Truth or ConsequencesTruth or Consequences | Art by Pierre Loyvet

Welcome to yet another edition of Fire and Ice! This is the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why that may be happening.

I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article! EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Last week, we let you pick which commanders we'd focus our analysis on this week. Receiving 40% of the vote, Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim was your top choice. Stella Lee, Wild CardStella Lee, Wild Card, nabbed our second spot with 32% of the vote, andAlaundo the SeerAlaundo the Seer came in third with 28% of the vote.

Make sure to vote on the poll at the end of this article to help us choose next week's focus! For now, though, let's get right into today's edition of Fire and Ice.

Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim

Hot and Cold Cards for Syr Konrad

Konrad is one of the scariest commanders to sit down with. He may cost , but he can kill a pod full of players in the blink of an eye if left alone.

This graveyard-centric deck is quite strong, and Syr Konrad finds himself as the #400 commander on EDHREC. His most popular cards include MindcrankMindcrank (in 66% of decks), Tortured ExistenceTortured Existence (57% of decks), and Morality ShiftMorality Shift (in 43% of decks).

What's Fiery for Syr Konrad Decks?

Syr Konrad is one of the more popular mono- commanders, partially because there's a few different ways to build him (combo, aristocrats, mill, etc.). So, he's got a lot of Fiery cards for us to go over. Let's group 'em up, and see what we can learn.

Sacrifice Outlets: Umbral Collar ZealotUmbral Collar Zealot and Village RitesVillage Rites have Fire Scores of 6.43 and 2.80, respectively. I'm a huge fan of the newly printed Umbral Collar Zealot, which has instantly become one of the best free sac outlets that Commander players have access to. I mean... this Human Cleric sacrifices creatures, artifacts, and lets us potentially fill up our yard even more? This is a mage's dream.

Village Rites isn't a crazy good card, but it's a staple of the aristocrats archetype. You can't really ask for a more efficient card in this slot, so its popularity is certainly warranted.

Payoffs: Pitiless PlundererPitiless Plunderer is hot, with a Fire Score of 2.00. Having been reprinted a few times recently, this powerful Pirate is back in the Commander mainstream. It's one of the best ways to make extra mana in mono- decks, and a great payoff for any aristocrats deck.

Songs of the DamnedSongs of the Damned is fiery too, with a Fire Score of 2.30. This spell is great in mill-focused versions of Syr Konrad, as it can make enough mana to cast a handful of spells easily. It was first printed in 1995, though, which has likely taken it off many Commander players' radars. This powerful ritual deserves more love!

Fodder: Next up are two disposable creatures and one creature token creator: Timeline CullerTimeline Culler (Fire Score of 4.37), BloodghastBloodghast (2.00), and Dread SummonsDread Summons (2.39).

Timeline Culler is a new creature, and a cool riff on the classic GravecrawlerGravecrawler. A hasty 2/2 that we can recast at basically any time for just one mana and two life? That's hard to beat, regardless of what format you're playing.

Bloodghast, on the other hand, is a time-tested classic. Its landfall ability is really the only line of text on this Vampire Spirit that matters in Commander, but its enough to make it a staple of aristocrats lists.

Finally, there's Dread SummonsDread Summons. This sorcery is fun in lower power Syr Konrad decks, but doesn't have a place as we move up Brackets. It's fun to cast this card in Bracket 1, 2, or 3 games, get a few triggers off of our commander, and make a few Zombie tokens. But, in higher Bracket games, players are running fewer creatures and it's less appealing to tap out for a single, ultimately not-super-impactful, sorcery.

Assorted Black Cards: Sign in BloodSign in Blood (Fire Score of 2.04), Archenemy's CharmArchenemy's Charm (4.96), and Buried AliveBuried Alive (2.64) are our final Fiery cards for Syr Konrad.

Sign in Blood is a classic piece of card advantage. In a monocolored deck like this, its casting cost isn't overly restrictive either. So for Konrad pilots looking for simple card draw to round out their 99, this is an easy include.

Archenemy's Charm has a high Fire Score, but I attribute much of that to recency bias. None of this Charm's three modes are particularly desirable, and its modality doesn't outweigh the fact that it's over-costed.

Finally, Buried Alive is a great include. It'll trigger our commander three times, and we can grab creatures like the aforementioned Timeline Culler for easy reanimation.

What's Icy for Syr Konrad Decks?

Unique Includes: PhyresisPhyresis, with an Ice Score of -4.09, is Konrad's coldest card. While it does cut the amount of damage that we need to deal to each of our opponents down by 30, it puts a huge target on his back. Though granting our commander infect is cool, keeping him on the battlefield is even cooler.

Next up are two cards that can combine with our commander to deal a ton of damage to our opponents in one fell swoop. Bone HarvestBone Harvest (Ice Score of -2.54) and Forever YoungForever Young (-3.19) both have, essentially, the same effect. They cause a ton of cards to leave our graveyard all at once and thus decimate our opponents' life totals. But before we fill up the yard, these cards are next to useless. That uselessness has likely led to their drop in popularity.

Aristocrats Cards: Next up is a collection of cards that fall squarely into an aristocrats strategy. Fell StingerFell Stinger has a neat death trigger and an Ice Score of -2.46, Demon's DiscipleDemon's Disciple is an edict effect on a creature with an Ice Score of -2.26, and OphiomancerOphiomancer provides a ton of sacrifice fodder with an Ice Score of -2.57.

These cards all seem well-suited for a mono- deck focused on death, so their exclusion speaks to a shift in deckbuilding mindset. It's possible that players are looking towards more mill-heavy strategies, and moving away from death trigger-centric wins.

Grim HaruspexGrim Haruspex, Midnight ReaperMidnight Reaper, and Pawn of UlamogPawn of Ulamog all fall into this category too, and have Ice Score of -3.63, -3.00, and -2.55, respectively.

Generic Black Cards: Our last three Icy cards are more generic, and aren't necessarily bound to any particular deckbuilding strategy. Castle LocthwainCastle Locthwain, with its Ice Score of -2.80, is a neat utility land. It'll almost always enter untapped, and can provide us with an extra card for the cost of , tapping it, and losing a few life.

But, that may be too much for Commander players. Other lands like War RoomWar Room can provide a similar effect at a lower life point cost, and we can afford to run a few colorless lands in this list.

Next up is Withering TormentWithering Torment, one of just a few ways that this color has to remove enchantments, with an Ice Score of -2.62. I like to include this removal spell in decks that don't have easy access to enchantment removal, but is admittedly a high price to pay.

Our last card is Bolas's CitadelBolas's Citadel, with an Ice Score of -2.47. While this Game Changer is a great card and mana-advantage engine, it doesn't directly advance our game plan. That makes it an easy cut for Konrad players looking to play at lower brackets.

What's in a Syr Konrad, the Grim Deck?

Here's a sample Syr Konrad list, with all of his Fiery cards and none of his Icy cards:

Stella Lee, Wild CardStella Lee, Wild Card

Hot and Cold Cards for Stella Lee

Stella Lee is one of the coolest precon commanders to be released in recent memory. She provides fantastic value as a spellslinger piece, and can combo off with tons of simple spells.

Her status as a preconstructed deck leader certainly played a role in her popularity, as she finds herself as the #83 commander on EDHREC. Her most popular cards include combo pieces like Twisted FealtyTwisted Fealty (in 63% of lists), cantrips like Serum VisionsSerum Visions (in 63% of lists), and synergy pieces like Storm-Kiln ArtistStorm-Kiln Artist (in 72% of lists).

What's Fiery for Stella Lee Decks?

First up is Magic DamperMagic Damper with a Fire Score of 5.89. Stella combos easily with spells like this, as they let her repeatedly reuse her ability to make infinite copies of the spell. This instant has the added benefit of protecting our commander and making her slightly larger on resolution, meaning we're left with an infinitely large, hexproof Stella Lee at the end of our combo.

If we've got a magecraft creature like Archmage EmeritusArchmage Emeritus on the board, we can even draw through our whole deck with this spell! It's an easy include in a deck that's hungry for this effect.

Dramatic ReversalDramatic Reversal (Fire Score of 2.14) has a similar effect, letting us untap our commander for infinite copies of this spell. But, this instant is also part of an infamous combo with Isochron ScepterIsochron Scepter. IsoRev, as it's sometimes called, isn't the most popular combo at higher levels of Commander gameplay, but it's still an interesting way to win the game.

Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach, with its Fire Score of 2.13, is up next. This enchantment lets us recast anything from our graveyard, enabling combos with Brain FreezeBrain Freeze and Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond. Many pilots play their Stella Lee decks in Bracket 4 and Bracket 5 pods, where this card is most at home. It's one of the best cards that Commander players have access to, so its popularity in this deck is no surprise.

Our next, and last, hot card for today is Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier with a Fire Score of 2.14. This is one of the most powerful creatures ever printed. In fact, when EDHREC author Cooper Gottfried interviewed Wizards of the Coast game designers, Gavin Verhey told him that "Vivi might be cracked." The mage is a perfect fit in this deck, which throws noncreature spells around constantly. I'm just shocked that this Wizard isn't even more popular with Stella Lee pilots.

What's Icy for Stella Lee Decks?

There's a lot more Icy cards to discuss, so I'll be placing them into groups for your sake as a reader - and mine as a writer.

Precon Spells: Stella did lead a precon that released last year, meaning that many of her cold cards are from people who bought the Quick Draw deck and subsequently upgraded it.

Among these cuts is Mizzix's MasteryMizzix's Mastery with an Ice Score of -2.01. This card is a fun casual win-con, but is at its best in a deck with a mill subtheme (Mental NoteMental Note and Thought ScourThought Scour would pair well with it).

Elemental EruptionElemental Eruption, sadly, isn't at its best in higher power games, and has an Ice Score of -2.02. This sorcery was created for this precon, but unfortunately missed the mark. It costs too much mana for us to reasonably raise the storm count before casting it, limiting its effectiveness.

Lock and LoadLock and Load (-2.58) was also created for the Quick Draw deck. It's certainly stronger than Elemental Eruption, but asks pilots to spend and wait a turn to maximize its effectiveness. That's often not worth it.

Our last two cold cards from this group are Rousing RefrainRousing Refrain (Ice Score of -2.18) and Finale of RevelationFinale of Revelation (-2.37). These cards just don't fit this sort of spellslinger deck well. They're better suited for a deck focused on casting a few large spells (as opposed to this deck, which is focused on casting many small spells).

These cards are far from bad, but they're not perfect fits either.

Token Creators: Third Path IconoclastThird Path Iconoclast (Ice Score of -2.01) and Young PyromancerYoung Pyromancer (-2.30) are both Icy for Stella Lee. These cards, despite being in the precon, have more of a role in this sort of deck. They'll let us gum up the battlefield with tokens, preventing our opponents from killing us in combat before we can combo off. But, as more pilots move towards higher bracket Stella Lee builds, these creatures are less necessary.

Lands: Reliquary TowerReliquary Tower has an Ice Score of -2.18, and I'm glad to see it. This land seems like a good fit for Stella Lee, but it's a trap! By the time we've comboed off and actually need an increased maximum hand size, we should be winning the game.

And, before we're in that position, we're hungry for colored pips. Reliquary Tower is heavily overplayed, and I'm happy to see Stella pilots wising up.

Utility Creatures: Our final cold cards of the day are Thunderclap DrakeThunderclap Drake and Crackling SpellslingerCrackling Spellslinger, with Ice Scores of -2.27 and -2.35, respectively. I actually disagree with pilots who've chosen to remove Thunderclap Drake from their 99s. This Drake is a cheap cost-reducer for the majority of cards in our list, it's an evasive attacker, and it even provides us with some cool utility after we cast Stella Lee.

Crackling Spellslinger, though, isn't that exciting. It's certainly an interesting design, but it has the same problem as Elemental EruptionElemental Eruption: It costs too much mana for us to substantially build up the storm count before we cast it.

What's in a Stella Lee, Wild Card Deck?

Here's a sample Stella Lee list with all of her hot cards included and all of her cold cards excluded:

Conclusion

That's all for this week! Here's your opportunity to pick which commanders you'll see in next week's article:

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