Edea, Possessed SorceressEdea, Possessed Sorceress | Illustrated by Lius Lasahido

Turns out the recent Final Fantasy set was paving the way for our ultimate reality: Universes Beyond has permeated every facet of Magic: The Gathering. Likewise, Wizards of the Coast's annual holiday boxes will extend the Final Fantasy celebration by introducing 24 mechanically unique cards available to purchase for your loved ones (or for yourself, the most-loved one). Just as in 2023 when WOTC themed its holiday release after Lord of the Rings, this includes a handful of new commanders well worth our time and attention.

Edea, Possessed SorceressEdea, Possessed Sorceress immediately stood out because it promises some amount of mercy in Grixis colors, though her kindness comes only after we demonstrate kindness to ourselves. This commander knows who signs her paychecks…

What Does Edea, Possessed Sorceress Do?

Edea allows us to profit off our opponents' creatures by whisking them away, but only temporarily. She's a 2/5 that comes down for five mana and includes a modest two-mana ward for some protection. At the beginning of combat on our turn, we gain control of a creature an opponent controls until end of turn, and that creature can attack in the interim. However, when that creature, or any creature we control but do not own, dies, it returns from the graveyard to its rightful owner, good as new, and we draw a card. Any torture that creature may have endured while on our home turf can be forgiven.

Many commanders employ these sorts of "threaten" effects, but none erase the death those creatures may have endured. Sauron, the Lidless EyeSauron, the Lidless Eye, The Beast, Deathless PrinceThe Beast, Deathless Prince, and Yasova DragonclawYasova Dragonclaw borrow creatures for the turn but offer no repercussions for killing the creature before it's returned. Marchesa, the Black RoseMarchesa, the Black Rose, Don Andres, the RenegadeDon Andres, the Renegade, Laughing Jasper FlintLaughing Jasper Flint, and Gonti, Canny AcquisitorGonti, Canny Acquisitor unlock our ability to permanently keep opponents' creatures for ourselves, whether it's through casting them directly or sending them to the graveyard under the right circumstances. Edea stands alone as a commander who encourages torture without incurring many feelbads from the other players.

Key Cards for Edea, Possessed Sorceress

I wanted this deck to operate like a rental car dealership with a generous insurance policy: we borrow from our opponents, enact brutality, and get away essentially scot-free. The key here is to squeeze the stolen creatures for all they're worth, ending only upon their timely demise.

For this, I've included a smörgåsbord of sacrifice outlets to cover all our bases:

• We start with old standbys that perform admirably in a pinch and offer free sacrifices: Viscera SeerViscera Seer, Carrion FeederCarrion Feeder, Goblin BombardmentGoblin Bombardment, High MarketHigh Market, and Warren SoultraderWarren Soultrader.
• Kazuul's FuryKazuul's Fury, Susur Secundi, Void AltarSusur Secundi, Void Altar, and Midgar, City of MakoMidgar, City of Mako are always on the hunt for sacrifice fodder and can tap for mana if we're so inclined.
• Broadside BombardiersBroadside Bombardiers, Disciple of BolasDisciple of Bolas, and Ruthless TechnomancerRuthless Technomancer want creatures with the sorts of inflated mana values and powers/toughnesses we will likely want to borrow.
• SkullclampSkullclamp, because Skullclamp.
• Accursed MarauderAccursed Marauder, VictimizeVictimize, and Helm of PossessionHelm of Possession are more than happy to accept our own sacrifices, but opponents' creatures go down smoother.
• Braids, Arisen NightmareBraids, Arisen Nightmare and Kethek, Crucible GoliathKethek, Crucible Goliath allow for one last sweet sac and tremendous card advantage before stolen creatures have to be returned.
• Saw in HalfSaw in Half fits right in with our borrowing strategy. We can make ourselves two copies of a nonlegendary creature or our own copy of a legendary one while triggering all of our upon-death effects. Worst case, we can copy something like Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat or Disciple of Bolas for even more value.

This deck also runs some non-outlet cards that reward us for saccing creatures so we can get even more benefit from our killer instincts:

• Grim HaruspexGrim Haruspex, Midnight ReaperMidnight Reaper, Morbid OpportunistMorbid Opportunist, and the new Agent VenomAgent Venom ensure our hand is rarely empty.
• Pawn of UlamogPawn of Ulamog and Pitiless PlundererPitiless Plunderer provide some much-needed ramp to cast the cards we draw or keep our commander on the field.
• Blood ArtistBlood Artist, Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat, Marionette ApprenticeMarionette Apprentice, Funeral RoomFuneral Room, Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim, and Bastion of RemembranceBastion of Remembrance overwhelm our opponents with pings. Some of these cards also pad our life total to cushion against any counterattacks.
• Sothera, the SupervoidSothera, the Supervoid performs an excellent Grave PactGrave Pact impression and allows us to take out a perma-loan on an opponent's most beloved departed creature.

Because our commander can steal creatures on their own, it didn't make sense to run too many other threaten effects lest we find ourselves in a situation without attractive targets. I only ran the best of the best, either because they provided card advantage or were attached to a creature:

• Kari Zev's ExpertiseKari Zev's Expertise runs at the going rate of three mana for this effect but refunds one or two mana's worth right away.
• Song-Mad TreacherySong-Mad Treachery is attached to a land, so the opportunity cost for its inclusion remains pretty low.
• It was tempting to run InsurrectionInsurrection, but I opted for Mass MutinyMass Mutiny instead because it's cheaper and, realistically, opponents will likely slow-roll their biggest threats when Edea is on the field.
• Mutinous MassacreMutinous Massacre is more situational than a board wipe or an Insurrection, but its flexibility is well worth testing. Regardless of the choice you make, the board still winds up entirely one-sided.
• The Beast, Deathless Prince, Hideous TaskmasterHideous Taskmaster, and Firbolg FlutistFirbolg Flutist, a pet card of mine, can massively shake up a board even when recurred from the graveyard. Don't worry about Hideous Taskmaster's "cast" clause; reanimating a 7/2 hasty trampling annihilator is plenty scary.

Though the gameplan for this deck is to only return borrowed creatures after death, I've included Jon Irenicus, Shattered OneJon Irenicus, Shattered One because he incentivizes keeping those creatures alive in case we want to avoid repeating a most-excellent ETB or keep a creature out of our hair. Jon Irenicus pumps our borrowed creatures and goads them before handing them back so they can become someone else's problem. I also added Shifting GriftShifting Grift, though I went back and forth on it because it's the sort of card that wants more tokens on the battlefield than this deck provides. Ultimately, the opportunity to trade one opponent's creature for another's, or trade an opponent's creature back to them for something even scarier, was too good to pass up.

A few other cards worth noting:

• Mirror RoomMirror Room allows us to copy something we've snatched, and Fractured Realm doubles both of Edea's triggers, among many, many others.
• At worst, Invert PolarityInvert Polarity is an overpriced CounterspellCounterspell; at best, you amass tremendous tempo advantage by stealing something directly from the stack.
• Chaos WarpChaos Warp and Guff Rewrites HistoryGuff Rewrites History represent solid removal on their own, but I specifically chose them because they might result in another creature entering the battlefield, ready to be stolen away.
• Not every deck wants Thieving AmalgamThieving Amalgam, but this one sure does. The card effortlessly floods the board and causes major life loss while we simply carry out our gameplan. The catch here is that when the manifested creature dies, if the card itself is any sort of permanent, it will return to the battlefield back under our opponent's control—even lands, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers. Tread carefully, though this affords an opportunity to play politics.
• Relic of SauronRelic of Sauron has little synergy with the rest of our deck but I've been waiting for an opportunity to run it, and this feels right.

How Does This Edea, Possessed Sorceress Commander Deck Win?

This midrange-y deck fights the war of attrition by squeezing opponents' creatures for everything they're worth, be it combat damage or leading themselves to the slaughter.

Our utility creatures can come down early as we ramp, setting us up for splashier plays later on and clogging up the board in the meantime. Now is the time to sail under the radar: once Edea comes down, we'll immediately become a target. Thankfully, ward 2 helps dissuade removal, and recursion from ReanimateReanimate, ExhumeExhume (to also bring back an opponent's creature to steal), VictimizeVictimize, Staff of Eden, Vault's KeyStaff of Eden, Vault's Key, and Awakening HallAwakening Hall can return Edea to the battlefield once commander tax runs too high. But it's worth slow-rolling Edea's resource accumulation until we've got something like Braids or Kethek on the field. Heck, we can let our opponents take revenge swings at us in the meantime.

This Edea deck wins by taking one or two splashy turns. Mutinous Massacre, Mass Mutiny, Awakening Hall, and Hideous Taskmaster escalate our board state after our ping effects have done their dirty work, pushing us well over the top. It also helps that we've been card-drawing like a maniac along the way.

Edea, Possessed Sorceress Commander Decklist