<h1 style="text-align: left;">But I'm a Creep, I'm a Weirdo</h1>
<p>Welcome to <em>Superior Numbers,</em> where I try to do numerical analysis on cards and deckbuilding trends using a little bit of math.</p>
<p>I'd like to talk about the power of the game and how it's changed over the years, specifically regarding creatures. In December of 2019, I took a look at the year of origin of the top 100 cards in the previous two years in EDH. You can find that article <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/superior-numbers-breaking-down-the-top-100/">here</a> if you didn't get a chance to read it, or want to revisit it. Probably the most relevant bit of data is the following chart, which seems to indicate a relatively even distribution of the most popular cards in the game:</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ChartGo.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You'll note I said popular, not powerful. That's all we can really rank, after all. I don't think anyone would disagree that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brainstorm" href="#" target="_blank">Brainstorm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a more powerful card than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opt" href="#" target="_blank">Opt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but the fact still remains that evaluating the two against each other is still at least a little bit subjective. There're decks and situations where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opt" href="#" target="_blank">Opt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> may regularly be more effective. Still, we go to war with the army we have, not the army we wish we had, and a measurement of popularity is the army we have at the moment.</p>
<p>Here's what this chart and my article last year didn't show, however; the breakdown of specific card types. Because while there may be a somewhat even distribution of the year of origin of the most popular cards, that doesn't mean there's an even distribution of them based on type. And what's the one card type that <em>Magic</em> players often point to when it comes to power creep? Creatures. That's not even a far past vs present discussion; it wasn't many years back that both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thragtusk" href="#" target="_blank">Thragtusk</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Siege Rhino" href="#" target="_blank">Siege Rhino</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> terrorized Standard, and both would struggle today to compete with the strongest cardboard bodies in the game. Look at the impact of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baneslayer Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Baneslayer Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on Standard when it was originally printed a decade ago vs the reprint last summer.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">What the Hell Am I Doin' Here? I Don't Belong Here</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Savannah Lions"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kytheon, Hero of Akros"></div></div>
<p><em>WotC</em> has specifically stated that they've tried to push creature power in recent years, in part because it was probably underpowered in early game iterations, and in part because they think it makes for more interesting gameplay. I don't have to look any further than my own decks to see that, at least for me, I heavily favor creatures from very recent sets:</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210424071317_hd.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-64948 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210424071317_hd-1024x605.png" alt="" width="1024" height="605" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210424071317_hd-1024x605.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210424071317_hd-300x177.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210424071317_hd-768x454.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210424071317_hd-1536x908.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210424071317_hd-2048x1210.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>The numbers are skewed even further when you realize that a lot of the creatures populating the graph prior to 2001 or so are doing so because they're highly specialized and go into a niche decks. They aren't showing up in my lists because they're particularly powerful or effective outside that shell:</p>
<ul>
<li>1993
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Verduran Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Verduran Enchantress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is in my Enchantress deck, but outside that specific type of build it's rarely good enough to play.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>1997
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crypt Rats" href="#" target="_blank">Crypt Rats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> basically shows up in various Rat tribal decks, or my case my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pestilence" href="#" target="_blank">Pestilence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> list.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>1998
<ul>
<li>This is probably the big exception as it's the year of a couple of Urza's sets, one of the most busted blocks of all time. I'm running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Metalworker" href="#" target="_blank">Metalworker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn, Silver Golem" href="#" target="_blank">Karn, Silver Golem</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> here, as well as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spike Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Spike Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from <em>Exodus</em>, which is generally a good card outside even the +1 counters deck where I use it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>1999
<ul>
<li>This year brought me another hyper-specific card in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrashing Wumpus" href="#" target="_blank">Thrashing Wumpus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for my Pestilence deck, and a couple more strong Urza's block Enchantress-themed cards in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argothian Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Argothian Enchantress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Academy Rector" href="#" target="_blank">Academy Rector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>2001
<ul>
<li>2001 features the last of the old-school Pestilence-esque cards showing up in my decks in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infected Vermin" href="#" target="_blank">Infected Vermin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Essentially, if I didn't have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pestilence" href="#" target="_blank">Pestilence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck or an Enchantress list, I'd have five cards from 2001 or earlier.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Verduran Enchantress"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spike Weaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Academy Rector"></div></div>
<p>Now, there's a couple of things to note here. First, a lot more <em>Magic</em> sets come out in the average year today than did in 1996, and the sets tend to be larger. There's also a whole host of supplemental products that also offer more opportunities for creatures to find their way into decks. Recency bias is also a thing, where you want to run a new toy or test something that just got printed.</p>
<p>Still, there's not 30 times as many cards being released today as in 2001-2003, and while I playtest cards I then take out, that can't account for all of them. The reality is creatures are just getting stronger, and thus they're also likely getting more popular.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">I Don't Care if it Hurts, I Wanna Have Control</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="eternal witness"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="sakura-tribe elder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="llanowar elves"></div></div>
<p>Okay, so the fact that I personally like running newer creatures is all well and good, but does that play out when we look at people that aren't me? I do much prefer to talk about myself, but I guess we can look at the general population as a whole, or at least the general population whose decks are scraped by EDHREC. Thanks to Nate Burgess, who you can find on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/MisterPlorg">@MisterPlorg</a>, for pulling this bit of data for me and saving me the work of having to manually look up all 100 cards.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a20210424103703_hd.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-64957 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a20210424103703_hd-1024x623.png" alt="" width="1024" height="623" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a20210424103703_hd-1024x623.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a20210424103703_hd-300x183.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a20210424103703_hd-768x468.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a20210424103703_hd-1536x935.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a20210424103703_hd-2048x1247.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>The contrast isn't quite as vivid as it is in my decks, but it's still rather large. I think the dip in 2020 stats is probably due to folks who aren't as diligent about updating their lists as soon as possible. I'd wager if we revisited this bit of data a year from now, we'd see 2020's statistics are a lot closer to 2018-2019 than they are to 2003-2004.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">I Want You to Notice, When I'm Not Around</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dockside Extortionist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Springbloom Druid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa&#039;s Oracle"></div></div>
<p>Okay, so what do we take away from all of this? Well, two things.</p>
<p>First, creatures today are more popular than creatures printed years ago. Does this mean that they're stronger? Probably, though there're other factors like price, availability, and obscurity that do hinder older cardboard. They also tend to do more things, which makes them more interesting deck inclusions. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shivan Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Shivan Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an iconic card, particularly with the original Alpha art, but what it offers a deck pales in comparison to something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goldspan Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Goldspan Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Goldspan is not only generally stronger, it works as a force multiplier in decks that care about Treasure, sacrificing things, artifact count, tokens, etc.</p>
<p>Second, given the graph at the very top of the page showing the overall distribution of card types, it probably means that we'd see an inverse skew for a lot of other types that result in us getting that fairly even graph. In other words if card representation is mostly even through the top 100, but creatures tend to lean heavily to recent sets, that must mean that some other card type is more popular from older sets. It's not a coincidence that there're no creatures in the Power 9 after all.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Whatever Makes You Happy, Whatever You Want</h2>
<p>So let's wrap this up by learning something from what we've gathered and find a way to apply this. The primary lesson I'm taking away here is that creatures today are generally better than ones printed 4-5 years ago, and the ones then are generally better than the ones printed through the game's first 15 years. When new sets come out and you want to add a new body, the best place to look for cuts are going to usually be cutting older creatures.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading, and, as always, may your numbers be superior.</p>


Superior Numbers - Fantastic Beasts and When to Find Them

Ranking 2020 with EDHREC: Planeswalkers

Too-Specific Top 10 - Inducing Mana

Evasive Maneuvers — The Synthesis

Epic Experiment - Extus, Oriq Overlord

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Belbe, Corrupted Observer" href="#" target="_blank">Belbe, Corrupted Observer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.artofmtg.com/art/belbe-corrupted-observer/">Igor Kieryluk</a>)</h6>
<h1>Belbe and Bell Borca: Bel-baes?</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 ten cards for a commander that we think are overplayed, underplayed, or sleepers to challenge EDHREC’s data. Always remember, dear reader: 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.</p>
<p>Last article, readers voted on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Belbe, Corrupted Observer" href="#" target="_blank">Belbe, Corrupted Observer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Belbe, Corrupted Observer"></div></div>
<p>Fun fact! It's since been corrected, but when I first looked up Belbe's art during <em>Commander Legends</em> spoilers, the URL for her Art of MTG page said "artofmtg.com/art/belbe-eye-of-yawgmoth", so Belbe, Eye of Yawgmoth might have been her card name at one point!</p>
<p>Belbe wants to ping all of her opponents to get a six-colorless-mana boost on her post-combat main phase. That's a huge amount of ramp, and folks are using that mana to power out some bangers. I love that we can plug in any crazy top end we want for Belbe. Our opponents can take advantage of this ability, too, although they're more likely to get two or four mana since their decks aren't built around it. To offset this bonus, some people are leaning into taxing opponents' spells.</p>
<p>We're going to challenge the data from all 530 Commander 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>
<h3>1. Staff of Nin (43%)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Staff of nin"></div></div>
<p>Let me use the Staff to highlight what appears to be a soft spot for Belbe players: colorless six-mana cards. Just take a look at her mana curve (below)! While this totally makes sense because they allow you to ensure that that Belbe mana all gets used in one place (even on turn two), I think we can be pickier in our choices. I'd lump <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Pharaoh&#039;s Statue" href="#" target="_blank">God-Pharaoh&#039;s Statue</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in, too, but I can see a good chunk of y'all like those Stax pieces.</p>
<p>Does it make sense to be so worried about efficiency and not wasting mana on turn two that we play a sub-optimal card? I'd rather let a mana fizzle and play an impactful five-drop, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wandering Archaic" href="#" target="_blank">Wandering Archaic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychosis Crawler" href="#" target="_blank">Psychosis Crawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It might sound crazy, but what about a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Book of Rass" href="#" target="_blank">Book of Rass</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, potentially drawing three next turn and having a great mana sink hanging around? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ugin, the Ineffable" href="#" target="_blank">Ugin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another card that's a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Giant Growth" href="#" target="_blank">giant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> improvement over the Staff.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-27-at-2.46.02-PM.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-65083" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-27-at-2.46.02-PM.png" alt="" width="475" height="348" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-27-at-2.46.02-PM.png 475w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-27-at-2.46.02-PM-300x220.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px" /></a></p>
<h3>2. Ill-Gotten Inheritance (28%)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ill-gotten inheritance"></div></div>
<p>Our deck wants to make opponents lose life in two ways. The first is with quick creatures that we can drop on turn one that attack on turn two to ping the table, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Night Market Lookout" href="#" target="_blank">Night Market Lookout</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mardu Shadowspear" href="#" target="_blank">Mardu Shadowspear</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The second are more persistent ways to ping opponents that will stick around and repeatedly deal damage. These second-volley effects should have some extra utility to them.</p>
<p>Let's take a look at some options. We want efficient ones, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sanctum of Stone Fangs" href="#" target="_blank">Sanctum of Stone Fangs</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Retreat to Hagra" href="#" target="_blank">Retreat to Hagra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but when we get to four or five mana we really want them to do something else to earn their slot in the deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Palace Siege" href="#" target="_blank">Palace Siege</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is great because if we don't need the damage we can get some card advantage from our graveyard. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Court of Ambition" href="#" target="_blank">Court of Ambition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Loyal Subordinate" href="#" target="_blank">Loyal Subordinate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> pack more damage in their punch, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychosis Crawler" href="#" target="_blank">Psychosis Crawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can turn a draw spell into a wallop. These are the contenders <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ill-Gotten Inheritance" href="#" target="_blank">Ill-Gotten Inheritance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is up against, and it's lacking the punch and extra utility we can find elsewhere.</p>
<h3>3. Thrull Parasite (23%)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="thrull parasite"></div></div>
<p>The play pattern with <em>Extort</em> is awkward with Belbe's ability. To activate our Belbe trigger, we need to cast two spells on our turn one to <em>Extort</em>, and another big one to use the mana Belbe got from that <em>Extort</em>. That's too many hoops to jump through. Similarly, the new <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom Apprentice" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom Apprentice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is being included in 41% of new Belbe decks, and has the same issue of needing to cast an instant or sorcery before you get your Belbe mana rebate.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Underplayed</h2>
<h3>4. Damnable Pact (35%)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Damnable pact"></div></div>
<p>Besides it being a fantastic card in nearly any black deck, there are two reasons we want <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnable Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Damnable Pact</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as part of our draw package for Belbe. First, we can dump a whole bunch of mana into that X to draw a ton of cards. Second, we're more likely than most decks to have enough mana to use Damnable Pact for its secret second mode: knocking a player out of the game.</p>
<h3>5. Hooded Blightfang (22%)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hooded blightfang"></div></div>
<p>This is a pinger that's going to give us extra utility by threatening planeswalkers. It will be very hard to block, and except in the case of our opponents having a token army, they'll have some tough decisions to make when we attack with it.</p>
<h3>6. Animists' Awakening (14%)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Animists&#039; Awakening"></div></div>
<p>The ramp package in a Belbe deck will be more interesting than most. On turn one, we'd rather be playing a one-drop pinger than a Sol Ring, so if you're like me and love a reason to cut <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, here it is. We're going to be more focused on fixing than ramp. We want a black mana on turn one to play a pinger, a green mana on turn two to cast Belbe, and then we're really jazzed about kicking six mana into our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Everflowing Chalice" href="#" target="_blank">Everflowing Chalice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skyclave Relic" href="#" target="_blank">Skyclave Relic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s. Another I'd add to that arsenal is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animists&#039; Awakening" href="#" target="_blank">Animists&#039; Awakening</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We can't play it until we have one green mana available, so probably not on turn two, but on turn three we can likely cast this for at least X=8 and ramp a whole heck of a lot.</p>
<h3>7. Hurricane (7%)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hurricane"></div></div>
<p>Hurricane is a multi-functional all-star in our deck (and, to a lesser extent, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Squall Line" href="#" target="_blank">Squall Line</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Canopy Surge" href="#" target="_blank">Canopy Surge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>). We can cast it for X=1 to simply get a Belbe refund, we can use it as a boardwipe for fliers, and best of all, we can win the game with it if we have a lot of mana and the highest life total!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Sleepers</h2>
<h3>8. Arguel's Blood Fast</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arguel&#039;s Blood fast"></div></div>
<p>I was very surprised not to see this classic black draw mana sink on Belbe's EDHREC page. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Erebos, God of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Erebos, God of the Dead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> should be up there, too. These are great draw cards all by themselves, and they'll do a lot to help make sure all of that Belbe mana goes to good use! They essentially turn into <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Greed" href="#" target="_blank">Greed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> if we have extra mana lying around.</p>
<h3>9. Astral Cornucopia</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Astral cornucopia"></div></div>
<p>While it's getting outclassed in some decks these days, the flexibility on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Astral Cornucopia" href="#" target="_blank">Astral Cornucopia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is great and is why it warrants consideration alongside rocks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gilded Lotus" href="#" target="_blank">Gilded Lotus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (15%) for Belbe. We can sink all the Belbe mana into it for a rock that taps for two, or pump more or less into it depending on the situation. For that reason, it's nearly as good as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Everflowing Chalice" href="#" target="_blank">Everflowing Chalice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skyclave Relic" href="#" target="_blank">Skyclave Relic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in our deck. Belbe probably isn't ramping on turn two, she's probably entering the battlefield, meaning we can include some less efficient and more fun rocks.</p>
<h3>10. Psychosis Crawler</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychosis crawler"></div></div>
<p>I mentioned it at the top, but I love Psychosis Crawler in this deck. It's guaranteed to trigger Belbe at the start of every turn, and we are going to want to have enough gas in this deck to keep dropping haymakers. While we're gassing up our hand, why not spread around a ton of damage at the same time? Also, it's a great way to use Belbe mana, even on a turn two play if we're set up perfectly.</p>
<p>Let's go to a decklist! I had some fun with the top end. Insert any wacky expensive cards you want!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Belbe Brewed Boisterously" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Belbe, Corrupted Observer
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Deathrite Shaman
*1 Erebos, God of the Dead
*1 Hooded Blightfang
*1 Loyal Subordinate
*1 Mardu Shadowspear
*1 Night Market Lookout
*1 Phyrexian Triniform
*1 Plague Spitter
*1 Psychosis Crawler
*1 Pulse Tracker
*1 Rakshasa Debaser
*1 Rankle, Master of Pranks
*1 Shepherd of Rot
*1 Steelbane Hydra
*1 Stonecoil Serpent
*1 Tangled Florahedron
*1 Triplicate Titan
*1 Twilight Prophet
*1 Vicious Conquistador
*1 Voracious Hydra
*1 Walking Ballista
*1 Wandering Archaic
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Ambition&#039;s Cost
*1 Animist&#039;s Awakening
*1 Army of the Damned
*1 Bala Ged Recovery
*1 Black Sun&#039;s Zenith
*1 Bond of Agony
*1 Canopy Surge
*1 Damnable Pact
*1 Deadly Tempest
*1 Exsanguinate
*1 Gelatinous Genesis
*1 Hurricane
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Read the Bones
*1 Sign in Blood
*1 Syphon Mind
*1 Vicious Rumors
*1 Zof Consumption
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Arguel&#039;s Blood Fast
*1 Court of Ambition
*1 Palace Siege
*1 Retreat to Hagra
*1 Sanctum of Stone Fangs
[/Enchantments]
[Artifacts]
*1 Astral Cornucopia
*1 Cryptolith Fragment
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Horizon Stone
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Lithoform Engine
*1 Skyclave Relic
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Assassin&#039;s Trophy
*1 Beast Within
*1 Crushing Disappointment
*1 Go for the Throat
*1 Golgari Charm
*1 Hagra Mauling
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Khalni Ambush
*1 Malakir Rebirth
[/Instants]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Ugin, the Ineffable
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Blooming Marsh
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Command Tower
*1 Crawling Barrens
*12 Forest
*1 Leechridden Swamp
*1 Llanowar Wastes
*1 Nurturing Peatland
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*12 Swamp
*1 Temple of Malady
*1 Twilight Mire
*1 Undergrowth Stadium
*1 Woodland Cemetery
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<hr />
<h1>Bye Bye Belbe</h1>
<p>What did you think of 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/jevin_mtg">@jevin_mtg</a> or shoot me an email @ jevinlortie@gmail.com.</p>
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