Too-Specific Top 10 - Commanding Charms

<h1 style="text-align: center;">Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens</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>Your favorite card sucks. At least, when I play it in my decks. And <em>my</em> favorite cards might well suck when you play them in <em>your</em> decks. That's because we're different people. You like poetry and I like fiction. You eat your vegetables first, and I eat the steak. Your mom thinks about you when she sees a happy family, and your mom thinks about me... at other times. We're different, and how we play is different, and it's these differences that wind up affecting how good certain cards are in each of our hands, and I want to talk about a few of them.</p>
<p>When I originally started writing for EDHREC, I talked a lot about cards that were almost never good in your deck compared to dozens of alternatives, things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cancel" href="#" target="_blank">Cancel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Manalith" href="#" target="_blank">Manalith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Naturalize" href="#" target="_blank">Naturalize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. That isn't the case here, however. This article is going to look at cards that are generally very, very good. They're just not good in decks I brew meshed with the way I play, and looking at why that might hopefully help you look at why some cards that are otherwise great don't seem that way when you play them.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Bright Copper Kettles and Warm Woolen Mittens</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faithless Looting"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faithless Looting" href="#" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a powerhouse, seeing play in over 27,000 decks on EDHREC. That makes it the 4th most played red card in the format. It's a legit cog in cEDH decks, too, showing up in decks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kess, Dissident Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Kess, Dissident Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>Storm</em>, and it was disruptive enough in Modern to get banned. It's a fantastic card, and this isn't a hot take trying to argue otherwise. Because of this reputation, I've run it in multiple decks over the years, from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brion Stoutarm" href="#" target="_blank">Brion Stoutarm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archangel Avacyn" href="#" target="_blank">Archangel Avacyn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lathliss, Dragon Queen" href="#" target="_blank">Lathliss, Dragon Queen</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Still, no matter the deck, it never felt good to draw. It wasn't until the release of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Light Up the Stage" href="#" target="_blank">Light Up the Stage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, though, that I realized why it felt that way.</p>
<p>First, let's look at what <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faithless Looting" href="#" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does well:</p>
<ol>
<li>It filters down to the specific card(s) you want for a combo or play line.</li>
<li>It's a cheap and efficient way to generate two spells for <em>Storm</em> or other cast triggers.</li>
<li>Puts cards in the yard for multiple graveyard interactions ranging from reanimation to fueling things like <em>Delve</em> or triggering draw from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rielle, the Everwise" href="#" target="_blank">Rielle, the Everwise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</li>
<li>Finds that land you need to keep going early, or hopefully trades land cards for nonland cards later.</li>
</ol>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kess, Dissident Mage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Light Up the Stage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lord Windgrace"></div></div>
<p>A whole ton of decks want to do any number of those things. If you're playing out of your graveyard, for example, Faithless Looting almost feels like a draw four for a single red mana. Some decks, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kess, Dissident Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Kess, Dissident Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, take advantage of all four things Looting does well. Just look at the most popular red commanders in the last two years and you can immediately see how almost all of them interact favorably with Looting. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lord Windgrace" href="#" target="_blank">Lord Windgrace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> heads 2,890 decks and is the 6th most popular commander in the last two years, and he absolutely loves the idea of you pitching a few lands to a Loot.</p>
<p>The three decks of mine that I mentioned above? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brion Stoutarm" href="#" target="_blank">Brion Stoutarm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and whatnot? They didn't want to do any of those things, really, at least not in the way that I had them built. They weren't combo decks or builds looking for a particular game-winning line, there wasn't any <em>Storm</em> going on, and there wasn't any reason to intentionally bin stuff for any reason, either. The fourth reason is rather universal in any deck, but it's also not a thing that only <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faithless Looting" href="#" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> accomplishes, and it's the kind of thing that only accounts for a fairly narrow slice of game time.</p>
<p>I didn't really realize any of those things until I replaced Looting with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Light Up the Stage" href="#" target="_blank">Light Up the Stage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in a red deck, and it became apparent that what I really wanted was just raw card draw. I wanted more <em>actual</em> cards in hand, not <em>particular</em> cards in hand. That isn't true for everyone, or maybe even most people, but for my decks and my playstyle, it was, and that's when I realized <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faithless Looting" href="#" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> just isn't a card for me, given the way I was building in red and the way I was playing. I'm probably not the only one, either. While it remains an excellent card, I would bet that a few of those 27,016 decks running Looting might be better off joining the mere 1,825 running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Light up the Stage" href="#" target="_blank">Light up the Stage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, especially if you're in a meta like mine where cards aren't often allowed to sit in a graveyard long enough to take advantage of the <em>Flashback</em>.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Cream-Colored Ponies and Crisp Apple Strudels</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archmage&#039;s Charm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Disallow"></div></div>
<p>When is a modal spell not a modal spell? When you only ever use one mode. And again, to be clear, this is a <em>me</em> thing. You might be using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disallow" href="#" target="_blank">Disallow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to shut down <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> activations or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage&#039;s Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage&#039;s Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to steal 14/14 tokens made by a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Rebirth" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Rebirth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in every game. For me? 99% of the time <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disallow" href="#" target="_blank">Disallow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cancel" href="#" target="_blank">Cancel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage&#039;s Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage&#039;s Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cancel" href="#" target="_blank">Cancel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that was harder to cast.</p>
<p>Now, sometimes a modal card comes with a mode that you never use, but it doesn't matter because the opportunity cost is nothing. I don't think I've yet cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Return of the Wildspeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Return of the Wildspeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for the +3/+3 mode. Nothing is lost by doing that, though, as even without that mode it's still generally a better <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul&#039;s Majesty" href="#" target="_blank">Soul&#039;s Majesty</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I'd probably run Return if it was just the draw half of the card. That's not true of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disallow" href="#" target="_blank">Disallow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; I wouldn't run it just for the counter at 1UU, and there is an opportunity cost being paid for not using the other modes, namely an extra mana over other alternatives each time I cast it. If you aren't at least occasionally using it to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stifle" href="#" target="_blank">Stifle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> something, it's just a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cancel" href="#" target="_blank">Cancel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cancel" href="#" target="_blank">Cancel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/in-the-margins-cancel/">terrible card</a>.</p>
<p>As for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage&#039;s Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage&#039;s Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you do have the alternative to cast it as a draw effect if you don't use the counter, so the mana you held up doesn't go to waste, but UUU to draw 2 doesn't feel particularly great, either. As with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disallow" href="#" target="_blank">Disallow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (and unlike <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Return of the Wildspeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Return of the Wildspeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) it's a card where that cost for those modes isn't worth it alone. Also, I realized that, when I was playing it, the times I was willing to hold up mana for a counterspell, it was probably because I was trying to prevent something from happening, or happening to me, and just because that thing didn't happen during that spin around the table didn't mean I was willing to burn my only counterspell to draw two cards.</p>
<p>They're both great cards, but for me and for how I'm building and playing they just didn't work as well as the less expensive <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Counterspell" href="#" target="_blank">Counterspell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s that almost always did the same thing as these spells but at a lower mana cost.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Doorbells and Sleigh Bells and Schnitzel with Noodles</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reforge the Soul"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wheel of Fortune"></div></div>
<p>First off, don't @ me with how great wheels are in your deck built to do powerful things with wheels. Yep, they're excellent in <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> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Locust God" href="#" target="_blank">The Locust God</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. They're also excellent in decks that tend to empty their hand early and fast, or ones that want to fill their yard, or ones running things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Narset, Parter of Veils" href="#" target="_blank">Narset, Parter of Veils</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that render them absurdly lopsided. Consider your glasses pushed up and me well-actuallied. Wheels, in the same vein as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faithless Looting" href="#" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disallow" href="#" target="_blank">Disallow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage&#039;s Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage&#039;s Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, are great in the right deck and in the right hands, and it's entirely possible that, given <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> is in 11,334 decks and <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> is in another 13,773, there're a whole lot of right decks and right hands out there.</p>
<p>It's just that my decks aren't those decks, and my hands aren't those hands.</p>
<p>In my red decks (or even blue decks, to account for wheels like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Time Reversal" href="#" target="_blank">Time Reversal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Day&#039;s Undoing" href="#" target="_blank">Day&#039;s Undoing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) I'm not doing any of those things. My particular decks aren't getting triggers from drawing or aren't emptying their hands early, they're not looking to play from the yard, or to Leovold anyone's hand. What do wheels do in my decks? They give 7 new cards to me and 21 new cards to people trying to kill me.</p>
<p>That's <em>terrible</em> math, at least for me in my decks.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">These Are a Few of My Least Fav'rite Things</h2>
<p>So what cards are out there that are generally absolute haymakers that just don't quite work for you, specifically, and why is it that they don't work? Sound off below, because hearing about specific instances is something I find really helpful when it comes to diagnosing problems and issues with brews and builds.</p>
<p>Until next time, may your numbers be superior!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Tymaret the Murder King: Infected Wounds" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Tymaret, the Murder King
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Bloodghast
*1 Core Prowler
*1 Flesh-Eater Imp
*1 Gravecrawler
*1 Grim Haruspex
*1 Gutterbones
*1 Hand of the Praetors
*1 Ichor Rats
*1 Mogg War Marshal
*1 Nether Traitor
*1 Ophiomancer
*1 Phyrexian Crusader
*1 Plague Myr
*1 Plague Stinger
*1 Reassembling Skeleton
*1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
*1 Smothering Abomination
*1 Suq&#039;Ata Assassin
*1 Swamp Mosquito
*1 Whispering Specter
*1 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Contagion Clasp
*1 Contagion Engine
*1 Desecrated Tomb
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Grafted Exoskeleton
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Rakdos Signet
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Talisman of Indulgence
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Arcbond
*1 Bedevil
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Grim Affliction
*1 Soul&#039;s Fire
*1 Tainted Strike
*1 Terminate
*1 Virulent Wound
*1 Volt Charge
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Bitterblossom
*1 Dauthi Embrace
*1 Glistening Oil
*1 Goblin Assault
*1 Gratuitous Violence
*1 Phyresis
*1 Phyrexian Arena
*1 Snake Cult Initiation
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Caress of Phyrexia
*1 Chandra&#039;s Ignition
*1 Demonic Tutor
*1 Gravitic Punch
*1 Light Up the Stage
*1 Mana Geyser
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Read the Bones
*1 Sign in Blood
*1 Spread the Sickness
*1 Vandalblast
*1 Yawgmoth&#039;s Will
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Badlands
*1 Blood Crypt
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Castle Locthwain
*1 Command Tower
*1 Dragonskull Summit
*1 Graven Cairns
*1 Homeward Path
*1 Inkmoth Nexus
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Kher Keep
*1 Luxury Suite
*5 Mountain
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Shadowblood Ridge
*1 Shizo, Death&#039;s Storehouse
*1 Smoldering Marsh
*1 Strip Mine
*1 Sulfurous Springs
*5 Swamp
*1 Tainted Peak
*1 Tectonic Edge
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
[/Lands]"></span></div>



Superior Numbers - Your Favorite Card Sucks

Ultra Budget Brews - Talrand, Sky Summoner

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flood of Tears" href="#" target="_blank">Flood of Tears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.adampaquettemtg.com/">Adam Paquette</a>)</h6>
<h1>Adventures in Bookkeeping</h1>
<p>Greetings everyone, and welcome back to <em>Monomania</em>. In this article series we build mono-colored decks as a way to explore ramp and draw packages that are synergistic with our particular deck’s strategy; in these articles I try to challenge staples of and misconceptions about the color pie.</p>
<p>Today we'll be reviewing our finances. Numbers have never been as important in EDH as they are with our commander today. With <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atemsis, All-Seeing" href="#" target="_blank">Atemsis, All-Seeing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we'll curate a stunning investment portfolio to pave a path to victory.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Atemsis, All-Seeing"></div></div>
<p>There is an unintuitive amount of depth to Atemsis as a commander. This isn't quite an alternate win condition in the command zone, but it's a close cousin. Alternate win conditions are often considered underpowered in our format. Most lack consistency because they begin the game tucked away in the 99 and tend to have no additional effect attached: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coalition Victory" href="#" target="_blank">Coalition Victory</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Barren Glory" href="#" target="_blank">Barren Glory</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are great examples. There are others, however, that don't fit this description. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revel in Riches" href="#" target="_blank">Revel in Riches</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is shockingly effective because it incidentally provides a reservoir of mana as well as easily winning us the game if left unanswered. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Maze&#039;s End" href="#" target="_blank">Maze&#039;s End</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scapeshift" href="#" target="_blank">Scapeshift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can also end games if they have a decent engine behind them.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Revel in Riches"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Maze&#039;s End"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scapeshift"></div></div>
<p>So where does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atemsis, All-Seeing" href="#" target="_blank">Atemsis, All-Seeing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> fit into this schema? She has a decent body and a solid, desirable activated ability. What's more, she is always available to us in the command zone, extricating our general from the inconsistency associated with alternate win conditions in Commander. However, there are two wrinkles here. The first is that we must reveal at least six cards with different converted mana costs to fulfill her condition. The second is that Atemsis isn't an alternate win condition, she is an alternate KO condition. Instead of winning us the game, she can only make our opponents lose the game one at a time. Because of this, Atemsis gestures towards a pseudo-Voltron strategy—we want to protect our commander, make it evasive, and use it to blast our opponents out of nowhere. Like commander damage, Atemsis can level the playing field against an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck that is sitting on 100+ life.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this commander is its wording. There is a very important omission in its textbox. Atemsis doesn't specify that it must deal <em>combat</em> damage to a player. This means that if we give our general the ability to deal damage without swinging, we can circumvent stalled boards or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Prison" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Prison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects. With Atemsis, we're going to keep a full, diverse hand as we search for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Viridian Longbow" href="#" target="_blank">Viridian Longbow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hermetic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Hermetic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. In conjunction with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aphetto Alchemist" href="#" target="_blank">Aphetto Alchemist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fatestitcher" href="#" target="_blank">Fatestitcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we'll be able to topple our opponents one ping at a time.</p>
<p>With this deck, we want to plan for two contingencies. First, we want to be able to draw into a large hand to maximize our chances of meeting the requirement of six cards with different converted mana costs. Second, and perhaps more importantly, we want to make sure that even with a six or seven card hand we can still meet the criteria. Let's examine how this affects our ramp and draw packages.</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Price is Right</h2>
<p>Our ramp package in this deck is built under a unique condition—we want to diversify the converted mana costs in every facet of our deck. Instead of prioritizing two-mana ramp effects, we want to create a smooth curve in order to ensure that we can kill an opponent with Atemsis if we do manage to push damage through. This deck also creates unique decision points in which we have to decipher whether to play a card or keep it in our hand to fulfill a slot in our CMC curve; in other words, we need to think about our hand as another important factor of our board. We'll be taking stock of what's in our hand and in our deck. Without further ado, I present our financial plan.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="High Tide"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Search for Azcanta"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Worn Powerstone"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thran Dynamo"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gilded Lotus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caged Sun"></div></div>
<p>While most of our ramp effects are going to be mana rocks, there are a few interesting inclusions to consider to polish our CMC curve. High Tide is stellar in any mono-blue deck, allowing for one explosive turn or as a mana doubler in conjunction with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Isochron Scepter" href="#" target="_blank">Isochron Scepter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Search for Azcanta does everything we want: it filters the top of our library and then upgrades into a blue-mana-producing land that also provides decent card selection. I've discussed before in this series about how <em>Ixalan's</em> transform cards are wildly underplayed in EDH, and this card is no exception, with just 4,630 decks listed on EDHREC. This should be a blue staple. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caged Sun" href="#" target="_blank">Caged Sun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an obvious powerhouse in EDH and it will facilitate explosive turns for our deck while filling out the top end of our ramp package.</p>
<p>I have chosen to omit cards like <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="Astral Cornucopia" href="#" target="_blank">Astral Cornucopia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It may seem like they plug a hole in our curve with a CMC of zero, but any land stuck in our hand will fill the exact same function. They are flexible, but I've elected to play ramp effects at alternate CMCs.</p>
<p>In addition to the cards above, I've included six other ramp effects to make sure we can power out our commander early and dig for the right hand to kill an opponent.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Cutting Costs</h2>
<p>Mono-blue commanders love to draw cards and ask questions later, and Atemsis is no exception. Our strategy for card advantage reflects the same philosophy as our ramp package. We want to fill out a flowing curve. However, there are also some very interesting mechanics that allow us to cheat costs and fill our hands: cards with high CMCs that can be reduced are perfect in our deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thoughtcast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Treasure Cruise"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dig Through Time"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">We will often be able to cast the above cards for only a few mana, but if we reveal our hand to destroy target opponent, they count the nominal cost at the top of the card.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> In addition, all three of the above cards can be very powerful in EDH. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dig Through Time" href="#" target="_blank">Dig Through Time</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is perhaps the best of these, giving us the best two cards of the seven on top of our library, allowing us to select for specific mana costs if we're missing any specific numbers in our hand.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Consecrated Sphinx"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nezahal, Primal Tide"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kozilek, the Great Distortion"></div></div></p>
<p>Outside of those nominally high-costed draw effects, we have a few card advantage effects that are actually very expensive, but their effects are worth the expense. Consecrated Sphinx and Nezahal will allow us to draw through our deck like no other. Drawing big before our discard phase will expand our chances of meeting Atemsis's condition. Kozilek is a massive beater, but he can also refill our hand if we are down on cards. In addition, he also has an ability that plays well with our strategy of incorporating cards with different converted mana costs. If we build a big enough hand, we can pitch cards in flush slots in order to disrupt our opponents' key plays.</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Deck</h2>
<p>Now that we have a solid basis for ramping and drawing with Atemsis, let's see what the deck looks like as a whole.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Viridian Longbow"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aphetto Alchemist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="River&#039;s Rebuke"></div></div>
<p>Among the other notable inclusions, we have a variety of cards to protect our commander from removal, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Plate" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Plate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It's also essential to our strategy to remove the limitation of a maximum hand size. As such, we have more than a few ways to eliminate our hand size, with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reliquary Tower" href="#" target="_blank">Reliquary Tower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Vessel" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Vessel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nezahal, Primal Tide" href="#" target="_blank">Nezahal, Primal Tide</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Finale of Revelation" href="#" target="_blank">Finale of Revelation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>If we fail to find <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Viridian Longbow" href="#" target="_blank">Viridian Longbow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we might need to clear the way for Atemsis to damage the way our grandparents did it—by smashing face. With this in mind, we have several ways to return creatures to our opponents' hands, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="River&#039;s Rebuke" href="#" target="_blank">River&#039;s Rebuke</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wash Out" href="#" target="_blank">Wash Out</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Because we're playing cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aphetto Alchemist" href="#" target="_blank">Aphetto Alchemist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to untap our commander, I've included other creatures with significant tap abilities like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcanis the Omnipotent" href="#" target="_blank">Arcanis the Omnipotent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Empress Galina" href="#" target="_blank">Empress Galina</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Each creature I've selected that can untap our haymakers can also untap artifacts, allowing them to serve as ramp in combination with our mana rocks. Finally, if all else fails, we have the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Isochron Scepter" href="#" target="_blank">Isochron Scepter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dramatic Reversal" href="#" target="_blank">Dramatic Reversal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Laboratory Maniac" href="#" target="_blank">Laboratory Maniac</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> package to win the game if we can find <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Finale of Revelation" href="#" target="_blank">Finale of Revelation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stroke of Genius" href="#" target="_blank">Stroke of Genius</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in time.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Introductory Accounting" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Atemsis, All-Seeing
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Aphetto Alchemist
*1 Dreamscape Artist
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Laboratory Maniac
*1 Thassa, God of the Sea
*1 Tribute Mage
*1 Trinket Mage
*1 Vizier of Tumbling Sands
*1 Fatestitcher
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Empress Galina
*1 Mulldrifter
*1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
*1 Consecrated Sphinx
*1 Inspired Sphinx
*1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
*1 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 High Tide
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Pongify
*1 Swan Song
*1 Counterspell
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Dramatic Reversal
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Archmage&#039;s Charm
*1 Stroke of Genius
*1 Chemister&#039;s Insight
*1 Aetherspouts
*1 Mystic Confluence
*1 Dig Through Time
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Finale of Revelation
*1 Deep Analysis
*1 Wash Out
*1 Thoughtcast
*1 Flood of Tears
*1 Recurring Insight
*1 River&#039;s Rebuke
*1 Treasure Cruise
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Viridian Longbow
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
*1 Isochron Scepter
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Thaumatic Compass
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Darksteel Plate
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
*1 Worn Powerstone
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Thran Dynamo
*1 Gilded Lotus
*1 Caged Sun
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Mystic Remora
*1 Hermetic Study
*1 Psionic Gift
*1 Search for Azcanta
*1 Freed from the Real
*1 Imprisoned in the Moon
*1 Pemmin&#039;s Aura
*1 Rhystic Study
[/enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Arch of Orazca
*1 Blighted Cataract
*1 Darksteel Citadel
*24 Island
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Remote Isle
*1 Seat of the Synod
*1 Soldevi Excavations
*1 Zoetic Cavern
[/lands]"></span></div></p>

<hr />
<p>How do you feel about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atemsis, All-Seeing" href="#" target="_blank">Atemsis, All-Seeing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? What did I miss? Would you build her with a graveyard focus to leverage the looting effect? Do you want to see other commanders with alternate win conditions stapled onto them? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.</p>
<p>Remember to EDHREC responsibly: always dig a little beyond the statistics. Have a good one, and I'll see you on down the road.</p>


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