<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archaeomancer&#039;s Map" href="#" target="_blank">Archaeomancer&#039;s Map</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.ovidiocartagena.com/">Ovidio Cartagena</a>)</h6>
<h1>Taking Command</h1>
<p>In <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/rise-to-the-challenge-the-best-sets-for-commander/">my last post</a>, I looked at the specific expansions which have contributed the most to the Commander format, in terms of the popularity of cards they introduced. <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/rise-to-the-challenge-the-best-sets-for-commander/#:~:text=focused%20Masters%20sets.-,Color%20Balance,-It%20has%20long">I also found</a>, preliminarily, that recently-printed cards in white are being added to EDHREC-tracked decks at a higher rate than white cards have been added historically.</p>
<p>Mark Rosewater has noted, "<a href="https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/678441421658898432/in-the-last-years-weve-seen-green-get-card#notes">White has had more gains in the color pie than green in the last year</a>," and I believe one of the things to which he is referring is the expansion of white's pool of ramp and card draw, the two primary functions most commonly cited as holding white back from being able to hold its own against other colors in EDH.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archaeomancer&#039;s Map"></div></div>
<p>For card draw, I'm using a fairly broad definition that encapsulates functions and mechanics like pure card draw, <a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Cantrip#:~:text=A%20cantrip%20is%20a%20slang,be%20found%20in%20all%20colors.">cantrips</a>, <a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Reanimation">reanimation</a>, regrowth effects, <a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Looting#:~:text=Looting%20is%20a%20R%26D%20slang,equal%20to%20what%20they%20drew.">looting, and rummaging</a>. Basically, a variety of "positive" card advantage functions. You could certainly quibble with some of my choices; if you have a different idea for how to do it, <a href="https://twitter.com/MtG_DS">tell me</a>!</p>
<p>For <a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Ramp">ramp</a>, I'm primarily looking at cards that put you "ahead on mana" relative to what you would be able to spend had you just played one land per turn. I'll also include cards that <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=function%3Atutor-land+ci%3Dw+ci%3D1+o%3A%22put+it+into+your+hand%22+-o%3A%22battlefield+tapped%22&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=released">tutor lands to your hand</a>. They're not ramp, strictly speaking, but they do help ensure you hit your lands drops, and they constitute a specific form of card draw. Plus, such cards seem to be part of <em>WotC</em>'s plan to help white.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Creating Supply to Meet the Demand</h2>
<p>How is <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> responding to players' demands for better ramp and draw in white? Let's count. First, note that I am again focusing only on mono-colored cards -- a <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=function%3Aramp+ci%3Dwg&amp;order=edhrec&amp;as=grid&amp;unique=cards">green/white ramp card</a> is just taking advantage of green's strength. These cards aren't improving ramp in white 👇.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirari&#039;s Wake"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Avacyn&#039;s Pilgrim"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faeburrow Elder"></div></div>
<p>For each set of cards making their debut, we can just count the number of cards that serve a ramp and/or card draw function, then divide by the total number of new cards. When you do this, and plot the smoothed trend of the proportion over time, it looks like this:</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Smoothed-proportion-of-cards-with-ramp-or-draw-functions-by-release-date-and-color-3.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81812" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Smoothed-proportion-of-cards-with-ramp-or-draw-functions-by-release-date-and-color-3.png" alt="" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Smoothed-proportion-of-cards-with-ramp-or-draw-functions-by-release-date-and-color-3.png 1200w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Smoothed-proportion-of-cards-with-ramp-or-draw-functions-by-release-date-and-color-3-300x169.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Smoothed-proportion-of-cards-with-ramp-or-draw-functions-by-release-date-and-color-3-1024x576.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Smoothed-proportion-of-cards-with-ramp-or-draw-functions-by-release-date-and-color-3-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></a></p>
<p>Blue has historically lead the way with card draw, an essential part of its strengths as a color, but all five colors have seen an influx of draw spells in recent years, with white joining the party latest but with the steepest slope. In ramp, a somewhat more niche function, green dominates and has only increased its lead in recent years, but here also white is experiencing a sharp uptick.</p>
<p>We can also think of the question this way: "How recently has this function, in this color, become a priority for <em>WotC</em>?" One way to answer that question is to look at the median debut date of cards printed by color/function:</p>
<table class="table table-striped table-hover table-condensed" style="width: auto !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;">color</th>
<th style="text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;">category</th>
<th style="text-align: right; background-color: #ffffff;">count</th>
<th style="text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;">median date</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #c02b28 !important;">R</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">draw</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">71</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2018-10-05</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #345058 !important;">B</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">draw</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">154</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2017-03-10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #e2d9bb !important;">W</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">draw</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">66</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2017-01-20</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #a6bcac !important;">G</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">draw</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">133</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2015-07-17</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #0897d1 !important;">U</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">draw</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">310</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2015-05-22</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #e2d9bb !important;">W</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">ramp</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">25</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2012-05-04</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #e2d9bb !important;">W</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">other</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">3315</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2010-10-01</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #c02b28 !important;">R</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">ramp</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">67</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2010-10-01</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #345058 !important;">B</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">other</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">3218</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2010-07-16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #c02b28 !important;">R</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">other</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">3243</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2010-07-16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #a6bcac !important;">G</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">other</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">2863</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2010-07-16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #0897d1 !important;">U</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">other</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">3007</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2010-04-23</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #a6bcac !important;">G</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">ramp</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">319</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2010-04-23</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000 !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #0897d1 !important;">U</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">ramp</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">41</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2007-10-12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff !important; border-radius: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-left: 4px; background-color: #345058 !important;">B</span></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">ramp</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">46</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">2006-10-06</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Each date listed is the date before which half of all cards were first printed in their respective color/function category. So, half of all red cards with draw functionality have been printed since the fall 0f 2018. Indeed, <a href="https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/676585022224039936/im-listening-to-your-podcast-on-bends-and-breaks#:~:text=much%20like%20we%20created%20impulsive%20draw%20for%20red">R&amp;D has made "impulsive draw" a priority in red</a> to help with its card advantage shortcomings. Just like in the plot above, you can see that card draw is ramping up across all colors, while ramp peaked relatively early, <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=function%3Aramp+ci%3Db+ci%3D1+-is%3Areprint&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=released&amp;dir=asc">especially for black</a>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark Ritual"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cabal Coffers"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Tower"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2>But Are They Getting Played?</h2>
<p>It does no good if <em>Wizards</em> prints many new ramp and card draw spells for white if they are so ineffectual as to not see play. Rather than evaluate on a case-by-case basis how effective each card is in Commander, I want to look at whether internet deckbuilders are actually building with the new tools they have.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Smothering Tithe"></div></div>
<p>Let's start with January 25, 2019, the date that <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> was released, and let's consider mono-blue cards first. Of the 659 new Commander-legal blue cards printed since that date, 105 of them have either card draw or ramp functionality; that's about 16%. Taken together, all 659 new cards appear in EDHREC decks 2,293,503 times; the new ramp/draw cards appear in 430,837 decks. So, ramp/draw constitutes almost 19% of the recently released inclusions. Take 19% ÷ 16%, and you'll find a ratio of 1.18, which we'll call the degree to which ramp/draw is <em>overrepresented</em> in Commander decks, relative to all printed cards in blue. That ratio for red, black, and green is 1.32, 1.53, and 1.67, respectively. <strong>For white, the ratio is 2.89!</strong></p>
<p>So yes, players have responded to the printing of new tools by eagerly putting them into their decks!</p>
<p>Here is another way of looking at the same question: for any given non-reprint, what is the probability that it will appear in a deck that can play it (by color identity; what I call "color identity prevalence")?</p>
<p>For cards released since <em>Ravnica Allegiance</em>, I built a very basic model<a href="#fn1"><sup>1</sup></a> predicting each card's prevalence within color-aligned decks in the two-year EDHREC data.</p>
<p>New multicolored cards and lands are more likely to be added to decks than are mono-colored cards, generally speaking, and uncommons are more likely to see play than commons; rares and mythics more likely still.</p>
<p>First, note that the average mono-colored rare is played in about 1.5% of decks that can accommodate its color identity. I'm mainly interested, though, in what the model says about card draw and ramp in white.</p>
<p>As this plot of modeled propensities shows, the typical white card draw spell released in the last three years has a prevalence of about 3%, or about twice as high as the white baseline.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Modeled-prevalence-for-recently-printed-mono-colored-cards.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-81856 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Modeled-prevalence-for-recently-printed-mono-colored-cards.png" alt="" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Modeled-prevalence-for-recently-printed-mono-colored-cards.png 1200w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Modeled-prevalence-for-recently-printed-mono-colored-cards-300x169.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Modeled-prevalence-for-recently-printed-mono-colored-cards-1024x576.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Modeled-prevalence-for-recently-printed-mono-colored-cards-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></a>The small set of white ramp cards each see play in almost 7% of relevant decks!<a href="#fn2"><sup>2</sup></a></p>
<p>The sample sizes involved here mean that I wouldn't draw any bold conclusions from these modeled estimates, but I don't think it's too bold to claim that your complaints have been heard, <em>Wizards</em> R&amp;D has responded, and EDH players writ large are making use of the new functionality in white.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Thoughts? Questions? Critiques? Suggestions?</h2>
<p>Let me hear them @<a href="http://twitter.com/MtG_DS">MtG_DS</a>. I’d love to know your ideas for other ways to enumerate <em>WotC</em>'s efforts to shore up white's weaknesses and whether this data convinces you that white's needs are indeed being addressed, and if you haven’t already, please <a href="https://twitter.com/mtg_ds">follow me on Twitter</a>!</p>
<hr />
<h6><sup><a id="fn1"></a>1</sup> Specifically, a negative binomial regression, to account for the overabundance of zeros in the data.</h6>
<h6><a id="fn2"></a><sup>2</sup> Changing the pool of cards to either exclude Smothering Tithe or to stretch back to the beginning of <em>Magic</em> changes the magnitude of the coefficients, but not their order.</h6>


Invigorating Boon - Shoring Up White's Biggest Weaknesses in EDH

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer" href="#" target="_blank">Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by Andy Brase)</h6>
<h1>Feel the Burn!</h1>
<p>Hi there! I’m Jeremy Rowe, AKA J Ro, the Unsummoned Skull, a former Judge, Tournament Organizer, and Pro Tour competitor. I’m also a current teacher, college professor, streamer, community leader, and content creator. In this series, we examine the big EDH questions: What makes a card good? What’s the difference between popularity and synergy? What even is that synergy thing anyways? My intention is to differentiate between high- and low-synergy cards, describe in what ways the cards work with the commander, and explain why high synergy is such a good thing. For a deck to be powerful and consistent, each card needs to do a job, and these cards do WORK!</p>
<p>It’s not often that the reveal of a card in preview season piques my interest, let alone actually makes me overjoyed. I remember literally crying tears of joy when one such card was revealed, a commander that I’d given up hope of ever seeing: the perfect Boros spellslinger commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer"></div></div>
<p>Now, it's true that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Firesong and Sunspeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Firesong and Sunspeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> exist, but they are heavily overcosted and require you to play burn spells after a six-drop commander is already in play. They are easily targetable and do not wear <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunforger" href="#" target="_blank">Sunforger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> well. <em>Strixhaven</em> came and went, and, while Lorehold was amazing, it focused more strongly on artifacts, Spirits, and things coming and going from the graveyard. Additionally, a bunch of those commanders cost 4+ mana.</p>
<p>Then, along came our brilliant (red and) White Knight: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer" href="#" target="_blank">Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Rem was the first commander that felt like it was designed with me in mind. He comes down quickly enough to dissuade attacks and provide the protection needed to make it to the mid-to-late-game, at which point the noncombat ability can factor in. Rem adds a point of damage to instants and sorceries that damage opponents or their creatures or planeswalkers, working perfectly with burn and damage-based board wipes, and triggering separately off of each spell or copy, making him a solid <em>Storm</em> commander, too!</p>
<p>Boros Burn is an impressive strategy, having been incorporated successfully into Modern and Legacy with good old-fashioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Bolt" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Bolt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boros Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Boros Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but can the strategy work with three opponents and 40 life? Sometimes, you have to be creative; I’ve used <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunforger" href="#" target="_blank">Sunforger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with Rem’s natural stats to commander damage a player before!</p>
<p>It is my belief that all Commander decks are midrange decks, needing the same jobs done in order to switch cleanly between offense and defense, as well as to combat a variety of threats from around the table. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer" href="#" target="_blank">Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a special commander, so let’s find the right tools for these jobs!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Ramp</h2>
<hr />
<p>Most decks need ramp to play high-impact spells at a time when they are still relevant. Rem has a relatively low mana value, so the mana bump needs to happen after he is in play, to help propel the game past the early cardboard trades and into the bigger, splashier plays.</p>
<p>For each job, I'd like to highlight a low-synergy-score card, a high-synergy-score card, and an underrated card for this commander, to add more context to the qualitative data and see how each one magnifies the abilities, accentuates the strengths, and mitigates the weaknesses of our commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Geyser"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Storm-Kiln Artist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Neheb, the Eternal"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Geyser" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Geyser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides a huge boost in mana, setting us up for one enormous turn to cast many more spells. Almost half of Rem decks run it, but few other Boros decks do, likely due to the difficulty of creating a spellslinger deck in these colors. This is shown by the fact that only 5% of other red-white decks play this card, highlight how unique our commander is compared to his contemporaries.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Storm-Kiln Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Storm-Kiln Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> creates a Treasure token each time we cast an instant or sorcery, enabling the deck to keep churning and play multiple burn spells in a turn. Until the Treasures get popped, they increase the Artist’s power, often forcing enemies to look elsewhere whenever they want to attack.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neheb, the Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Neheb, the Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might not seem like a rock or a ritual, but he adds a red mana for each life lost by an opponent at the beginning of our postcombat main phase, which includes our burn! Suddenly our burn spells, especially those that hit multiple opponents, become massive rituals and enable more gigantic plays!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Spot Removal</h2>
<hr />
<p>In addition to being able to cast spells on time (or early enough in the game to still be relevant), decks need removal to be able to deal with the threats opposing decks present, as well as to be able to protect their own threats from opposing removal. In Rem’s case, spot removal needs to at least be capable of dealing damage, although having non-conditional modes or removing permanent threats is also helpful. Then again, sometimes this deck is better served by the old adage, “The best removal is player removal!”</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rip Apart"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abrade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Char"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rip Apart" href="#" target="_blank">Rip Apart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a flexible sorcery that can destroy an artifact or enchantment or damage a creature or planeswalker, the latter of which can be assisted by Rem. The ability to destroy any of four different permanents for two mana, assisted by our commander, makes this a popular card for our deck, as well as a decent card for Boros decks in general!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Abrade" href="#" target="_blank">Abrade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a nasty removal spell with a synergy score of 16% for our Knight; it's used much more with him than with other Boros commanders. Being able to destroy an artifact, which has gained juicy targets after the return to Kamigawa, or smack a creature for damage that would be magnified by our commander, is big game.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Char" href="#" target="_blank">Char</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives chills to those who grew up dreaming of the Pro Tour, a spell that's famous for preceding <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t0pzLnSWw0">one of the greatest top decks of all time</a> in Pro Tour Honolulu. Char abuses a subtle aspect of our commander, the effect that prevents any damage dealt to us by spells, regardless of who owns the spell, so we won't take the backlash!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Mass Removal</h2>
<hr />
<p>Most decks need plans for what to do if things get out of hand, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer" href="#" target="_blank">Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is no different. Just as Rem wants damaging spells to amplify, we want our mass removal to scorch the land, air, or both, while still lowering life totals!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blasphemous Act"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Volcanic Fallout"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghostly Prison"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a powerful scatterblast that wipes wide boards while leaving our permanents alone. It's fairly commonly used in red decks as a one-mana board wipe enables the caster to rebuild first after wiping the board, but it’s even better when our commander protects our stuff! (Unfortunately, since the damage is prevented, it does mean that Rem is not a good <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stuffy Doll" href="#" target="_blank">Stuffy Doll</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> commander.)</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Volcanic Fallout" href="#" target="_blank">Volcanic Fallout</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, meanwhile, has a synergy score of 31%, as it's fairly unique to Rem decks. While its original job was to melt Faeries, our deck is well-served by an instant-speed, uncounterable, damage-based burn spell that is empowered by our commander, avoids our own board, and can be found by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunforger" href="#" target="_blank">Sunforger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Prison" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Prison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another way to counter decks that go wide. These types of attack tax effects are particularly solid when we can remove singular threats, such as by using unconditional removal, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Path to Exile" href="#" target="_blank">Path to Exile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swords to Plowshares" href="#" target="_blank">Swords to Plowshares</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, (both of which can again be searched out with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunforger" href="#" target="_blank">Sunforger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>).</p>
<hr />
<h2>Card Draw</h2>
<hr />
<p>Every deck needs card draw, selection, tutoring, or advantage, to help find the pieces it needs to transition between the phases of the game. There are always going to be spells that are better early than late, or better from ahead, or better from behind. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer" href="#" target="_blank">Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a commander designed to accelerate into big, splashy, game-ending spells. Red and white have traditionally struggled to draw cards and amass advantage, but red has been given significant support and white has been given some interesting but inconsistent printings.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jeska’s Will"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Light Up the Stage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faithless Looting"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeska’s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Jeska’s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the best new spells to come out of <em>Commander Legends</em>, combining red’s impulse draw with a conditional ritual. With the ramp in the deck being mostly ritual-based, rather than mana-rock-based, hiding ramp in card draw is particularly useful, although many other Boros decks run the card too. So it may not be unique to our deck, but that's just because it's powerful!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Light Up the Stage" href="#" target="_blank">Light Up the Stage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another impulse-based draw effect, but one that is fairly unique to our commander. Only 2% of non-Rem Boros decks run it, while 25% of Rem decks do. This is likely because Rem, as a burn commander that is also hasty and evasive, is highly likely to get damage in to trigger the <em>Spectacle</em> cost reduction, which helps generate cheap bursts of advantage.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faithless Looting" href="#" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a repeatable draw effect, albeit one that provides selection rather than advantage. Burn decks in Commander tend to struggle with balance, as they need spells that go to the face, but also need spells to keep the board under control, especially since they don’t often develop their own board very much. We need effects that can filter away cards we don’t need and find the pieces we <em>do</em> need. Other decks may be able to make better use of filling the graveyard, but we need this effect just as much as they do!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Win Conditions</h2>
<hr />
<p>The last major job that most decks need is a way to actually close out the game. Ramping allows you to play spells out, but can be dead draws late game. Removing threats works for a while, but with three opponents, someone’s going to stick something, and games can either stall out or develop into arms races. Card draw helps, but what are you looking to actually draw? The answer is... win conditions!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boros Charm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Price of Progress"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sunforger"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boros Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Boros Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a tremendous modal spell to include in a burn deck. A staple of Modern Boros Burn, it burns a player or planeswalker, which Rem can amplify, gives permanents we control indestructible, which can protect Rem, or gives a creature double strike, which can enable Rem to commander damage a player. All of that, <em>and</em> it can be found by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunforger" href="#" target="_blank">Sunforger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Price of Progress" href="#" target="_blank">Price of Progress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a massive beating for the entire table… except us! With Rem, we're protected, but each other player takes damage equal to twice the number of nonbasic lands they control (which wouldn’t hit us for much anyways)!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunforger" href="#" target="_blank">Sunforger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a classic card, one of the main reasons to play red and white in Commander, as it operates as a toolbox card. It's my personal opinion that Rem makes better use out of this artifact than most other decks that include red and white. He was <em>born </em>to wield this weapon. It finds burn. It finds spot removal. It finds mass removal. It finds card draw. It finds anything and everything the deck needs. It even adds power to our fast, flying commander!</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Heat of the Moment!</h2>
<p>Let's round it out with a sample Rem decklist! We're focusing on doing the jobs a deck needs to function, in a way that capitalizes on the commander’s unique characteristics. It’s time to set the world on fire!</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="This Deck is on Fire!" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Bastion Protector
*1 Blaze Commando
*1 Chandra&#039;s Incinerator
*1 Esper Sentinel
*1 Fire Servant
*1 Firesong and Sunspeaker
*1 Flame Channeler
*1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
*1 Guttersnipe
*1 Kessig Flamebreather
*1 Knight of the White Orchid
*1 Neheb, the Eternal
*1 Radiant Scrollwielder
*1 Satyr Firedancer
*1 Storm-Kiln Artist
*1 Syr Carah, the Bold
*1 Tajic, Legion&#039;s Edge
*1 Toralf, God of Fury
*1 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Acidic Soil
*1 Anger of the Gods
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Chain Reaction
*1 Deafening Clarion
*1 Earthquake
*1 End the Festivities
*1 Fiery Confluence
*1 Flame Rift
*1 Jeska&#039;s Will
*1 Mana Geyser
*1 Molten Disaster
*1 Rip Apart
*1 Rolling Earthquake
*1 Star of Extinction
*1 Storm&#039;s Wrath
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Boros Signet
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Pyromancer&#039;s Goggles
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Sunforger
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Talisman of Conviction
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Dictate of the Twin Gods
*1 Fiery Emancipation
*1 Light of Sanction
*1 Mark of Asylum
*1 Repercussion
*1 Smothering Tithe
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Boros Charm
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Electrodominance
*1 Fault Line
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Increasing Vengeance
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Lightning Helix
*1 Magmaquake
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Price of Progress
*1 Swords to Plowshares
*1 Volcanic Fallout
*1 Wear // Tear
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*1 Battlefield Forge
*1 Boros Garrison
*1 Clifftop Retreat
*1 Command Tower
*1 Furycalm Snarl
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Needleverge Pathway
*1 Sacred Foundry
*1 Spectator Seating
*1 Sundown Pass
*1 Temple of Triumph
*18 Mountain
*6 Plains
[/Lands]"></span></div><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p>Hopefully this guide helps you to evaluate cards and use the data at hand! Results may vary, as playgroups, deck choices, and the luck of the draw can impact how games go. Which cards overperformed for you? Which cards were overrated? Join me next time as we explore which cards are dead weight, and which cards do WORK!</p>


These Cards Do WORK! - Rem Karolus

Archetune-Up - Graveyard Smash 2: Electric Boogaloo

Ranking Every Battlecruiser Card (8 CMC+) with EDHREC – Part 11: It's George!

Too-Specific Top 10 - Freer Than Free

Rise to the Challenge - The Best Sets for Commander

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phylath, World Sculptor" href="#" target="_blank">Phylath, World Sculptor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.pascalblanche.com/" data-track="{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;Card Detail&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;Navigate&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Artist&quot;}">Pascal Blanché</a>)</h6>
<h1>I am Groot</h1>
<p> Welcome to <em>Challenge the Stats</em>! This series is based on the awesome <a href="https://edhrecast.libsyn.com/">EDHRECast</a> segment where we pick out cards that we think are overplayed, underplayed, or sleepers to challenge EDHREC’s data. Remember, these are merely comments on the data, and card choices made by <em>you,</em> the deckbrewer, for any reason such as flavor, budget, art, or fun are always most important and are what keep our format unique and awesome. This week, we're talking about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phylath, World Sculptor" href="#" target="_blank">Phylath, World Sculptor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Phylath has been in my 'to build' pile for a long time. I like Phylath as a 'red eye deck', a term I first heard from EDHREC writer <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/jeremy-rowe/">Jeremy Rowe</a>. It means a streamlined, hyper-simplified deck, that does one thing and does it well. I like this playstyle because it helps me be more present with my friends since I don't need to dedicate so much brainpower to piloting the deck. <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Groot.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-81607" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Groot-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Groot-214x300.jpg 214w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Groot-732x1024.jpg 732w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Groot-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Groot-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Groot.jpg 1463w" sizes="(max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" /></a> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">(Check out this terrific alter by <a href="https://twitter.com/ImKyle4815">@ImKyle4815</a> on Twitter!)</p>
<p> We're challenging the data from all 750 Phylath decks at the time of writing, and you can see how often those cards are played in parentheses (%). Here we go! </p>
<hr />
<h1>Challenges</h1>
<hr />
<h2>Overplayed</h2>
<hr />
<h3>1. Arcane Signet (22%)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arcane Signet"></div></div> I feel like every time I talk about a green commander I end up challenging a mana rock. Sorry if this is repetitive, y'all, but it's still happening, so we're still talking about it. Our commander cares about having basics in play, so a mana rock instead of land ramp is anti-synergy! We have plenty of options these days that are functionally <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> but with lands. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Lore" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Lore</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Three Visits" href="#" target="_blank">Three Visits</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> give us lands that are untapped, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farseek" href="#" target="_blank">Farseek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Into the North" href="#" target="_blank">Into the North</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampant Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Rampant Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Edge of Autumn" href="#" target="_blank">Edge of Autumn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emergent Sequence" href="#" target="_blank">Emergent Sequence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> give us lands that come into play tapped. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Three Visits Into the North"></div></div> Our commander costs six mana, so we can also look at 3+ mana value land ramp before reaching for Arcane Signet. Don't be afraid to reach for your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivate" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama&#039;s Reach" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama&#039;s Reach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>es, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dire-Strain Rampage" href="#" target="_blank">Dire-Strain Rampage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s, and <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=%28oracle%3Asearch+oracle%3Alibrary+oracle%3Aland+oracle%3Abattlefield%29+cmc%3D3+type%3Asorcery&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">others</a>! <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sylvan Caryatid Ilysian Caryatid"></div></div> We have Plant synergy, so if we're going to grab nonland ramp, how about making it Plant ramp so we can stack counters on it? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sylvan Caryatid" href="#" target="_blank">Sylvan Caryatid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> protects itself, so we can pump it up without worrying about it getting removed before we <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fling" href="#" target="_blank">Fling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> it at someone's face! <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ilysian Caryatid" href="#" target="_blank">Ilysian Caryatid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> easily taps for two in our deck and doesn't have <em>Defender</em>, so can turn into a threat itself. I'm a fan of more unique ramp as well. At more casual tables we can look at group hug cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clear the Land" href="#" target="_blank">Clear the Land</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Collective Voyage" href="#" target="_blank">Collective Voyage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="New Frontiers" href="#" target="_blank">New Frontiers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> because we're going to break symmetry on them! Our opponents might just run out of basics in their deck and not get any benefit from these cards. </p>
<h3>2. Courser of Kruphix (32%)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Courser of Kruphix"></div></div> Are we still into Courser? I don't like my opponents knowing what's coming up next, and we have better top-deck options nowadays that don't reveal the cards. In a recent game with <a href="https://commandersherald.com/author/mike-carrozza/">Mike Carroza</a> of <em>Commander's Herald</em>, he flipped a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Torment of Hailfire" href="#" target="_blank">Torment of Hailfire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> off his <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> trigger and the rest of the table promptly killed him, whether he deserved it or not. You can bet when Courser reveals my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chandra&#039;s Ignition" href="#" target="_blank">Chandra&#039;s Ignition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scapeshift" href="#" target="_blank">Scapeshift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I'm not lasting until my next turn either. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Augur of Autumn Radha, Heart of Keld"></div></div> For playing lands off the top, we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Augur of Autumn" href="#" target="_blank">Augur of Autumn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Radha, Heart of Keld" href="#" target="_blank">Radha, Heart of Keld</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and how about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Druid Class" href="#" target="_blank">Druid Class</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for some incidental lifegain? Courser isn't making my cut anymore, but let me know in the comments below how you feel about it. </p>
<hr />
<h2>Underplayed</h2>
<hr />
<h3>3. Dire-Strain Rampage (32%)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dire-Strain Rampage"></div></div> This is my new favorite flexible ramp/removal spell. It's a sorcery-speed <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Roiling Regrowth" href="#" target="_blank">Roiling Regrowth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which is a perfectly acceptable card; we see <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Springbloom Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Springbloom Druid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in almost 40,000 decks, and this has a similar effect. However, if we need to deal with a threat, we can destroy an opponent's artifact, enchantment, or land instead. Sure, they get a land in return (or two, if we destroy their land), but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assassin&#039;s Trophy" href="#" target="_blank">Assassin&#039;s Trophy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also ramps our opponent, and in casual pods, that likely isn't going to make or break the game. The downside of a ramp spell is usually that it's less useful if we draw in late in the game (albeit less so for Phylath). However, having our ramp double as removal means it functions in more crucial <a href="https://strategy.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/mtg/quadrant-theory-revisited/">quadrants</a> of the game–when we're <em>developing</em>, <em>behind</em>, <em>ahead</em>, or at <em>parity</em>. Oh, and by the way, it has <em>Flashback</em>! That means in any given game, it not only functions in any quadrant, but can also play multiple roles in different quadrants. I see the play pattern for this card most often being early-drawn ramp with later <em>Flashback</em> removal or late-drawn double removal. </p>
<h3>4. You Happen On a Glade (14%)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="You Happen On a Glade"></div></div> One of the problems Lands decks often run into with all of our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exploration" href="#" target="_blank">Exploration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects is running out of lands in hand. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="You Happen On a Glade" href="#" target="_blank">You Happen On a Glade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an instant-speed draw two lands or a pseudo-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Regrowth" href="#" target="_blank">Regrowth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which is fantastic versatility. </p>
<h3>5. Sword of Hearth and Home (9%)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sword of Hearth and Home"></div></div> <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Hearth and Home" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Hearth and Home</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is great in many decks, but it's especially good for Phylath. When we deal combat damage, we can blink Phylath to have its ETB sprout us another fresh crop of Plants, and stack the triggers so we also get four more counters from the land entering! A few people have caught on to this trick, but hopefully more than 9% will start including it in their lists. </p>
<hr />
<h2>Sleepers</h2>
<hr />
<h3>6. Orcish Lumberjack (18 decks)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orcish Lumberjack"></div></div> This cute little Orc sadly gets left out of a lot of Lands decks, but with his help, we could have a turn-three Phylath! Sure, we might only have two Plants, but come on, <em>turn three Plylath!</em> </p>
<h3>7. Surge to Victory (7 decks)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Surge to Victory"></div></div> Sweet Christmas, this card is an awesome win-con that should see more play! Our deck is stacked with fantastic instants and sorceries. Often, this will just be an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overrun" href="#" target="_blank">Overrun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for all of our little Plant friends. As a worst-case scenario, we exile a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivate" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to give all of our creatures +3/+0. Then, when <em>any </em>of them deal combat damage, we'll get to ramp! Okay, that's just the floor - how about exiling a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beast Within" href="#" target="_blank">Beast Within</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for mass targeted removal, a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rishkar&#039;s Expertise" href="#" target="_blank">Rishkar&#039;s Expertise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to draw a boatload of cards and cast them for free, or a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treacherous Terrain" href="#" target="_blank">Treacherous Terrain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to probably just win the game? </p>
<h3>8. Mercadia's Downfall (4 decks)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mercadia&#039;s Downfall"></div></div> Speaking of interesting win conditions, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mercadia&#039;s Downfall" href="#" target="_blank">Mercadia&#039;s Downfall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of my favorites. Shout-out to <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/dana-roach/">Dana Roach</a> for clueing me in on this one. It's an instant-speed mass pump spell, which means we can use it after blockers are declared, or even on an opponent's turn if they're attacking someone else and we want to help them out. People play <em>tons</em> of nonbasics these days, so this will regularly give at least +3/+0, and usually a whole lot more. Seriously, how funny will it be to attack with all of our 0/1 Plants, just as a power move to make the table laugh, and then pump them up a whole bunch before damage? </p>
<h3>9. Titania's Song (4 decks)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Titania&#039;s Song"></div></div> Are Treasures running rampant in your meta? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titania&#039;s Song" href="#" target="_blank">Titania&#039;s Song</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to the rescue! They're all instantly gone, and it also prevents the creation of more Treasures! I've definitely been running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Viridian Revel" href="#" target="_blank">Viridian Revel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in all of my green decks to great profit, and this fits a similar bill. In a deck that doesn't have many artifacts, or that plays none at all, Titania's Song can be much more effective than a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vandalblast" href="#" target="_blank">Vandalblast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </p>
<h3>10. Seedtime (2 decks)</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seedtime"></div></div> This card doesn't see much play, just ~1200 total decks, and those are probably higher power and cEDH lists. However, I think it's a hilarious extra turn spell and it's on-theme with our Plants! Sometimes it'll be a dead card if there are no blue players at our table, but if there are, and anyone tries to counter our spells, or the blue player is simply next to us in turn order doing shenanigans at the end of our turn, we'll have the best 'gotcha' moment of all time! Let's go to a decklist! </p>
<hr />
<p> <div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="I am Groot" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander] *1 Phylath, World Sculptor [/Commander] [Creatures] *1 Ashaya, Soul of the Wild *1 Augur of Autumn *1 Avenger of Zendikar *1 Beanstalk Giant *1 Budoka Gardener *1 Evolution Sage *1 Grumgully, the Generous *1 Lotus Cobra *1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn *1 Multani, Yavimaya&#039;s Avatar *1 Orcish Lumberjack *1 Radha, Heart of Keld *1 Ramunap Excavator *1 Sakura-Tribe Elder *1 Springbloom Druid *1 Sylvan Caryatid *1 Tangled Florahedron *1 Turntimber Sower *1 Vinelasher Kudzu *1 Wall of Blossoms *1 World Shaper [/Creatures] [Sorceries] *1 Animist&#039;s Awakening *1 Bala Ged Recovery *1 Chandra&#039;s Ignition *1 Clear the Land *1 Collective Voyage *1 Cultivate *1 Dire-Strain Rampage *1 Escape to the Wilds *1 Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming *1 New Frontiers *1 Nylea&#039;s Intervention *1 Rampant Growth *1 Rishkar&#039;s Expertise *1 Rolling Earthquake *1 Scapeshift *1 Shamanic Revelation *1 Splendid Reclamation *1 Surge to Victory *1 Traverse the Outlands *1 Treacherous Terrain [/Sorceries] [Enchantments] *1 Druid Class *1 Greater Good *1 Kenrith&#039;s Transformation *1 Rites of Flourishing *1 Valakut Exploration *1 Viridian Revel [/Enchantments] [Instants] *1 Beast Within *1 Chaos Warp *1 Deglamer *1 Evolution Charm *1 Fling *1 Harrow *1 Heroic Intervention *1 Inspiring Call *1 Kazuul&#039;s Fury *1 Mercadia&#039;s Downfall *1 Momentous Fall *1 Return of the Wildspeaker *1 Seedtime *1 Valakut Awakening *1 You Happen On a Glade [/Instants] [Artifacts] *1 Sword of Hearth and Home [/Artifacts] [Lands] *1 Blighted Woodland *1 Bonders&#039; Enclave *1 Evolving Wilds *1 Fabled Passage *1 Field of Ruin *14 Forest *1 Gruul Turf *1 Kessig Wolf Run *1 Mosswort Bridge *10 Mountain *1 Myriad Landscape *1 Sanctum of Eternity *1 Skarrg, the Rage Pits *1 Terramorphic Expanse [/Lands]"></span></div>  </p>
<hr />
<h2>I am Groot?</h2>
<p> What do you think about these challenges? Are there any other cards you would challenge? Let me know in the comments below! As always, you can find me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jevinmtg">@jevinmtg</a>.</p>


Challenge the Stats – Phylath, World Sculptor

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tatsunari, Toad Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Tatsunari, Toad Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://justinecruz.artstation.com/">Justinecruz</a>)</h6>
<h1>Enchantress and the Frog</h1>
<p> Feel like your deck just is not coming together? Welcome to <em>Solve the Equation</em>, where we take a look at the numbers and see what's responsible for your deck falling flat. Today, let’s build around the new <em>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</em> commander, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tatsunari, Toad Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Tatsunari, Toad Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We often hear benchmarks of how many cards of a given card type we need in our decks (e.g. 10 card draw and 10 ramp). The inaugural article in this series will take a look at how we can leverage probability to determine how many enchantments we need to reliably advance our strategy. Every deck is different, and benchmarks are helpful, but we can dig deeper and figure out the ratios that really make our deck tick. </p>
<hr />
<h2>Probability to the Rescue</h2>
<p> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/eq1.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-81654 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/eq1.png" alt="" width="166" height="95" /></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A factorial of an integer “x!” is the product of all integers less than or equal to x</span> </p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">n represents the total number of possibilities</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">h represents the sample size</span></li>
</ul>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">We can use this formula to determine how many possible combinations of opening hands our deck can produce. A Commander deck (without <em>Partners</em>) has a deck size (n) of 99 and an opening hand size of 7 (h).</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">If we plug these numbers into our equation, we find the terrifying statistic that there are 14,887,031,544 possible combinations of the first 7 cards we draw. Our goal is to use math to increase the consistency of a deck with that much variance.</span> </p>
<hr />
<h2>How Does This Help Me?</h2>
<p style="text-align: center;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tatsunari, Toad Rider"></div></div></p>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">First and foremost, it's important to determine your win conditions. Ask yourself, “How do I plan to close out this game?” Commanders such as Tatsunari are fairly open-ended, so it's often helpful to have a primary strategy and a secondary strategy that overlaps with your primary win conditions, as these strategies will inform your deckbuilding. For this build, my strategies are:</span> </p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Primary:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Play efficient enchantments to drain my opponents’ life with Keimi’s ability before finishing them off with a buffed unblockable creature.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Secondary:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Pull off a combo using the various life gain payoffs that work well with Keimi’s ability</span></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2>Using Combinations to Determine Probability (nCr)</h2>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s take a look at ramp. Sultai gives us great options for ramp, so we do not have to stretch and we can select the best. I want to reliably have a ramp spell in my opening hand, as getting ahead on mana is crucial, so I want to be at about that 60% threshold at least. However, if we go above that, we increase our odds of drawing too much ramp instead of action. Let’s pretend for a second that we made the crazy decision to include 25 sources or ramp in our deck. How close would we be to 60-75%</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s explore how we can use combinations to calculate our deck’s likelihood to draw any given number of a source in our opening 7. We can plug our numbers into the following equation:</span> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/eq2.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-81655 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/eq2.png" alt="" width="128" height="83" /></a> </p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">x = total cards in deck that are not ramp</span></li>
<li>a = number of cards in opening hand of the given type (x)</li>
<li>y = total cards in deck that are ramp</li>
<li>b = number of cards in opening hand of the given type (y)</li>
<li>z = total cards in deck</li>
<li>d = opening hand size (7)</li>
</ul>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">If we plug in to find out the probability of an opening hand with no ramp, we find that chance of not having a single ramp card is 12.09%, meaning there is an 87.91% chance that we'll have a ramp spell in our opener. This is much higher than the 60-75% range we were looking to hit.</span> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/eq3.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-81656 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/eq3.png" alt="" width="141" height="80" /></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This is great, as we do want ramp spells, but we don't want to be drawing more than 1-2 in our opening hand because we need to get to the action in our deck. Let’s take a look at the odds of drawing more than 1 source of ramp.</span> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 1 ramp spell - 31.11%</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 2 ramp spells - 32.46%</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 3 ramp spells - 17.78%</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 4 ramp spells - 5.51%</span></p>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">When we take a deeper look at the math, we see that in over 20% of games we'll draw 3 or more ramp spells in our opening hand. Ramping is great, but in this deck it's not a key part of our strategy, so we can safely determine that this is too high a rate to see ramp spells at.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Enchantments on the other hand, are key to our deck’s gameplan. If we look at the same odds and apply them to the enchantment portion of our deck, I think that 3+ enchantments in my opening hand 20% of the time is a little lower than I would like. Let’s take a look at how 35 enchantments affects my odds:</span> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 0 enchantment spells - 4.17%</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 1 enchantment spell - 17.63%</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 2 enchantment spells - 30.47%</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 3 enchantment spells - 27.93%</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Odds of 4 enchantment spells - 14.65%</span></p>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Now these are odds I can get behind. This rate of enchantment presence should mean that both our opening hand and deck will be full of cards that advance our gameplan. This same strategy can be applied to each category in our deck, including creatures and removal. You just have to consider the rate at which you want to draw the given type of card for your strategy and have the numbers match. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The final step is possibly the most important category of our deck, and that's the card advantage that helps us navigate through our key enchantments. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s take a look at our deck’s mana curve to determine if we have an appropriate amount of card advantage. Calculating both your deck’s mean (average) and median (middle number) can be helpful in determining if you have sufficient card draw. </span> </p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your deck’s </span><b>mean</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is simply the average mana value. Our deck is coming in just under a mean value of 2.5.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><b>median</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is the value that separates the higher and lower halves of the data. It can be calculated by looking at you mana curve and finding the card in the middle and noting its mana value. Our build has a median value of 2.</span>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Calculating the median is an important tool that can give you a better understanding of where your mana values are concentrated, as outliers in either direction have less of an impact on the median than they do on the mean.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">What would happen if you draw 1 card per turn, play 1 land per turn, and cast 1 spell turns 2-4 and start casting multiple spells by turn 5? How quickly will you run low on cards?</span> </p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 95.524%; height: 77px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 29px;">
<td style="width: 36.9453%; height: 29px;"><b>2.5 Mean / 2 Median</b></td>
<td style="width: 9.70087%; height: 29px; text-align: center;"><strong>Turn 1</strong></td>
<td style="width: 9.96663%; height: 29px; text-align: center;"><strong>Turn 2</strong></td>
<td style="width: 9.9207%; height: 29px; text-align: center;"><strong>Turn 3</strong></td>
<td style="width: 10.0178%; height: 29px; text-align: center;"><strong>Turn 4</strong></td>
<td style="width: 9.91203%; height: 29px; text-align: center;"><strong>Turn 5</strong></td>
<td style="width: 17.1548%; height: 29px; text-align: center;"><strong>Turn 6</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px;">
<td style="width: 36.9453%; height: 24px;"><strong>Cards out of hand</strong></td>
<td style="width: 9.70087%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="width: 9.96663%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="width: 9.9207%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="width: 10.0178%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="width: 9.91203%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="width: 17.1548%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">3</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px;">
<td style="width: 36.9453%; height: 24px;"><strong>Cards in hand (end of turn)</strong></td>
<td style="width: 9.70087%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="width: 9.96663%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="width: 9.9207%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="width: 10.0178%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="width: 9.91203%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="width: 17.1548%; height: 24px; text-align: center;">0</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> It’s turn 6 and you are out of cards. A low mana curve helps us efficiently advance our gameplan and cast multiple spells per turn quicker than our opponents. However to support our deck, with its efficient cost and fast rate of play, we must be packing sufficient card advantage.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There are three key elements to focus on when selecting card advantage</span> </p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Synergy </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">- How does this card advance my strategy?</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Card Advantage Value (CAV)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - How many additional cards end up in your hand</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Deck Velocity Value (DVV)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - How quickly do you move through your deck towards key spells. How many cards deep in your deck a spell reaches</span></li>
</ul>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s start with synergy. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enchantress’s Presence" href="#" target="_blank">Enchantress’s Presence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an ideal form of card advantage as it triggers off casting our enchantments, generating us consistent value throughout the game.</span> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Enchantress’s Presence"></div></div></span></p>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omen of the Sea" href="#" target="_blank">Omen of the Sea</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also has great synergy in our deck, but I don't categorize it in the card advantage portion of my deck as it only has a neutral card advantage value (CAV) (+0). It's important to consider how many cards up you are after a given interaction to determine a card’s CAV. A card that has a one-time effect that replaces itself is a cantrip and not card advantage.</span> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omen of the Sea"></div></div></span></p>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, there is DVV. Our deck is comprised of 35 enchantments, which means any given card has a ~35% chance of being an enchantment. A card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sign in Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Sign in Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a CAV of (+1), but it only takes us 2 cards deeper into our deck, giving it a Deck Velocity Value (DVV) of (2). Seeing any 2 random cards in our 99 gives us a 58.4% chance of hitting at least one enchantment. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fact or Fiction" href="#" target="_blank">Fact or Fiction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, on the other hand, has a variable CAV, but it will always have a DVV of 5. Digging 5 cards deep gives us an 89.3% chance of seeing at least one enchantment.</span> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sign in Blood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fact or Fiction"></div></div></span></p>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In recap, we were able to use probability to adjust our spell ratios according to our deck strategy. We ensured that our deck has enough gas to keep drawing action and enough card advantage to prevent our hand from running low. There are no hard and fast ratios to use; you just need to let your strategy dictate your deck construction.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Tatsunari Enchantments" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander] *1 Tatsunari Toad Rider [/Commander] [Creatures] *1 Argothian Enchantress *1 Courser of Kruphix *1 Destiny Spinner *1 Dina, Soul Steeper *1 Doomwake Giant *1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove *1 Eidolon of Blossoms *1 Gloomshrieker *1 Grim Guardian *1 Herald of the Pantheon *1 Protean Thaumaturge *1 Sanctum Weaver *1 Setessan Champion *1 Verduran Enchantress *1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose [/Creatures] [Enchantments] *1 Ancestral Mask *1 Animate Dead *1 Bear Umbra *1 Carpet of Flowers *1 Enchantress&#039;s Presence *1 Estrid&#039;s Invocation *1 Exquisite Blood *1 Fertile Ground *1 Imprisoned in the Moon *1 Kenrith&#039;s Transformation *1 Mystic Remora *1 Omen of the Sea *1 Oubliette *1 Overgrowth *1 Rancor *1 Rhystic Study *1 Sanguine Bond *1 Shielding Plax *1 Shimmering Wings *1 Snake Umbra *1 Song of the Dryads *1 Sylvan Library *1 The Meathook Massacre *1 Utopia Sprawl *1 Whip Silk *1 Wild Growth *1 Wolfwillow Haven [/Enchantments] [Instants] *1 Arcane Denial *1 Assassin&#039;s Trophy *1 Beast Within *1 Cyclonic Rift *1 Fact or Fiction *1 Heroic Intervention *1 Negate *1 Pongify *1 Rapid Hybridization [/Instants] [Sorceries] *1 Bala Ged Recovery  *1 Demonic Tutor *1 Diabolic Intent *1 Farseek *1 Night&#039;s Whisper *1 Painful Truths *1 Rampant Growth *1 Read the Bones *1 Toxic Deluge [/Sorceries] [Artifacts] *1 Arcane Signet *1 Sol Ring [/Artifacts] [Lands] *1 Boseiju, Who Endures *1 Breeding Pool *1 Command Tower *1 Exotic Orchard *10 Forest *6 Island *1 Misty Rainforest *1 Morphic Pool *1 Otawara, Soaring City *1 Overgrown Tomb *1 Polluted Delta *1 Rejuvenating Springs *4 Swamp *1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire *1 Undergrowth Stadium *1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth *1 Verdant Catacombs *1 Watery Grave *1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth *1 Zagoth Triome [/Lands]"></span></div></span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"></span> </p>
<hr />
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This article only begins to scratch the surface of how you can utilize mathematical principles, probability, and game theory to improve your strategy and streamline your deck construction. Future articles will take a deeper look at more elements of deck construction as well as the decisions we make in-game. Playing with the odds in your favor will create a much better game experience for yourself where you will be able to participate at all stages in the game. Doing the math is worth it. Trust me, there is no worse feeling than being stuck with an empty hand watching your friends play.</span></p>


Articles