this instant prevents your opponents from casting spells until end of turn. As simple as it is effective, Silence benefits from both its accessible mana cost as well as its instant-speed nature to serve as a maximally flexible piece of interaction.</p>
<p>Unlike Grand Abolisher - which is purely supportive of your own schemes - Silence can put a stop to your opponents' plans, whenever they should chose to strike. Did an opposing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Breach" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Breach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> hit the stack?</p>
<p>Follow it up with a Silence before it resolves, preventing the Breach player from following up and forcing them to watch as their Underworld Breach gets sacrificed at the end of their otherwise uneventful turn.</p>
<p>Trying to go for your own win but wary of interaction? Bate out the turn by starting things off with a main phase Silence.</p>
<h2>#2 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ranger-Captain of Eos" href="#" target="_blank">Ranger-Captain of Eos</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ranger-Captain of Eos"></div></div>
<p>Rounding out our interaction package is second place's Ranger-Captain of Eos, a surprisingly flexible tutor that also brings with it the interactive flexibility of Silence's instant-speed nature.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Ranger-Captain of Eos is a 3/3 Human Soldier which allows you to tutor for a creature with mana value one or less when it enters, then put that card into your hand.</p>
<p>Additionally, you can sacrifice Ranger-Captain of Eos in order to prevent your opponents from casting noncreature spells until end of turn.</p>
<p>Three mana, two of which being white, is definitely a lot to ask for in cEDH. However, between the tutor ability - one which can hit some of the format's strongest creatures, as we'll see in the moment - and the flexibility to effectively resolve a nearly-uncounterable Silence at a moment's notice, Ranger-Captain of Eos certainly puts all that mana to work.</p>
<h2>#1 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Esper Sentinel" href="#" target="_blank">Esper Sentinel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Esper Sentinel"></div></div>
<p>Alrighty folks, here we are, the strongest card in white. Drumroll, please, as we evaluate Ranger-Captain of Eos' very best friend, a white creature that costs just a single mana, Esper Sentinel.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Esper Sentinel is cEDH's most initially-unassuming card advantage engine...until you play against it a handful of times. A 1/1 Human Soldier artifact creature, Esper Sentinel's only text reads, "Whenever an opponent casts their first noncreature spell each turn, draw a card unless that player pays <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-x" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, where X is Esper Sentinel's power."</p>
<p>I can't remember the last time I saw an Esper Sentinel with a power greater than one, but as anyone who has ever played against Rhystic Study will tell you, a tax of just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> is often substantial enough for players to steamroll full-speed ahead, ignoring their dues and letting the Rhystic player (or, in this case, the Esper Sentinel player) draw a ridiculous amount of cards.</p>
<p>Valuable at just about every point in the game, difficult to counter thanks to being a creature, and readily affordable from turn one onwards, Esper Sentinel continues to be a dominating force across any deck that can run it.</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>White might not <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystic Remora" href="#" target="_blank">Mystic Remora</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but that doesn't mean it's without card draw, ramp, and interaction. In fact, many of the format's strongest decks rely on white to push them through the slog of the midgame and into a comfortable, protected, resource-fueled end state.</p>
<p>You might not die to a white spell the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ad Nauseam" href="#" target="_blank">Ad Nauseam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but the reason that Ad Nauseam resolved might very well be white.</p>


The Top Five White Cards for cEDH

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study|wot|71" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CFuzichoco%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fuzichoco</a> </em></p>
<p>Finals that last eleven hours; games that are decided by word of mouth - not cards in play; and format-warping staples with no chance of being banned. cEDH has it all. Why? Because cEDH is <em>not</em> a format, no matter how much we pretend it is.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhystic Study|j22|114"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>No sane multiplayer tournament-format would keep this card.</em></p>
<h2>Commander Is the Format</h2>
<p>Taking a step back, what defines a format? Is it the spirit of the players? How about the metagame - the pool of decks that players expect to see when they show up to play? These two things are often cited as the defining characteristics of cEDH: the competitive nature of games and the rich, standardized set of decks that routinely dominate tables.</p>
<p>The cold truth of the matter, however, is that neither of these qualities constitute a format. Rather, formats are defined entirely by the deckbuilding restrictions in place, from which all other qualities emerge.</p>
<p>Looking at cEDH this way, the truth of its existence is readily laid bare: cEDH isn't a format, but Commander certainly is.</p>
<p>Commander has rules for deck construction and a regulated banlist. Competitive Commander, meanwhile, doesn't have any strict augmentations to distinguish it from the rest of Commander. Certainly, some cards are powercrept out of the metagame and others take on new lives as auto-includes, but that doesn't mean there's actually any rules enforcing that difference.</p>
<p>Looking to the newly-developed bracket system for Commander, we can see that <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> has actually doubled down on this Commander-cEDH linkage in recent time; there is no difference to the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/game-changers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game Changer</a> inclusion number, nor any other distinguishing guidance, between Bracket 4 - colloquially called "High Power" - and Bracket 5, cEDH.</p>
<p>Speaking of brackets, Commander is certainly an odd format with divisions within it, make no mistake about that. However, a play-pattern division is fundamentally different from a format-cleaving structural division, the likes of which comprise the separation between formats such as Legacy and Modern.</p>
<p>Commander's bracket system is advisory, flexible, and designed to ease in communication across play environments all the while maintaining the overall spirit of Commander, that is, a multiplayer experience full of politicking and player self-expression.</p>
<h2>cEDH and Commander's Baggage</h2>
<p>So, now that we've established that cEDH and Commander are one and the same, what does that mean in terms of format execution? To start, let's go back to Commander's earliest days and trace the format through to the modern day.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nicol Bolas"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Putting the "Elder Dragon" in "Elder Dragon Highlander" since Day 1.</em></p>
<p>By and large, Commander has been a casual format since its very beginning. Initially dreamed up by a group of judges as a way to play <em>Magic</em> as a group in between competitive events, Commander was the format where garbage rares and fan-favorites could mix and mingle, with inordinately broken cards primarily being permitted thanks to the randomness inherent in a 100-card, singleton format.</p>
<p>The goal of Commander wasn't to win fast or decisively - it was to serve as a social exercise.</p>
<p>This mindset - prioritizing fun above competitive reasonableness - also serves as the guiding philosophy for the Commander banlist. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shahrazad" href="#" target="_blank">Shahrazad</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> isn't a powerful card, but it is miserable to play against. The Moxen, meanwhile, might not be miserable in and of themselves, but they would be so ubiquitous that they'd encroach upon the individuality that Commander seeks to spearhead.</p>
<p>One <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcane Signet" href="#" target="_blank">Arcane Signet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has already been decried as a design mistake by <em>Wizards</em>, so it's easy to see how some of the game's most devoted players would have felt similarly about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mox Pearl" href="#" target="_blank">Mox Pearl</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and the like all those years ago.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sol Ring"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>At least Sol Ring is accessible...right?</em></p>
<p>Looking at the contemporary banlist for Commander, we can see that this focus on fun continues to dominate. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grand Arbiter Augustin IV" href="#" target="_blank">Grand Arbiter Augustin IV</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, isn't a particularly powerful card; believe me, I spent years trying to make it work in cEDH. However, it is an <em>incredibly</em> unfun card.</p>
<p>Resolving good ol' GAAIV means that you get to play more <em>Magic</em> and your opponents get to play less. The result? It may not have been banned, but by putting GAAIV on the Game Changers list it has effectively been locked behind the gates of probable playability: not powerful enough for the upper brackets, and too miserable for the lower.</p>
<p>By prioritizing casual fun over competitive reasonableness, Commander enshrined in its construction a clear trade off, one which continues to plague competitive circles: in exchange for players having maximal freedom to play as they like, players are required to police themselves.</p>
<p>In the case of cEDH - the constituency of Commander which tosses self-regulation to the wind and hyper-fixates on emulating the competitive experience - this means that players are forced into the awkward situation of playing cards which undoubtedly increase their win-rate while simultaneously enshrining a miserable play experience.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nadu, Winged Wisdom"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Remember me?</em></p>
<p>In truly competitive formats - Standard, Modern, Legacy, etc. - <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> takes an active role in maintaining format health through the proactive banning of cards. Rarely, if ever, does such a thing happen in Commander; cards often have to be both oppressive and miserable in order for any sort of supervision to be effectuated.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, perfectly displays this issue. In casual Commander, this card is an uninspiring creature which occasionally serves as a Commander for go-wide multicolor strategies. The partner mechanic was certainly problematic, but there's nothing oppressive or miserable about this card which would cause <em>Wizards</em> to care about its role across the majority of Commander.</p>
<p>In cEDH, however, Tymna is everywhere. The card has served as one of the premier commanders since it was printed, cementing the role of Orzhov+ strategies as among cEDH's best. It's simply too easy, too ubiquitous, and too consuming.</p>
<p>A competitive banlist would have at least been skeptical of keeping Tymna around for as long as cEDH has, but Commander - at its very foundations - doesn't run a competitive banlist.</p>
<h2>Politics and Competition</h2>
<p>Moving away from the banlist, Commander also brought with it something no other format contains - politics. By structuring games as a everyone-vs-everyone else, rather than the two-vs-two structure of Two-Headed Giant, Commander further randomized the outcomes of its games by allowing for persuasion, coordination, lying, and punting.</p>
<p>Ask any cEDH veteran - there will be plenty of games you lose not because you couldn't win, but because the table couldn't sufficiently coordinate a response to some other threat.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Telepathy"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>I've lost count of the number of times showing my hand has actually won me a game.</em></p>
<p>This social experience is the hallmark of Commander - even more so than its deckbuilding restrictions - but it's also terribly difficult to regulate in any sort of constructive manner.</p>
<p>There's no rules against a salty player making a spite play, and the best a tournament organizer can do to try and reign in heated debate is throw a warning at a player should they become vulgar or abusive. Nowhere else in <em>Magic</em> is the outcome of a game so closely tied to sportsmanship. When not appreciated properly - be it through a Multiplayer Rules Addendum or proper tournament organizer supervision - this hallmark can quickly become a stain.</p>
<p>As cEDH tournaments become more and more popular, so too do the number of incidents of strained politicking. Players have gotten ejected from tournaments because their debate turns into bullying mid-match. Even worse, sometimes players <em>aren't</em> given punitive measures for such behavior, and buffaloing fellow players becomes a rewarded strategy.</p>
<p>Commander has always been known for its long games, but that legacy is no justification for matches lasting eleven hours because players can't stop arguing over how to take a game action.</p>
<h2>Wrapping Up and Moving Forward</h2>
<p>If cEDH players really want to play a healthy, invigorating, and safe tournament format, then we need to be honest with ourselves about how the structural linkage to the umbrella format of Commander is doing more harm than good. Alternatively, if players prefer the current anarchic structure of cEDH which Commander bestows upon it, then we need to recognize that not all of our tournament wishes can be fully realized.</p>
<p>I enjoy playing broken cards as much as the next person; the explosivity of a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in the same turn truly is unmatched. At the same time, however, you don't have to be a format expert to recognize that Rhystic Study is probably doing more harm than good.</p>
<p>Similarly, table talk is a wonderful part of Commander that I don't want to lose, but we absolutely need better regulations put into place about how players can interact with each other.</p>
<p>Commander is a wonderful format, and cEDH is full of enjoyable opportunities and exciting moments. There's a reason it's so many players' favorite way to play not just Commander, but <em>Magic</em> as a whole.</p>
<p>However, by cleaving cEDH from Commander, working towards more proactive banlist management, and instituting greater tournament regulation, then cEDH can truly flourish not just as a Commander-offshoot, but as its own fully-fledged format.</p>


Harvey McGuinness

Harvey McGuinness

The Top Five Blue Cards for cEDH

How To Prepare for a cEDH Tournament

Building Mm'menon, the Right Hand for cEDH

The Top Five White Cards for cEDH

cEDH Has a Fatal Flaw

Building Vivi Ornitier for cEDH