CounterbalanceCounterbalance | John Zeleznik

Hello and welcome once again to Fire and Ice, the data-driven series where I go over some cards that are gaining and losing popularity in different Commander decks. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm excited to jump into today's article!

EDHREC has a ton of data. Using that data, we'll draw conclusions about how certain commanders' decks are changing over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and even give you some cool tech for your favorite commander's list. With all that said, let's get right into the action!

For information on how we calculate the Fire and Ice Scores used in this article, check out this writeup.

Xavier Sal, Infested CaptainXavier Sal, Infested Captain

Hot and cold cards for Xavier Sal, Infested Captain

Xavier Sal is a super interesting commander. He's half token-focused commander and half counter-focused commander.

If we tap him and remove a counter from a permanent we control, we can populate. And, if we tap him and sacrifice another creature, we can proliferate. This is a fun commander, because there isn't one super clear build path for it.

You could build a token deck that wins the game through +1/+1 counters on a wide board, you could build a +1/+1 counters deck focused on creating a few powerful tokens, and you could even meld the two into one list that gets the best of both worlds!

Xavier Sal's color identity gives deckbuilders access to some of EDH's best token and counter synergies.

Let's take a look at what's being put in the Infested Captain's lists. Vraska, Betrayal's StingVraska, Betrayal's Sting is one of the more popular Planeswalkers for these decks, finding itself in 35% of decks.

Flux ChannelerFlux Channeler is popular too, having a spot in 34% of decks. For lists that lean into Saga and Planeswalker subthemes, this creature packs a punch. And, last but certainly not least is Doubling SeasonDoubling Season, which is in 34% of Xavier Sal decks.

Both doubling effects are helpful in this deck, so it makes sense that this enchantment is one of Xavier's more popular cards!

What's Fiery for Xavier Sal, Infested Captain Decks?

There's 6 hot cards for Xavier Sal decks, three of which are from the recently released Final Fantasy! O'aka, Traveling MerchantO'aka, Traveling Merchant is up first with a high Fire Score of 5.94. This creature is cool, letting us basically draw an extra card every turn for just two mana. Plus, it's part of some cool infinite combos that can let us draw our whole deck!

Next up is Summon: FenrirSummon: Fenrir with a Fire Score of 3.95. Each of its three chapter abilities is useful, which I find somewhat common among Final Fantasy's Saga creatures. As a three color deck, mana fixing and ramp is very valuable.

Then, an extra +1/+1 counter on a creature works well with our commander's abilities. And, finally, because of the deck's +1/+1 counter theme we'll usually draw a card with its last chapter ability. And, as an added bonus, we can remove counters from this Saga with Xavier Sal's abilities to retrigger those chapters.

This is exactly the sort of synergistic card that I love including in my decks, so I'm super glad to see it get the attention it's due.

There's another Saga from Final Fantasy that's hot for Xavier Sal decks too: Summon: Primal OdinSummon: Primal Odin, with a Fire Score of 2.52. While this new card isn't a perfect fit in the deck like Summon: Fenrir is, it's got some super powerful abilities.

It's repeatable removal and can even be a constant source of game-ending pressure. The ability to have Sagas oscillate between a few abilities is really powerful, so it makes sense that two of Xavier's hottest pieces share that card type.

There's three more Fiery cards for Xavier Sal decks, and the hottest among them is Cackling CounterpartCackling Counterpart with a Fire Score of 2.66. This is one of the most efficient token creation spells in the game, and it's even reusable.

Because we can create copies of tokens easily with our commander, all we need is one token copy of an important creature to start building towards a win. Next up is Adrix and Nev, TwincastersAdrix and Nev, Twincasters with a Fire Score of 2.38.

While other token doublers like Parallel LivesParallel Lives are of course quite powerful, it's beneficial to have extra creatures on hand to sacrifice for Xavier Sal's proliferate ability.

I assume a lot of Xavier decks are running multiple doubling effects, but the fact that this one is a creature makes it a particularly appealing option.

Our last Fiery card for Xavier Sal is Awaken the Honored DeadAwaken the Honored Dead with a Fire Score of 2.22. Much like Summon: Primal Odin before it, this Saga's lack of synergistic abilities is made up for by having repeatable removal stapled onto it's first chapter ability.

This enchantment will likely see its Fire Score dip as recency bias wears off, but I view it as a fantastic include in most any Sultai deck.

What's Icy for Xavier Sal Decks?

Now that we've seen what's hot, let's see what's not. Our coldest card is Garruk, Primal HunterGarruk, Primal Hunter with an Ice Score of -2.33. While this Planeswalker is great, and one of my personal favorite iterations of Garruk, it's not a perfect fit for this deck.

A casting cost of is a lot to ask from a three-color mana base. And, none of the Primal Hunter's three loyalty abilities gel perfectly with our plan, despite being objectively strong abilities.

We've got yet another expensive 'Walker on our cold card list for today: Vraska, Relic SeekerVraska, Relic Seeker with an Ice Score of -2.13.

This version of everyone's favorite Gorgon is, like Garruk, a powerful card. But, for six mana most deckbuilders would rather resolve a more game-ending card like Vorinclex, Monstrous RaiderVorinclex, Monstrous Raider. There's nothing wrong with Vraska, per se, she's just been outclassed by other high cost threats.

Our last cold card is a classic in every -based EDH deck: CounterspellCounterspell, with an Ice Score of -2.25.

I'm guessing that many Xavier Sal pilots are choosing to replace spell-based interaction with the Sagas we examined earlier, which can serve as infinitely renewable removal.

Counterspell is still king for many casual blue decks, but it seems that this specific list has some better options available!

What's in a Xavier Sal Deck?

And, for those of you who are curious, here's a Xavier Sal list that includes all our Fiery cards and none of our Icy cards.

Henzie "Toolbox" TorreHenzie "Toolbox" Torre

Hot and cold cards for Henzie "Toolbox" Torre

Henzie has been a staple of Commander for a while now, and finds himself within the top 50 most popular commanders of all time on EDHREC. It's not hard to see why: he incentivizes pilots to play big creatures, discounts those big creatures (and gives them haste), and discourages opponents from removing your commander (lest they want you to get an even steeper discount down the line).

So, let's see what fits into a typical Henzie deck. First off is Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum, which finds itself in a full 82% of Henzie decks. The sad robot is a particularly good fit here. It gets discounted with our commander's blitz-granting ability, and even gets sacrificed on our end step to let us draw two cards.

I typically avoid including this Golem in my builds, due to how generic it is, but it works so perfectly with Henzie that it's hard to avoid.

Notably, Henzie also gives our big creatures haste. That makes Etali, Primal StormEtali, Primal Storm even stronger, which is why it's found itself in 71% of decks.

And, last but certainly not least, deckbuilders want to make use of their high mana value creatures before they're sacrificed to blitz' delayed triggered ability. So, Industrial AdvancementIndustrial Advancement's got a spot in 63% of decks as a neat trick for more creative pilots.

What's Fiery for Henzie Decks?

Our first hot card is Jecht, Reluctant GuardianJecht, Reluctant Guardian with a Fire Score of 6.85! This Final Fantasy card is a perfect fit in Henzie decks: it costs four mana so it can be blitzed onto the board, and it can cheat around blitz' sacrifice clause to become a super powerful enchantment creature. Jecht does some cool stuff, and was released pretty recently, so his high Fire Score checks out!

Our next hot card is Gaius van Baelsar, with a Fire Score of 4.98. This creature, much like Jecht, has some sweet synergy with our commander. He can be blitzed in with Henzie on the board, and provides a cool modal edict effect on ETB. It's hard to pass up the flexibility that Gaius van Baelsar offers, especially in such a creature-heavy strategy.

Next up is Roxanne, Starfall SavantRoxanne, Starfall Savant with a Fire Score of 3.13. This creature is likely being included for its titan-style attack trigger, which means she can provide 2 MeteoriteMeteorite tokens the turn she hits the board.

Assuming we're casting her with a discount from our commander, that's a pretty efficient rate!

We've also got Will of the AbzanWill of the Abzan, a card from Tarkir: Dragonstorm's Commander decks with a Fire Score of 2.79. This deck revolves around its commander, so it can be safely assumed that this sorcery will be an edict that takes a small chunk of our opponents' life totals and a reanimation spell (all for just )!

Our next card is Birthing RitualBirthing Ritual with a Fire Score of 2.61, and I'm surprised that this enchantment is only in 40% of eligible Henzie decks. This feels like a cheaper, better version of the aforementioned Industrial AdvancementIndustrial Advancement, so I'm glad to see more players turning to it!

Deadpool, Trading CardDeadpool, Trading Card has got a Fire Score of 2.44, and I'm personally quite surprised to see it on this list. While the card is cool, it was part of a pricey Secret Lair that I didn't expect many players to get their hands on.

The card is quite strong and newly released, so its low-ish Fire Score checks out despite the difficulty players may have in obtaining it.

Our last hot card is Overlord of the HauntwoodsOverlord of the Hauntwoods, with a Fire Score of 2.06. The overlord cycle from Duskmourn is full of awesome cards, and I feel that each of the three creatures should have a slot in this deck.

Getting both an enter and attack trigger off of these creatures can be backbreaking for opponents, so I'm not surprised that Henzie pilots are including this card in their lists.

What's Icy for Henzie Decks?

The coldest card for Henzie is Woodfall PrimusWoodfall Primus, with an Ice Score of -3.03. This eight-drop is awesome, especially in Aristocrats strategies that can recur it for maximum value.

But, the three pips in this creature's casting cost are likely causing players to look elsewhere.

Next up, we've got a pair of cheap enchantments: Garruk's UprisingGarruk's Uprising with an Ice Score of -2.08 and Evolutionary LeapEvolutionary Leap with an Ice Score of -2.57.

Let's talk about Garruk's Uprising first. While this card might provide some nice card advantage to pilots focused on cheating in big creatures, Henzie focuses on high mana value (not high power).

While the two often go hand-in-hand, Henzie players may want more synergistic card advantage engines. As for Evolutionary Leap, Henzie pilots may be looking for card advantage engines that don't require additional mana investment.

It seems that Birthing RitualBirthing Ritual, one of the Fiery cards from earlier, could be a 1-for-1 swap for Evolutionary Leap.

Let's talk about two removal spells next: Deathbringer RegentDeathbringer Regent (Ice Score of -2.15) and Chaos WarpChaos Warp (Ice Score of -2.14).

While Deathbringer Regent can bring massive upside as a board wipe stapled onto a creature, it can also be hard to utilize effectively. When you need a board wipe in Commander nowadays, you often really need a board wipe.

This Dragon is cool, and certainly works well with the deck's plan, but Henzie pilots may be looking for less conditional board wipes.

As always, I'm celebrating Chaos Warp's downfall. Especially in a deck with access to and , this spell is outclassed. Goodbye and good riddance!

We've also got Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach with an Ice Score of -2.56. I'm just as happy to see Kodama's Reach's decline, as I feel that it's too generic for most -based decks to run. Especially in Henzie, a creature like Primeval HeraldPrimeval Herald will perform infinitely better than this three-mana sorcery.

Our last cold card of the day is Greenwarden of MurasaGreenwarden of Murasa, who's got an Ice Score of -2.26. There's a lot of creatures that can regrow cards from the graveyard in this color identity, and I feel that this card is asking for too much mana investment for too little payoff. I'd likely look elsewhere to fill my recursion needs, if I were a Henzie pilot.

What's in a Henzie Deck?

Now, here's a Henzie list that includes all of our hot cards and excludes all of our cold cards!

Next Week's Stats

What commanders are getting the Fire and Ice treatment next week?