<p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eshki Dragonclaw" href="#" target="_blank">Eshki Dragonclaw</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">| </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Art by </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.mynameistran.com/">Tran Nguyen</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello and welcome back to an in-universe Commander deck tech! With <em>Final Fantasy's</em> release now in our rear view, and <em>Edge of Eternities</em>' release coming up quite quickly, I wanted to take a brief moment to look at a card from a recent set that I think could use some extra love. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I'm a huge fan of <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em>, and the Temur in particular, so I'm super excited to take another look at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eshki Dragonclaw" href="#" target="_blank">Eshki Dragonclaw</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eshki Dragonclaw"></div></div></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">What Does </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eshki</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Do?</span></h2>
<p>Eshki's got a few keywords on her that make her an ideal leader for a Voltron deck. First, she's got defensive ability with vigilance, some evasion with trample, and even built-in protection with ward <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>.</p>
<p>And, at the beginning of combat on our turn, if we've cast both a creature spell and a noncreature spell, she rewards us with +1/+1 counters and card draw. That's a lot for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, meaning we can get our gameplan online pretty early.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This commander is a fun design, and encourages us to fill our deck with similar amounts of creatures and noncreatures. An interesting push-and-pull, for sure. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is reminiscent of several different commanders, notably the recently released <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hraesvelgr of the First Brood" href="#" target="_blank">Hraesvelgr of the First Brood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both Eshki and Hraesvelgr have similar keywords, and provide some combat-relevant buff to a creature when we cast a noncreature spell. I'm also reminded of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krile Baldesion" href="#" target="_blank">Krile Baldesion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, whose abilities ask us to have high counts of creatures and noncreatures too.<br />
</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hraesvelgr of the First Brood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krile Baldesion"></div></div>
<p>So, Eshki asks us to cast noncreature spells (and fill out our 99 with a strong supporting cast of creatures). But, there's a few categories of noncreature spells that we've got to choose from.</p>
<p>While <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>-centric decks may lean well into Spellslinger synergies with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage of Runes" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage of Runes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I want to take a slightly more unique approach.</p>
<p>We'll be making use of Auras to make a hybrid Enchantress-Voltron list centered around beating face with our commander! So, let's get right into it!</p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Key Cards for Eshki</span></h2>
<p>There's a full 28 enchantments in this deck, so let's talk about a few of the best ones. My personal favorite is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hadana&#039;s Climb" href="#" target="_blank">Hadana&#039;s Climb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which will usually flip into a super powerful land the same turn we cast it.</p>
<p>Its back side can either be a nice multicolor land OR a way to end games quickly, and that flexibility is super valuable here.</p>
<p>I also really like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spider Umbra" href="#" target="_blank">Spider Umbra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in this list. It does everything we want out of an Aura: it's as cheap as an Aura can be, it buffs our commander's blocking abilities, and even protects our commander from the removal our opponents will surely throw at it.</p>
<p>Rounding out the best Auras in this deck is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Strong Back" href="#" target="_blank">Strong Back</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card is a cheaper version of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Auramancer&#039;s Guise" href="#" target="_blank">Auramancer&#039;s Guise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (which is also here) and reduces the casting cost of pretty much every other Aura we'll cast for the remainder of the game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hadana&#039;s Climb"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spider Umbra"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Strong Back"></div></div>
<p>There's a few more auras that work particularly well in this deck, so let's touch on those briefly. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shimmering Wings" href="#" target="_blank">Shimmering Wings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a relatively innocuous card, but it can trigger our commander and other cards that care about us casting enchantment spells over and over again.</p>
<p>Because Eshki provides so much value when we can cast both a creature and a noncreature spell, it's great to always have a noncreature spell available with this Aura.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whip Silk" href="#" target="_blank">Whip Silk</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crown of Flames" href="#" target="_blank">Crown of Flames</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> do pretty much the same thing, but I didn't want to clog the deck's 99 with too many Auras without consequential on-board effects.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bramble Familiar" href="#" target="_blank">Bramble Familiar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the same effect on a creature, plus a super useful adventure, so it's found a spot in the deck too. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hydra&#039;s Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Hydra&#039;s Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works wonders with our commander too.</p>
<p>Because Eshki naturally gains +1/+1 counters, this card will typically provide huge power and toughness buffs after just a few turns on the board.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shimmering Wings"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bramble Familiar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hydra&#039;s Growth"></div></div>
<p>Now, let's talk about the creatures that support our gameplan. First, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eutropia the Twice-Favored" href="#" target="_blank">Eutropia the Twice-Favored</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides extra evasion and +1/+1 counters to our commander, making her even more lethal.</p>
<p>Plus, Eutropia can distribute counters to other creatures we control if our commander happens to be out of commission. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei" href="#" target="_blank">Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great haste outlet and mana sink, letting us get some quick attacks in with our commander and make 5/5 flying creatures if we've got extra mana.</p>
<p>Speaking of mana production, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fanatic of Rhonas" href="#" target="_blank">Fanatic of Rhonas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <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> both provide extra mana with our commander on the battlefield. They slot very nicely into our early game curve, and can accelerate us towards the mid/late game with ease.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eutropia the Twice-Favored"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fanatic of Rhonas"></div></div>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">How Does This Deck Win?</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This deck, as all good Voltron decks do, tries to hit our opponents hard and fast. By buffing our commander with auras like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Colossification" href="#" target="_blank">Colossification</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and creatrures like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nylea&#039;s Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Nylea&#039;s Colossus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we'll try to knock out our opponents in just a few combat steps.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Eshki's card draw and self-buffing capabilities only accelerate that plan, and we'll usually end the game after a few big swings with a suited-up commander.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Colossification"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nylea&#039;s Colossus"></div></div>
<p>But, Eshki's power makes her a prime target for our opponents' removal. We'll sometimes need other creatures to put our Auras onto, so cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea" href="#" target="_blank">Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wildsear, Scouring Maw" href="#" target="_blank">Wildsear, Scouring Maw</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can turn from role players to star players if need be.</p>
<p>Each of these cards can serve as a nice target for our Auras in the event of our commander's absence, and having them as an alternative makes it easier to recover from unfavorable positions in-game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wildsear, Scouring Maw"></div></div>
<h2><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eshki Dragonclaw </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Commander Deck List</span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Eshki - Finally! A Temur deck that doesn&#039;t suck!" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Eshki Dragonclaw
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Aetherize
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Fumble
*1 Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
*1 Strix Serenade
*1 Swan Song
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Bridgeworks Battle // Tanglespan Bridgeworks
*1 Ezuri&#039;s Predation
*1 Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Alpha Authority
*1 Amphibian Downpour
*1 Ancestral Mask
*1 Aqueous Form
*1 Auramancer&#039;s Guise
*1 Bear Umbra
*1 Canopy Cover
*1 Colossification
*1 Combat Research
*1 Enchantress&#039;s Presence
*1 Fly
*1 Frog Tongue
*1 Hadana&#039;s Climb // Winged Temple of Orazca
*1 Hydra&#039;s Growth
*1 Kenrith&#039;s Transformation
*1 Lignify
*1 Octopus Umbra
*1 One with Nature
*1 Predatory Hunger
*1 Season of Growth
*1 Shielding Plax
*1 Shimmering Wings
*1 Snake Umbra
*1 Song of the Dryads
*1 Spider Umbra
*1 Sticky Fingers
*1 Strong Back
*1 Wild Growth
[/Enchantments]
[Creatures]
*1 Argothian Enchantress
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Bloom Tender
*1 Bothersome Quasit
*1 Bramble Familiar // Fetch Quest
*1 Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea
*1 Composer of Spring
*1 Destiny Spinner
*1 Disciple of Freyalise // Garden of Freyalise
*1 Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler
*1 Eidolon of Blossoms
*1 Entity Tracker
*1 Eutropia the Twice-Favored
*1 Fanatic of Rhonas
*1 Flux Channeler
*1 Generous Visitor
*1 Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei
*1 Herald of the Pantheon
*1 Hydroelectric Specimen // Hydroelectric Laboratory
*1 Ilysian Caryatid
*1 Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief
*1 Kodama of the West Tree
*1 Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat
*1 Nessian Wanderer
*1 Nylea&#039;s Colossus
*1 Ornithopter of Paradise
*1 Pinnacle Monk // Mystic Peak
*1 Sanctum Weaver
*1 Setessan Champion
*1 Tanglespan Lookout
*1 Third Path Iconoclast
*1 Verduran Enchantress
*1 Wildsear, Scouring Maw
[/Creatures]
[Lands]
*1 Barkchannel Pathway // Tidechannel Pathway
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Cascade Bluffs
*1 Command Tower
*1 Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway
*1 Dreamroot Cascade
*1 Fiery Islet
*1 Fire-Lit Thicket
*1 Flooded Grove
*3 Forest
*1 Grove of the Burnwillows
*3 Island
*1 Karplusan Forest
*2 Mountain
*1 Otawara, Soaring City
*1 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
*1 Rockfall Vale
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
*1 Spire Garden
*1 Stormcarved Coast
*1 Training Center
*1 Waterlogged Grove
*1 Yavimaya Coast
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Conclusion and Alternative Build Paths</span></h2>
<p>That's all for this week, folks! Before you go, I wanted to talk a little bit about how I'd choose to build a Spellslinger version of this deck.</p>
<p>Our very own <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/start-me-up-tarkir-dragonstorm">Bennie Smith wrote up a cool Adventure-centric Eshki list</a>, but I'd choose to go a little bit more all-in on the Voltron strategy again. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temur Battle Rage" href="#" target="_blank">Temur Battle Rage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Invigorating Surge" href="#" target="_blank">Invigorating Surge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gift of the Viper" href="#" target="_blank">Gift of the Viper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would find a place for sure.</p>
<p>This deck would be focused on buffing our commander using combat tricks, taking out players with temporary bursts of power to our commander that they wouldn't see coming.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Temur Battle Rage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Invigorating Surge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gift of the Viper"></div></div>
<p>But now I want to hear from you! Would you rather play an Enchantress or spellsinger version of this deck? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you next week for an <em>Edge of Eternities </em>deck tech!</p>


Making a Voltron Deck with Eshki Dragonclaw

The Top 10 Most Played Landfall Cards in Commander

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wheel of Fortune" href="#" target="_blank">Wheel of Fortune</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>| art by <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/search?artistName=eq~Daniel_Gelon">Daniel Gelon</a></h6>
<p>We've all had to mulligan. It's the nature of randomness of any game even with four of a kind. My question, as it has always been, is are we strict enough about mulligans in Commander, or perhaps too strict, or perhaps it hasn't been well defined or enforced either way.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Black Vise"></div></div>
<h2>The History of the Mulligan in MTG</h2>
<p>Before we can talk about Commander, a format that only rose to popularity enough to be a recognized format in 2013, we have to talk about <em>Magic</em> in August of 1993.</p>
<p>I found out today that the original game of <em>Magic</em> had no mulligan rules. Its game designers were worried about the very thing that is the crux of most mulligan arguments: They believed it rewarded poor deck building.</p>
<h3>The 1st Mulligan in <em>Magic</em></h3>
<p>However, mulligans were instated literally less than a year later, in 1994. Players likely proved that the system was as-then currently too strict to reward even good deckbuilding.</p>
<p>At least, that's my theory. This mulligan consisted of a player revealing their opening hand, showing no spells or no lands, and drafting a fresh hand. You could only do this once per game. This didn't last by itself very long.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wheel of Fortune"></div></div>
<h3>The Paris Mulligan</h3>
<p>In 1997, the Paris Mulligan rose to popularity. It was suggested as an alternative by Matt Hydra, a Pro Tour player. Mulligans would happen after starting player was determined, but before any other actions.</p>
<p>If dissatisfied with their hand, a player could put their hand back in the deck and draw one less than the the starting hand, all without revealing their hand.</p>
<p>For each mulligan, the player would draw one less card, until they were satisfied or were left with no cards in hand.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gauntlet of Might"></div></div>
<h3>Vancouver Mulligan</h3>
<p>Surprisingly, when I first played a prerelease in 2016 for <em>Kaladesh</em>, they were still using The Paris Mulligan at the local LGS I was at.</p>
<p>This is interesting, because the Vancouver Mulligan went into syndicated ruling effect in 2015. This consisted of the same rules as the Paris Mulligan, but the person with fewer than the starting hand could Scry 1.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Vault"></div></div>
<h3>The London Mulligan</h3>
<p>The London Mulligan (the system we have in place now) was established in <em>Core Set 2020</em> . The rule is: If a player is dissatisfied with their hand after starting player is decided, they may shuffle their hand back in, draw up to seven cards, and put back one card at the bottom of their library in any order for each additional mulligan. No scrying is allowed.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nevinyrral&#039;s Disk"></div></div>
<h2>Commander Mulligan</h2>
<p>It's actually news to me that the official rules for mulligans for Commander were as they were. I've always heard that Commander has a "free" mulligan. Meaning if you don't like your first hand, you may draw another 7 with no penalty or additional rulings.</p>
<p>Well, there is no official ruling saying this is true. There are a lot of informal rules, but officially Commander follows competitive format rulings on mulligans.</p>
<p>It's important to note however, most players follow the free mulligan rule more casually. The Commander Rule Committee (CRC) advises that even in 1v1 Commander, the free mulligan be used.</p>
<p>The CRC goes one step further and says to set aside hands instead of shuffling them into the deck to save time on shuffling.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Savannah Lions"></div></div>
<h3>Additional Commander Mulligan Types</h3>
<p>There is also the Partial Paris Mulligan, which allows players to set aside any amount of cards from their hand and draw that many minus one for each mulligan. Once the hand is selected, the set side cards are shuffled in.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sol Ring"></div></div>
<h2>The Sides and Their Merits</h2>
<p>Now that we have a good understanding of where mulligans come from, we have some frame of reference. There isn't a ton online about the reasoning behind some of the updates to mulligans throughout the years, but we can take some educated guesses.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Howling Mine"></div></div>
<h3>Strict Mulligan Rulings</h3>
<p>Definition: Following the rules of competitive pay. No free mulligans or only one.</p>
<p>This is at the core of competitive play. We want to know when we play competitively, we minimize as much randomness as we can.</p>
<p>We tune our decks to ensure that it plays as consistently as possible. With a strict mulligan rule, it allows some insight into the strengths and weaknesses of a deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Ur-Dragon"></div></div>
<p>An example may be: If in your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Ur-Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">The Ur-Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck you have to mulligan a lot because most of the permanents in your hand are too costly mana-value wise, it might be a indication that your deck needs more early game options.</p>
<p>You might also discover that in testing with your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bristly Bill, Spine Sower" href="#" target="_blank">Bristly Bill, Spine Sower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> landfall deck you're not seeing anything but lands. It may be that you don't have enough draw in your deck, or that you might be running a touch too many lands. Mulligans can help show you this.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bristly Bill, Spine Sower"></div></div>
<p>If you find in your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coram, the Undertaker" href="#" target="_blank">Coram, the Undertaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck you're not managing to get Coram out fast enough, you might not be running enough ramp. That could be why you haven't been seeing them consistently in your opening hands.</p>
<p>Additionally, it's important as a skill to see whether a hand is worth keeping. Don't push your luck. It's a skill of its own knowing what's keepable in your deck based on how you've built it. Strict mulligan rule help hone this skill.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Coram, the Undertaker"></div></div>
<p>All in all, stricter mulligan rules clarify how efficient you can be as a deck builder, and that is something worth exploring.</p>
<h3>Loose Mulligan Rules</h3>
<p>Definition: basically an amount of mulligans based on vibes.</p>
<p>This is at the core of casual play. We want to know when we play casually that we minimize how "unfun" a game can be for other payers.</p>
<p>Specifically, we want to allow any amount of chances for a player to have a fulfilling game of Commander. With a loose mulligan rule, it allows us to maximize the amount of fun the whole tables has on average.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mystic Remora"></div></div>
<p>We've all been in a bad rut where a well-tuned mana base or an efficient deck just has an attitude with you and won't draw well and won't shuffle well. I've once shuffled my deck and saw the same 4 cards in each opening hand.</p>
<p>In a deck that runs 60 singleton, plus some number of unique non-basic lands cards, it's likely that the odds be against you in getting a consistent hand.</p>
<p>We know that <em>Magic </em>sets sometimes print functionally redundant cards, like running <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> and <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>, <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> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Generous Gift" href="#" target="_blank">Generous Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Running cards that function essentially the same is the key to optimization in a deck, but sometimes the randomness is truly just the randomness.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pongify"></div></div>
<p>It's tough looking at a player who is going to have to sit through a one hour game and tell them they have to play with two cards in hand versus another player who is keeping a solid seven.</p>
<p>Additionally, even if a player deck is unoptimized, is it worth making them play through hours of gameplay to prove that to them?</p>
<p>Most people end up mulligan-ing around three times with loose mulligans rules, and while this can be annoying, social pressure usually encourages them to explain what elements of their decks they're running with.</p>
<p>People will ask after the third mulligan: How many lands and mana rocks are you running? What is the curve of your deck? How many creatures are you running?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Three Visits"></div></div>
<p>All in all, casual mulligans allow for more consistently fun games for everyone.</p>
<h2>Synthesizing the Mulligan</h2>
<p>In writing this article, I've dug up a lot of research about mulligans and it's changed my understanding. I don't think it changes my personal stance, but it clarifies some things for me.</p>
<p>I think Loose Mulligans are better as long as there is a bit of social pressure. I'm not letting someone craft their perfect hand, but I want them to have a playable seven.</p>
<p>My main reasoning here starts with the fact that Commander is a traditionally casual format. The free mulligan that has made its way into the format emphasizes the typical casualness of the game.</p>
<p>We want everyone to have fun more than we want people to build a perfectly optimized deck. If I want that kind of restriction, I would play CEDH.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tymna the Weaver"></div></div>
<p>I'm not saying we shouldn't build competitively in the casual format. We all do. This is why <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/wotc-introduces-new-bracket-system-for-edh">the Bracket System</a> is so important. It's just what our priorities should be.</p>
<p>Secondly, in my experience, what makes me decks more efficient isn't just what I see in a mulligan or two.</p>
<p>I learn far more about my decks when it loses to a deck that is just that more efficient, even when my deck performs as intended.</p>
<p>If my deck needs more card draw, better ramp, or lower mana value spells, I can still play may deck at peak and understand those problems.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Darksteel Forge"></div></div>
<p>In my experience, I've just had to play against other tuned decks to understand my weaknesses. Iron sharpens iron. I often notice my lack of draw when another deck does it better and so on.</p>
<p>Lastly, I didn't realize how gradually mulligans have rewarded players more over time. Even in competitive formats, the strictness of the mulligan couldn't cancel out the randomness of the game. But perhaps that's a little naive of me. Let me know, I'm <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/strixhavendropout.bsky.social">@strixhavendropout on Blue Sky</a>.</p>


Should We Be Strict About Mulligans in Commander?

<h6 style="text-align: right;">All-Fates Scroll | Illustrated by <a href="https://samguay.com/">Sam Guay</a></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>It's Friday, July 11th, and the first week of <em>Edge of Eternities</em> preview season is winding down! However, that doesn't mean that spoiler season is over, as we have one more week to go. As such, after covering the past few days of spoilers, today we'll be looking at even more reveals!</p>
<p>Today, Wizards of the Coast only scheduled previews from the main set. The Commander precons are already all revealed, and no <em>Stellar Sights</em> cards were on the official schedule for today. So, let's look at what we've got:</p>
<h2><em>Edge of Eternities</em> Main Set Spoilers Ahead</h2>
<p>To kick things off, here is a list of all the content creators and outlets scheduled to reveal cards from the main set of <em>Edge of Eternities</em> today:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>EDHREC</strong> (the preview of which we will <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/edhrecs-exclusive-edge-of-eternities-preview-cards/">link here!</a>)</li>
<li><strong>Peachypop Cosplay</strong></li>
<li><strong>Commander at Home</strong></li>
<li><strong>Dantics</strong></li>
<li><strong>LoadingReadyRun</strong></li>
<li><strong>VeggieWagon</strong></li>
<li><strong>GIGA</strong></li>
<li><strong>MTGMuddstah</strong></li>
<li><strong>PlayStationBit</strong></li>
<li><strong>Press Start</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Notably, some of these content creators are a little late for the recap today. As such, I'll only be covering the spoilers we've seen:</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Dyadrine-Synthesis-Amalgam.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158836" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Dyadrine-Synthesis-Amalgam.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Dyadrine-Synthesis-Amalgam.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Dyadrine-Synthesis-Amalgam-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kavaron-Harrier.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158837" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kavaron-Harrier.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kavaron-Harrier.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kavaron-Harrier-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Memorial-Team-Leader.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158838" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Memorial-Team-Leader.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Memorial-Team-Leader.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Memorial-Team-Leader-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mightform-Harmonizer.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158839" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mightform-Harmonizer.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mightform-Harmonizer.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mightform-Harmonizer-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mmmenon-the-Right-Hand.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158840" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mmmenon-the-Right-Hand.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mmmenon-the-Right-Hand.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mmmenon-the-Right-Hand-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Monoist-Circuit-Feeder.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158841" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Monoist-Circuit-Feeder.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Monoist-Circuit-Feeder.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Monoist-Circuit-Feeder-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Chaplain.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158842" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Chaplain.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Chaplain.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Chaplain-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Expansionist.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158843" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Expansionist.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Expansionist.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Sunstar-Expansionist-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Weftwalking.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158844" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Weftwalking.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Weftwalking.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Weftwalking-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Zero-Point-Ballad.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-158845" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Zero-Point-Ballad.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Zero-Point-Ballad.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Zero-Point-Ballad-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a></p>
<p>For all it's worth, there's not a ton to say beyond how utterly cool this particular <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> expansion is. As it stands, we're super-excited to see how it impacts formats like Modern, Standard, Pauper, and, of course, Commander. For instance, are you the kind of player who would build an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck? Perhaps you'd like Mm'menon, the Right Hand. Or, if you like stealing commanders, maybe you're more a fan of putting Zero Point Ballad into the 99 of a black deck. The possibilities are near-endless, I'm sure.</p>
<p>So now, let's open the floor to all of you, dear readers. Do any of today's particular <em>Edge of Eternities</em> spoilers pique your interest as far as deck building goes? Sound off in the comments below!</p>


Best Edge of Eternities Spoilers For Friday, July 11th

<p>Some people are naturally curious. Many of them are born curious, and many others still have curiosity thrust upon them. If you are one of those in the world curious about what's out there beyond it, you're certainly in for a treat.</p>
<p>Assuming you got here at the time of writing, you may not yet know what <em>Edge of Eternities</em> preview card we here at EDHREC have the pleasure of revealing to you, dear reader.</p>
<p>However, we got not one, but <em>two</em> preview cards to show to you today! And, predicting that oh, so insatiable curiosity you simply must have, I must admit I'd like to sate that curiosity just as much as you want it satisfied in turn.</p>
<p>A huge thank-you to <a href="http://magic.wizards.com">Wizards of the Coast</a> for allowing us the opportunity to preview two cards from <em>Edge of Eternities</em>. It's a chance that we will always cherish and appreciate. And with that, let's get on with it!</p>
<h2>Pulsar Squadron Ace</h2>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Pulsar-Squadron-Ace_EN_HRR.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-158815 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Pulsar-Squadron-Ace_EN_HRR.jpg" alt="" width="716" height="1000" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Pulsar-Squadron-Ace_EN_HRR.jpg 716w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Pulsar-Squadron-Ace_EN_HRR-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px" /></a></p>
<p>In a vacuum (perhaps the vacuum of space?), Pulsar Squadron Ace is a tough card to evaluate. After all, we are <em>just now</em> getting Spacecraft cards for the very first time, right?</p>
<p>As such, it's remarkably difficult for us to properly gauge the power level of this white uncommon. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Seriema" href="#" target="_blank">The Seriema</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> seems like a fantastic fit for Pulsar Squadron Ace, for the mere merit of its ability to dig for a Spacecraft. That much of an interaction seems pretty intuitively obvious.</p>
<p>The Seriema aside, however, the space (Get it? "Space"?) to run Pulsar Squadron Ace seems rather thin. It is clear that a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines" href="#" target="_blank">Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might like Pulsar Squadron Ace, as might <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Preston, the Vanisher" href="#" target="_blank">Preston, the Vanisher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brago, King Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Brago, King Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>But let's face facts here; that's probably most true if PSA is in one of those decks using a Spacecraft theme.</p>
<p>And speaking of cards that like blink effects and effects upon entry, allow us to showcase our second exclusive preview card:</p>
<h2>Rescue Skiff</h2>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Rescue-Skiff_EN_HRR.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-158816 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Rescue-Skiff_EN_HRR.jpg" alt="" width="716" height="1000" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Rescue-Skiff_EN_HRR.jpg 716w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Rescue-Skiff_EN_HRR-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px" /></a></p>
<p>Rescue Skiff, quite frankly, pairs as well with PSA as a ribeye steak might pair with a Zinfandel. Don't care for red meat or red wine? Well, luckily for the chef, this is the Edge; nobody can hear you complain.</p>
<p>As it stands, Rescue Skiff is a more expansive <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zombify" href="#" target="_blank">Zombify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effect in white that can reanimate an enchantment on entry instead if you prefer.</p>
<p>Sure, the Skiff costs <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> more to cast than a Zombify (replacing Zombify's <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> for a single <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>). That's just the cost of versatility at uncommon, however.</p>
<p>But the best part about Rescue Skiff is its capacity to be blinked in and out. This is achievable by commanders like Brago. Plus, its ability can be doubled-upon by Elesh Norn, et cetera.</p>
<p>You don't have the "if Rescue Skiff was cast" clause here. Therefore, the Spacecraft can enter freely and still do its sworn mission. That mission? Well, <em>rescue</em>, of course!</p>
<h2>See More Edge of Eternities Spoilers</h2>
<p>In conclusion, we here at EDHREC hope we've slaked your curiosity. Once again, many thanks to Wizards of the Coast for presenting us with this opportunity.</p>
<p>If you want more content from us from <em>Edge of Eternities</em>, be sure to check out our dedicated <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/edge-of-eternities-news-and-set-reviews">News and Reviews page</a>.</p>
<p>If you're seeing this immediately as it's gone live, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@EDHRECast/videos">the newest EDHRECast video is live right now as well</a>! Be sure to grab some popcorn and settle down to see what the guys have to say about these two preview cards.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="The REAL Reason Commander Players HATE Combo | EDHRECast 374 | Magic: the Gathering | Commander" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CB_p_2V3IuU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>In the meantime, what would you do to make the most of Pulsar Squadron Ace? What about Rescue Skiff? Do either of these cards belong in non-Spacecraft themed Commander decks? Sound off below!</p>


EDHREC's Exclusive Edge of Eternities Preview Cards

<h6 style="text-align: right;">Untold Stories #2 Variant cover. Illustrated by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anireal.art/?hl=en">Jessica Fong</a></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Dark Horse Comics' collaboration with Wizards of the Coast to create a new <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> comic book series is just beginning. We don't even have the first issue just yet (as it is due out on September 10th). However, the details for issue #2 are beginning to trickle outward to the public. Here's what we know about <em>Untold Stories: Elspeth</em> #2 so far!</p>
<div id="attachment_158793" style="width: 373px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Owen-Gieni-main-cover-2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-158793" class="wp-image-158793" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Owen-Gieni-main-cover-2.jpg" alt="Untold Stories: Elspeth #2. Main cover illustrated by Owen Gieni. Image credit: Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast" width="363" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Owen-Gieni-main-cover-2.jpg 600w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Owen-Gieni-main-cover-2-195x300.jpg 195w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 363px) 100vw, 363px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-158793" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Untold Stories: Elspeth</em> #2. Main cover illustrated by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/owen_gieni/?hl=en"><strong>Owen Gieni</strong></a>. Image credit: Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h2>Klothys and Calix Make an Appearance</h2>
<p>This story follows Elspeth's efforts to escape the Theroan underworld. It also appears to follow <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Klothys, God of Destiny" href="#" target="_blank">Klothys, God of Destiny</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and her champion, the demigod and Planeswalker known as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Calix, Destiny&#039;s Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Calix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Klothys is upset that Elspeth is attempting to defy her fate to perish in that despondent realm. So, largely unable to fully leave Nyx (the <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> Olympus analogue), she sends Calix to pursue Elspeth.</p>
<p>As we don't know the exact plot for issue #1, the two may make their introduction there. However, it's also entirely possible that issue #2 will be Klothys and Calix's debut.</p>
<div id="attachment_158794" style="width: 373px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jessica-Fong-variant-cover-2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-158794" class="wp-image-158794" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jessica-Fong-variant-cover-2.jpg" alt="Untold Stories: Elspeth #2. Variant cover illustrated by Jessica Fong. Image credit: Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast" width="363" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jessica-Fong-variant-cover-2.jpg 600w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jessica-Fong-variant-cover-2-195x300.jpg 195w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 363px) 100vw, 363px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-158794" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Untold Stories: Elspeth</em> #2. Variant cover illustrated by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anireal.art/?hl=en"><strong>Jessica Fong</strong></a>. Image credit: Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h2>Erebos Presides Over the Storyline</h2>
<p>As this all unfolds, one figure stands present, orchestrating much of what happens here: <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>. Erebos is a covetous tyrant of a God, and also presides over ill fate and misfortune. As such, he would naturally have a role in this story. You can see in the variant cover art for <em>Untold Stories: Elspeth</em> #2 (stunningly illustrated by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/magali_villeneuve/?hl=en"><strong>Magali Villeneuve</strong></a>) that Erebos is very present in the background. In visual language, this often will signify that the character is pulling some of the strings and will play an important role in later acts of the story. Does that mean Erebos has a larger role than many Vorthos may have been led to believe? Perhaps, but we will see. After all, this is Dark Horse Comics' version of the story as a whole.</p>
<div id="attachment_158798" style="width: 373px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magali-Villeneuve-variant-cover-2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-158798" class="wp-image-158798" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magali-Villeneuve-variant-cover-2.jpg" alt="Untold Stories: Elspeth #2. Variant cover illustrated by Magali Villeneuve. Image credit: Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast" width="363" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magali-Villeneuve-variant-cover-2.jpg 600w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magali-Villeneuve-variant-cover-2-195x300.jpg 195w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 363px) 100vw, 363px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-158798" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Untold Stories: Elspeth</em> #2. Variant cover illustrated by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/magali_villeneuve/?hl=en"><strong>Magali Villeneuve</strong></a>. Image credit: Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h2>Dark Horse Comics Has Provided Further Details</h2>
<p>Of course, with new comic book covers often comes new details about that comic book. As such, let's provide what Dark Horse has made public:</p>
<blockquote>
<div class="product-description">
<p>After slaying one god and being betrayed by another, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elspeth Tirel" href="#" target="_blank">Elspeth Tirel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> scours Theros’s underworld for the man she loved and lost. However, the god of fate plans to redirect Elspeth into a tragic destiny.</p>
<p>• In partnership with Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast, Dark Horse expands the world of <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>—a widely popular tabletop and digital collectible card game with a 30+ year legacy.</p>
<p>• Written by acclaimed writer <strong>Dan Watters</strong> and illustrated by the talented <a href="https://www.instagram.com/owen_gieni/?hl=en"><strong>Owen Gieni</strong></a>.</p>
<p>• Four-issue series.</p>
</div>
<div class="product_details">
<h3>Creators</h3>
<dl>
<dt>Writer: <strong>Dan Watters</strong></dt>
<dt>Artist: <strong>Owen Gieni</strong></dt>
<dt>Colorist: <strong>Hilary Jenkins</strong></dt>
<dt>Letterer: <strong>Clayton Cowles</strong></dt>
<dt>Cover Artist: <strong>Owen Gieni</strong></dt>
</dl>
</div>
<div class="genre"><strong>Genre:</strong> Media Tie-In, Fantasy</div>
</blockquote>
<div>As this description alludes to, Elspeth has entered the Underworld hoping to find and rescue <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Daxos of Meletis" href="#" target="_blank">Daxos of Meletis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, who is canonically Elspeth's Theroan paramour. However, Klothys clearly has other plans for Elspeth there.</div>
<div></div>
<div><em>Untold Stories: Elspeth</em> #2 releases on October 22nd, 2025, quite a bit of time away from the time we're writing this piece. So, for now, this is the brunt of what we know about Dark Horse Comics' <em>Untold Stories: Elspeth</em> #2. Are you planning to read this comic book series? What's your opinion of Theros, <em>Theros: Beyond Death</em>, and/or Elspeth? Sound off in the comments below!</div>


Dark Horse Comics' Elspeth #2: What We Know So Far

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Fire and Ice" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Fire and Ice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.rahnart.com/">Chris Rahn</a></h6>
<p>Hello, data enthusiasts, and welcome to this overview of the math behind the new <em>Fire and Ice</em> data articles. In this series, we'll we dive into the recent card-playing trends within a given commander and identify the biggest movers as defined as:</p>
<p><strong><em>Cards that are either significantly increasing or decreasing in usage with a given commander relative to other cards played with that commander over the most recent six months.</em></strong></p>
<p>This article will provide an overview of the math behind identifying these "fiery" (trending up) and "icy" (trending down) cards.</p>
<p><strong><em>Why</em> </strong>a given card might be fiery or icy, however, is up to interpretation, and we look forward to speculating wildly in our <em>Fire and Ice</em> series!</p>
<h2>Overview of the Math</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We start by looking at all cards that are played with each commander aside from those that are very rare (&lt;2.5% of decks) or very ubiquitous (&gt; 97.5% of decks). </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We calculate the weekly usage of these cards as a percentage of all decks for each given commander for the past six months. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then, we determine the average change from week to week and summarize the data with a single "extremeness" score (also known as a z-score) as follows:</span></p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/latex_z_score-2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-158164" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/latex_z_score-2-300x41.png" alt="" width="300" height="41" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/latex_z_score-2-300x41.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/latex_z_score-2-768x105.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/latex_z_score-2.png 990w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p>
<p><em>where x = average weekly change in card usage (% of decks for this commander)</em></p>
<p>We currently identify those cards with extremeness &gt; 2 as "fiery", or having a high Fire Score, and those with extremeness &lt; -2 as "icy", or having a low Ice Score.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Ur-Dragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omnath, Locus of Rage"></div></div>
<p>Using these extremeness scores allows us to control for the unique deck-building behavior of each commander rather than using a fixed threshold of average change to identify big movers.</p>
<p>For example, a commander that has been around for a while that has fairly predictable deck-building (e.g. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Ur-Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">The Ur-Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) will see very little movement in the usage of each card over time compared to a commander that has more flexibility in its play (e.g. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omnath, Locus of Rage" href="#" target="_blank">Omnath, Locus of Rage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>).</p>
<p>This might mean a relatively small uptick for a card played with The Ur-Dragon will have the same Fire score as a card with a large uptick with Omnath.</p>
<h2>An Example</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let's take a look at card usage in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> decks over the six month period from December 24, 2024 to June 24, 2025.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> This plot shows a time series of the weekly usage of all 378 qualifying cards across this commander's decks. </span></p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.24 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-158181" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.24 PM-1024x574.png" alt="" width="767" height="430" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.24 PM-1024x574.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.24 PM-300x168.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.24 PM-768x430.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.24 PM-1536x861.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.24 PM.png 2016w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px" /></a></p>
<p>Another way we can look at the data is relative to the start of the time period.</p>
<p>Here, we see certain cards emerge more clearly as "big movers".</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.12 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-158182" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.12 PM-1024x561.png" alt="" width="761" height="417" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.12 PM-1024x561.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.12 PM-300x164.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.12 PM-768x421.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.12 PM-1536x842.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-12.41.12 PM.png 2026w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px" /></a></p>
<p>If we calculate the average weekly change for each card and look at the distribution across all qualifying Urza cards, we see roughly a bell curve with some extreme values that get flagged as being fiery or icy:</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-12.54.42 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-158713" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-12.54.42 PM.png" alt="" width="729" height="381" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-12.54.42 PM.png 848w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-12.54.42 PM-300x157.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-12.54.42 PM-768x401.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let's once again plot the relative time series graph, this time highlighting the identified fiery and icy cards. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We can see that these cards clearly have exhibited more extreme changes over the time period than the cards identified as stable:</span></p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-158187" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM.png" alt="" width="891" height="411" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM.png 2284w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM-300x138.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM-1024x473.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM-768x354.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM-1536x709.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-07-at-1.02.44 PM-2048x945.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px" /></a></p>
<p>The following table shows which cards were identified as fiery and icy, along with their average weekly changes, extremeness score, and the number of decks they were played in over the six month time period.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Repurposing Bay" href="#" target="_blank">Repurposing Bay</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> takes the cake for fieriest card, with a Fire score of 5.85, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Etherium Sculptor" href="#" target="_blank">Etherium Sculptor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as the iciest card, with an Ice score of -3.54.</p>
<p>The top four fieriest cards (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Repurposing Bay" href="#" target="_blank">Repurposing Bay</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mistrise Village" href="#" target="_blank">Mistrise Village</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unstoppable Plan" href="#" target="_blank">Unstoppable Plan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ugin, Eye of the Storms" href="#" target="_blank">Ugin, Eye of the Storms</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) were released in the examined six-month period and were able to achieve high Fire Scores largely due to starting at 0% usage.</p>
<p>Not all newly released cards will show up as fiery if they aren't an obviously good fit for the given commander, but it is a good thing to be aware of.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Icy cards are often less explicable as we often see Commander staples showing up icy; this may be due to potential replacements coming on the scene or any of a number of other reasons. </span></p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-1.45.05 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-158717" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-1.45.05 PM.png" alt="" width="1041" height="316" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-1.45.05 PM.png 1226w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-1.45.05 PM-300x91.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-1.45.05 PM-1024x311.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-1.45.05 PM-768x233.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1041px) 100vw, 1041px" /></a></p>
<h2>What to Expect in the <em>Fire and Ice</em> Series</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In <em>Fire and Ice</em>, we'll highlight commanders with intriguing fiery and icy cards </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">and comment on why we believe each card is trending up or down. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We will also provide the Fire and Ice score of each card discussed along with graphs of the relative weekly usage of each card over the specified time period.</span></p>
<p><strong>Starting today, you'll find brand new <em>Fire and Ice</em> articles out every Friday on EDHREC!</strong></p>


Introducing the Math Behind EDHREC's Fire and Ice Series

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire / / Ice|MH2|290" href="#" target="_blank">Fire / / Ice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by Dan Scott</h6>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire // Ice" href="#" target="_blank">Fire // Ice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></em>, a brand new data-driven series where we'll go over some cards that are gaining and losing popularity in various Commander decks. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data.</p>
<p>Of course, EDHREC has a ton of data. Using that data, we'll draw some conclusions about how certain commander's decks are changing over time, give some insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and maybe even give you some cool tech for your favorite commander's list.</p>
<p>With all that said, let's jump right into it.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/introducing-the-math-behind-edhrecs-fire-and-ice-series"><strong><em>For information on how we calculate the </em>Fire and Ice<em> Scores used in this article, check out this writeup.</em></strong></a></p>
<h1><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nekusar, the Mindrazer" href="#" target="_blank">Nekusar, the Mindrazer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h1>
<p>Nekusar is an absolute menace for EDH players. This deck churns out damage using its commander's abilities and can make short work of any tables that don't have a way to deal with him quickly.</p>
<p>Nekusar is all in on punishing its opponents for playing the game and is feared for good reason. Looking quickly at its most popular cards, we see that 61% of Nekusar decks are running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Razorkin Needlehead" href="#" target="_blank">Razorkin Needlehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 61% have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Deal" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Deal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and 61% contain <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>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Razorkin Needlehead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark Deal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychosis Crawler"></div></div>
<h2>What's Fiery for Nekusar Decks?</h2>
<p>Now that we've got a grasp on what Nekusar does, let's see what cards are trending up for these decks since January of this year.</p>
<p>Some new cards, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mistrise Village" href="#" target="_blank">Mistrise Village</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, slot really nicely into this deck. From <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em>, it's actually the highest riser among all Nekusar decks, with a Fire Score of 5.77. After all, no one wants their spells countered when they're trying to group slug their way through a game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mistrise Village"></div></div>
<p>But, beyond the new cards, there's some really interesting rising stars:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reforge the Soul" href="#" target="_blank">Reforge the Soul</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 2.44 Fire Score</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wheel of Misfortune" href="#" target="_blank">Wheel of Misfortune</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 2.25 Fire Score</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Molten Psyche" href="#" target="_blank">Molten Psyche</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 2.09 Fire Score</li>
</ul>
<p>These wheels all fit nicely into the deck's general group slug gameplan, so it's interesting to see that so many decks didn't have them included before.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reforge the Soul"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wheel of Misfortune"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Molten Psyche"></div></div>
<p>Now, onto some more niche inclusions. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liliana&#039;s Caress" href="#" target="_blank">Liliana&#039;s Caress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a high Fire Score of 2.54 This card pairs nicely with the wheels often included in Nekusar lists, and players have taken notice.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sigil of Sleep" href="#" target="_blank">Sigil of Sleep</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has been a big riser too, seeing a Fire Score of 2.13. This card comes to us all the way from 1999's <em>Urza's Destiny</em>, and can turn our commander's already-bothersome pings into game-ending removal, too.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Liliana&#039;s Caress"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sigil of Sleep"></div></div>
<h2>What's Icy for Nekusar Decks?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seizan, Perverter of Truth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Tyranny"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fevered Visions"></div></div>
<p>And, if cards are finding their way into Nekusar lists, other cards have got to come out. While the cuts from these decks are varied, three cards lead the pack with big changes in deck inclusion rate.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seizan, Perverter of Truth" href="#" target="_blank">Seizan, Perverter of Truth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a Ice Score of -3.58, the lowest score we'll see for this deck. This may be because of its mana cost: this card sits at the same slot in the curve as our commander.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Tyranny" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Tyranny</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has seen a big drop, too, with a slightly more extreme Ice Score of -3.45.While this card is good, its restrictive mana cost may be too much for deckbuilders to justify.</p>
<p>And, lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fevered Visions" href="#" target="_blank">Fevered Visions</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a -3.38 Ice Score.</p>
<p>Nekusar pilots may be looking for ways to deal more damage than just two-per-turn, possibly justifying this card's large percent change.</p>
<div class="mceTemp">
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.05.44 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-158720 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.05.44 PM.png" alt="" width="1375" height="435" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.05.44 PM.png 1758w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.05.44 PM-300x95.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.05.44 PM-1024x324.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.05.44 PM-768x243.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.05.44 PM-1536x486.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1375px) 100vw, 1375px" /></a></p>
<h2><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chatterfang, Squirrel General" href="#" target="_blank">Chatterfang, Squirrel General</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chatterfang, Squirrel General"></div></div>
<p>Chatterfang is another super popular commander, leading nearly 20,000 decks and finding himself as the 23rd most popular commander as of the time of writing.</p>
<p>We'll see some notoriously powerful cards gaining popularity here, as some cute on-theme cards fall out of favor. That said, let's see what we can find <em>squirrelled</em> away in Chatterfang's data.</p>
<p>For those of you who haven't had the chance to play against Chatterfang, the deck generally aims to fill the board with tokens and drain out its opponents with Aristocrats-themed win conditions.</p>
<p>Some popular cards for the deck include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skullclamp" href="#" target="_blank">Skullclamp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (73% of decks), <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zulaport Cutthroat" href="#" target="_blank">Zulaport Cutthroat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (68% of decks), and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tireless Provisioner" href="#" target="_blank">Tireless Provisioner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (64% of decks).</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skullclamp"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zulaport Cutthroat"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tireless Provisioner"></div></div>
<h2>What's Fiery for Chatterfang Decks?</h2>
<p>There's a few cards that have seen big rises in popularity, including eight cards that have seen big jumps in inclusion this year. Let's take a peek at some of the most interesting risers.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Warren Soultrader"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Diabolic Intent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nature&#039;s Rhythm"></div></div>
<p>First up is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Warren Soultrader" href="#" target="_blank">Warren Soultrader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, carrying a Fire Score of 3.64. This card fits right in with the deck's aristocrat and token themes, making it a great inclusion.</p>
<p>It's also got <a href="https://commanderspellbook.com/search/?q=card%3A%22Warren+Soultrader%22+ci%3Agolgari+legal%3Acommander">a huge number of combos that make use of it</a> within Chatterfang's black-green color identity.</p>
<p>Another popular addition is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Diabolic Intent" href="#" target="_blank">Diabolic Intent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card got a Fire Score of 2.64, and it does a pretty good impression of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Diabolic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Diabolic Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in a deck with so many disposable creatures.</p>
<p>Last but not least is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Rhythm" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Rhythm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, another card from <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> that's found a home in one of the format's most popular decks. This card works great with the creature-heavy, graveyard-centric gameplan of the deck, so it's no surprise that it tops our list here with a Fire Score of 4.78.</p>
<h2>What's Icy for Chatterfang Decks?</h2>
<p>Quite a few cards have seen big drops in popularity, too, with nine cards seeing their inclusion rate drop by precipitously.</p>
<p>The card that left the most decks, by far, is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Squirrel Mob" href="#" target="_blank">Squirrel Mob</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with a Ice Score of -4.39 (the lowest we'll see today). While this card is cool and thematic for players who'd like a Squirrel-centric build, paying for a large creature with no built-in evasion is much less appealing now than it has been in the past.</p>
<p>The same holds true for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drey Keeper" href="#" target="_blank">Drey Keeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a card that's got a Ice Score of -3.84. While this card is certainly flavorful, a higher casting cost and an expensive activated ability have likely taken this card out of contention for a slot in Chatterfang's army.</p>
<p>The last card that we'll touch on today is one that I wouldn't have expected to be on this list.</p>
<p>While <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Squirrel Sovereign" href="#" target="_blank">Squirrel Sovereign</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a Ice Score of -3.74, I view it as a key role-player for <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/wotc-introduces-new-bracket-system-for-edh">lower bracket</a> Chatterfang lists. However, it's possible that it's being replaced by the popular (and consequently more expensive) Treasure-maker <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Warren Soultrader" href="#" target="_blank">Warren Soultrader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as demonstrated in the mirrored pattern of usage in the line graph below for these two cards.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.06.35 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-158719" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.06.35 PM.png" alt="" width="1772" height="588" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.06.35 PM.png 1772w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.06.35 PM-300x100.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.06.35 PM-1024x340.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.06.35 PM-768x255.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-2.06.35 PM-1536x510.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1772px) 100vw, 1772px" /></a></p>
<h1>Until next time, Stay Cool (or Hot)!</h1>
<p>That's all we have for this week, but we'll be back soon with another edition of <em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire // Ice" href="#" target="_blank">Fire // Ice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></em>. For now, I'd love to hear from you. Let me know what commander's you'd like a data deep dive on in the comments below. I'll take a few of the most interesting picks and include them in the next installment in this series. Until then, happy brewing!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nekusar, the Mindrazer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chatterfang, Squirrel General"></div></div>
</div>


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