Welcome back to Fire and Ice, a data-driven series where I'll 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!

Of course, EDHREC has a ton of data. Using that data, we'll draw some conclusions about how certain commanders' decks are changing over time, give some insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and maybe 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.

Kwain, Itinerant MeddlerKwain, Itinerant Meddler

Hot and Cold cards for Kwain, Itinerant Meddler

Released in 2020's Commander Legends, Kwain, Itinerant MeddlerKwain, Itinerant Meddler is the hare to Archelos, Lagoon MysticArchelos, Lagoon Mystic's tortoise.

Kwain accelerates the game through card draw, providing each player at the table with more resources that they can use to advance their board state.

Coming down on turn two, this Rabbit Wizard will usually provide a steady stream of table-wide advantage for a full EDH game.

Looking a little more closely at decks built around the Rabbit, we see extra card advantage, ways to leverage our opponents' extra card draw, and even some alternative win conditions.

Howling MineHowling Mine is in 66% of Kwain decks, The Council of FourThe Council of Four is in 53% of decks, and TriskaidekaphileTriskaidekaphile is in 55% of decks.

Now that we know what this commander's plan is, let's take a look at some of its hottest and coldest cards!

What's Fiery for Kwain Decks?

The hottest card for Kwain right now is Tataru TaruTataru Taru, a rare from Final Fantasy that slots perfectly into this deck and has a Fire Score of 4.88. It provides extra card advantage to spread around the table, and even provides a payoff for our generosity.

Plus, this Dwarf Advisor costs just , meaning it can easily come down early in the game to provide a nice stream of Treasure tokens.

Next up is The Second DoctorThe Second Doctor, with a Fire Score of 2.56. This Doctor Who card seems to have finally caught on with Kwain players, a full two years after its initial printing.

The protection this Time Lord Doctor can provide from opponents' scary attacking creatures is useful, but giving our opponents the choice between card advantage and attacking is not the most powerful ability.

It's often better to make a choice for your opponents, rather than allowing them to make that choice themselves. While The Doctor's popularity is growing, I'm not sure that it's as strong as it appears on its face.

Wedding RingWedding Ring is hot too, with a Fire Score of 2.33. With all the card draw this deck enables for every player at the table, this artifact can really shine.

It even capitalizes on the extra life gain that's stapled to Kwain's card draw ability, making it doubly effective.

There's two more hot cards for the deck, and both of them provide us with no maximum hand size. Wizard ClassWizard Class has a Fire Score of 2.34 and Reliquary TowerReliquary Tower has a Fire Score of 2.09.

These cards are both solid includes for the deck, and Wizard Class can even act as a win condition once enough mana's been invested into it.

What's Icy for Kwain Decks?

There's nine cold cards for Kwain, so I'll be talking about them in groups of three. Our first group is Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle with an Ice Score of -3.14, Smothering TitheSmothering Tithe with an Ice Score of -2.48, and Rhystic StudyRhystic Study with an Ice Score of -2.46.

The fact that all three of these high-powered staples are being taken out of decks led by Kwain tells me that that pilots may be looking for more laid back, lower bracket gameplay.

Our next group of three is WindfallWindfall with an Ice Score of -2.64, Words of WisdomWords of Wisdom also with an Ice Score of -2.64, and Tempt with BunniesTempt with Bunnies with an Ice Score of -2.37.

Each of these cards provides a one-time burst of draw for each player at the table, which can be strong in the right circumstances.

But, given the high number of card draw payoffs being added to decks, it's possible that single-use card draw is being removed to make room for some of the Fiery cards we discussed earlier.

Our last group is Ghirapur OrreryGhirapur Orrery with an Ice Score of -2.53, Supreme VerdictSupreme Verdict with an Ice Score of -2.38, and Heliod, the Radiant DawnHeliod, the Radiant Dawn with an Ice Score of -2.07. These cards don't have the same unifying narrative that our other two groups have, but there's some individually compelling stories. Ghirapur Orrery may be too much advantage for our opponents: letting them draw cards and play extra lands can allow them to outpace us too easily.

Additionally, Supreme Verdict only hits creatures while modern wipes like FarewellFarewell can hit all nonland permanents.

And, lastly, the new Heliod is a fantastic card. But, the mana investment it asks of players can feel like too much to ask for its eventual flip-side payoff.

What's in a Kwain Deck?

Let's see what a Kwain list, with all Fiery cards included and all Icy card excluded, might look like.

Helga, Skittish SeerHelga, Skittish Seer

Hot and Cold cards for Helga, Skittish Seer

Helga, Skittish SeerHelga, Skittish Seer is a super strong mana dork and card advantage engine. As if that weren't enough, she provides life gain and +1/+1 counters to herself too.

This Frog Druid is emblematic of what decks want to do: she gains life, draws cards, and casts progressively larger creatures as the game goes on.

Helga's most popular cards line up well with the deck's plan of casting big creatures as frequently as possible. Kiora, Behemoth BeckonerKiora, Behemoth Beckoner is in 50% of decks, Garruk's UprisingGarruk's Uprising is in 53% of decks, and Chulane, Teller of TalesChulane, Teller of Tales is in 57% of decks.

We've got a good grasp on what Helga pilots want to do in game. So, let's see what those pilots are adding to and removing from their decklists!

What's Fiery for Helga Decks?

Again, there's a ton of hot cards for Helga, so we'll be grouping them as logically as possible. First up, cards that untap our commander are gaining popularity fast. Magic DamperMagic Damper (Fire Score of 6.10) can protect Helga, untap her, and make her temporarily larger.

It does a little bit of everything that the deck wants. Chakram RetrieverChakram Retriever (Fire Score of 3.36) is a great fit too. It can untap our commander whenever we cast a spell, and its mana cost of can trigger our commander's first ability easily.

Lastly, classic combo piece Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm (Fire Score of 2.72) is here. This card lets Helga pilots go crazy, chaining creature spells together to their hearts' content.

Next up is a group of three creatures that have interaction tacked on as ETB abilities. Venser, Shaper SavantVenser, Shaper Savant's got a Fire Score of 2.14, all because he's an UnsubstantiateUnsubstantiate on a body.

Same goes for Transcendent DragonTranscendent Dragon with a Fire Score of 2.17, as its a beefed-up copy of DesertionDesertion. Lastly, Mystic SnakeMystic Snake's Fire Score of 3.00 can be explained the same way!

A trio of mana dorks is also hot for Helga. There's lots of untapping synergies included in a typical decklist built around this commander, so including extra mana dorks in its ramp package makes a lot of sense. Yuna, Grand SummonerYuna, Grand Summoner has a Fire Score of 4.47, and she's so much more than just a mana dork.

She provides +1/+1 counters to our creatures, and even makes those counters useful again when our creatures die. Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise and Avacyn's PilgrimAvacyn's Pilgrim aren't quite as useful, but they've still got Fire Scores of 2.22 and 3.01 respectively.

We've got two more groups of Fiery cards to go over. First up is Naga FleshcrafterNaga Fleshcrafter, Spark DoubleSpark Double, and The Earth CrystalThe Earth Crystal. All of these recently released cards play very nicely with the deck's +1/+1 counter synergies, so their Fire Scores of 2.17, 2.43, and 5.02 line up with my expectations well. The Earth Crystal is a particularly strong include, and its higher Fire Score is well deserved here.

Our final hot cards for Helga are Absolute VirtueAbsolute Virtue and Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse. Absolute Virtue is a really nice curve-topper that can be cast pretty easily in a big-mana deck. Plus, its release in Final Fantasy means that more players are flocking to it.

It's got a Fire Score of 2.97, but I expect that number to drop in the near future as other sets take away some of the 8-drop's luster. Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse, on the other hand, can be cast on turn four if we cast Helga on curve then hit our fourth land drop.

That's a really strong way to start a commander game, and the card's reprinting in Tarkir: Dragonstorm's Commander decks may have brought it to more Helga players' attention. It's got a Fire Score of 2.29.

What's Icy for Helga Decks?

A lot of 3-mana ramp cards are being removed from these decks too, likely because they occupy the same slot in the mana curve. CultivateCultivate has an Ice Score of -2.75, Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach has an Ice Score of -2.72, and Kami of Whispered HopesKami of Whispered Hopes has an Ice Score of -3.09.

I'm most shocked by Kami of Whispered Hopes' downturn, because it's such a fantastic card. It synergizes well with the deck's +1/+1 counters subtheme, so I wouldn't have expected it to have the highest Ice Score out of all Helga's cards.

Speaking of, it seems that the +1/+1 counters theme is slowly dying out. Our next three cold cards, Brokers AscendancyBrokers Ascendancy, Innkeeper's TalentInnkeeper's Talent, and Zimone, Paradox SculptorZimone, Paradox Sculptor all fall under the Bant counters umbrella. Brokers Ascendancy, with an Ice Score of -2.29, has two main problems.

It's a restrictively-costed three drop, meaning it occupies the same slot in the curve as Helga. And, it hands out counters at a slow rate. Both of those facts seem to have resonated with deckbuilders. Innkeeper's Talent, with its Ice Score of -2.24, is a puzzling one for me.

The Talent can come down ahead of our commander, protect our best permanents, and even do a good impression of Doubling SeasonDoubling Season if we invest enough mana into it. I wouldn't remove this enchantment from a Helga deck, but there's a ton of deckbuilders out there that disagree with me!

Then there's Zimone, Paradox Sculptor with an Ice Score of -2.14. Much like Broker's Ascendancy, I think it's just too slow. I'd rather be casting a big, impactful creature with my four mana instead of spending it on more +1/+1 counters for my commander.

Some high mana cost curve toppers are Icy too. Vaultborn TyrantVaultborn Tyrant, an awesome mythic from The Big Score, has an Ice Score of -2.11. While the Dinosaur is super powerful, Helga decks seem to be more focused on high mana cost rather than high power.

Sometimes those two numbers can line up, but deckbuilders seem to be leaning more into their commander's inherent strengths instead.

This is also likely why Goreclaw, Terror of Qal SismaGoreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma has an Ice Score of -2.36: deckbuilders don't want to be stuck with high-power payoffs without any high-power creatures to trigger them. Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren is cold too, with an Ice Score of -2.06.

This card is also very strong, but its mana cost of may be scaring Helga pilots away from it. And, although its still one of the most popular cards in these decks, Hydroid KrasisHydroid Krasis has an Ice Score of -2.35.

This card is fantastic, and would once again keep it in my Helga list if I had one. But, it seems that contemporary deckbuilders want to switch out this six year old creature for some new hotness.

What's in a Helga Deck?

Now, let's take a peek at a Helga list constructed with all of her hot cards and none of her cold cards.

Until Next Time!

That's all for this week, folks. But, before you go, we'd like your help choosing a commander to review next week! Please take a moment and respond to the poll below to help us out.