Edge of Eternities: A cEDH Set Review

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/jsraphael" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joshua Raphael</a></em></p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> certainly isn't a card name that rolls off the tongue, but you know what is a bit more pronounceable? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>That's right, <em>Edge of Eternities</em> has given us a mono-blue artifact-centric commander for cEDH that'll make pre-ban CounterTop Miracles players giddy with joy as they dig for their favorite namesake artifact game after game after game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand"></div></div>
<p>So, who is this Jellyfish, and what makes it worth considering for cEDH? Let's take a look!</p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" 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-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Mm'menon is a 3/4 legendary Jellyfish Advisor creature with flying that grants all artifacts you control the ability "<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Add <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. Spend this mana only to cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand." Additionally, Mm'menon allows you to look at the top card of your library at any time, and you may cast artifact spells from the top of your library.</p>
<p>Zooming out, Mm'menon is a bit of a blend between <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> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Future Sight" href="#" target="_blank">Future Sight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, providing you with a conditional version of each of these two powerhouses' best effects. Urza's mana production is unmatched, but it isn't exactly an excellent source of card advantage - unless you already have infinite mana.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Future Sight is a perfectly powerful source of cast-from-library card advantage, but it doesn't provide you with any extra mana to get the ball rolling on casting your newly-accessible spells. Mm'menon, however, provides you with both - at the cost of doubling down on the artifact-theme.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza, Lord High Artificer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Future Sight"></div></div>
<p>Finally, it's worth noting that the mana production from Mm'menon isn't just limited to spells being cast from the top of your library. Should Mm'menon face some sort of removal spell (this is a very commander-centric deck), I readily anticipate that wise players will float mana from their artifacts in order to recast Mm'menon from the command zone during that same phase, should timing restrictions allow.</p>
<p>Similarly, while I don't advocate running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Echo of Eons" href="#" target="_blank">Echo of Eons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in Mm'menon, it is one of blue's more popular spells in cEDH with flashback, demonstrating another corner case where Mm'menon's mana production extends beyond the top deck artifacts you'll most assuradly be casting.</p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<h3>Baubles</h3>
<p>These low-to-no cost artifacts are the bread and butter of Mm'menon, comprising a nigh-insurmountable amount of mana advantage as they snowball into each other.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza&#039;s Bauble"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chromatic Sphere"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mishra&#039;s Bauble"></div></div>
<p>Remember, with Mm'menon in play, each of these artifacts can tap to either go mana positive or mana neutral the turn you cast them. This means that - as soon as the turn Mm'menon hits the field - it isn't wholly unsurprising to watch as an avalanche of artifacts get cast, one paying for the next, straight from the top of the library.</p>
<p>Outside of just being cheap, these baubles also represent card replacement thanks to their similar activated abilities. Whether it's sacrificing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chromatic Sphere" href="#" target="_blank">Chromatic Sphere</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to filter a <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> into <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza&#039;s Bauble" href="#" target="_blank">Urza&#039;s Bauble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to peak at a card from an opponent's hand, each of these cards can also clear a second card from the top of the deck thanks to their incidental card draw.</p>
<p>Mm'menon will always play a whole lot of artifacts, but that isn't the same thing as <em>only</em> playing artifacts, so any additional backup to clear lands or the like from the top of the deck is invaluable.</p>
<h3>Top-Deck Manipulation</h3>
<p>Speaking of messing with the top of your library, this next category of cards is the more expensive extension of the baubles mentioned above, but with that increased expense comes the benefit of repeatability.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scroll Rack"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grinding Station"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Codex Shredder"></div></div>
<p>Thanks to baubles, Mm'menon rounds out the deck's mana production and critical mass of low-cost artifacts. Top-deck manipulators, meanwhile, are the one-and-two cost artifacts which serve to maximize the likelihood that Mm'menon's Future Sight-esque effect will actually see a castable card.</p>
<p>Digging into some of these options more closely, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scroll Rack" href="#" target="_blank">Scroll Rack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides Mm'menon with the opportunity to take uncastable non-artifact spells from the top, put them into your hand, and put castable artifacts back on top - effectively drawing you as many cards as you have artifacts in your hand.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grinding Station" href="#" target="_blank">Grinding Station</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, meanwhile, forgoes the mana investment gating its activation in order to chew through the top of your library, rather than putting nonartifact cards into your hand. See an artifact on top? Cast it, trigger Grinding Station's untap, float mana from the artifact, then sacrifice it to Grinding Station to clear unusable cards from the top.</p>
<p>Last but not least, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Codex Shredder" href="#" target="_blank">Codex Shredder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the simple pinnacle of what these cards seek to do: mill (or otherwise clear) cards when you need to. At one mana, this artifact can pay for itself to cast a spell from the top of your library or tap to mill a card, giving you another shot at digging one card deeper either way.</p>
<h3>Flash Enablers</h3>
<p>Artifacts (as well as colorless spells overall) bring with them an extra few flash enablers worth considering, as these layer well with top-deck manipulation so as to provide maximum flexibility in moving cards between zones.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shimmer Myr"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter"></div></div>
<p>Starting off with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shimmer Myr" href="#" target="_blank">Shimmer Myr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this card brings with it the all-important artifact card type (as well as flash in and of itself), meaning that it can burst onto the scene at a moment's notice, either from your hand or from the top of your deck. Plus, being an artifact, it can tap for Mm'menon mana, repaying its cost in part.</p>
<p>Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter" href="#" target="_blank">Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also brings with it the artifact card type and the flash ability, as well as the broadening of Shimmer Myr's artifact-condition for flash so as to also apply to colorless spells even if they aren't artifacts (something that'll matter when we look at potential combos).</p>
<p>All in all, flash is a potent ability that most cEDH decks have <em>some</em> access to right now. What sets Mm'menon apart, however, is which enablers it uses: those that can be cast from the top of the library.</p>
<h2>How Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Win?</h2>
<p>As I not-so-subtly hinted at in the introduction, winning the game with Mm'menon, the Right Hand essentially comes down to one card: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. However, rather than just being an end-game the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, Sensei's Divining Top is also an incredibly powerful single-card engine in this deck without any other support (beyond the commander, that is). So, let's break it down.</p>
<h3>Sensei's Divining Top - the Card</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top"></div></div>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Sensei's Divining Top is an artifact with two abilities:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order</li>
<li><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Draw a card, then put Sensei's Divining Top on top of its owner's library.</li>
</ul>
<p>At first, Top looks like a relatively simple source of top-deck manipulation the likes of which low-color decks can especially appreciate in order to smooth out their draws. Given the repeat mana investment and the lack of actual card advantage, however, you wouldn't be mistaken in leaving the evaluation at that: decent, but not exactly striking.</p>
<p>With Mm'menon, however, all hell breaks loose, as this card fits just about every roll you could possibly ask for. Cheap enough to replace itself, thanks to Mm'menon's mana-granting ability? Check. Repeatable top-deck manipulation? Check. A way to clear non-artifact cards from the top of the library and put an artifact in its place? Also check!</p>
<p>In short, when Mm'menon isn't in play, Sensei's Divining Top is a totally reasonable card, meaning that it won't be a feel-bad to draw in the early turns before Mm'menon has been cast. In the mid-to-late game, however, this card is a brutal synergy piece that just short of plays itself.</p>
<h3>Sensei's Divining Top - the Combos</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Etherium Sculptor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glaring Fleshraker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aetherflux Reservoir"></div></div>
<p>Moving to the myriad secondary cards which form the basis of the combos by which Mm'menon wins, three different lines pop out readily. First off: cost reduction.</p>
<p>By reducing Sensei's Divining Top's mana cost to <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-0" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> thanks to any of the myriad artifact-reducers in this deck (such as <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>), Mm'menon allows for the infinite-casting of Sensei's Divining Top from the top of your library, drawing your deck in the process. Simply tap Top to exchange it with the top card of your library, then recast Top with Mm'menon for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-0" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, and rinse and repeat.</p>
<p>This segues into either of the next two finishers, both of which deal lethal damage to your opponents: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glaring Fleshraker" href="#" target="_blank">Glaring Fleshraker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <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>.</p>
<p>Glaring Fleshraker does two important things: first, whenever you cast a colorless spell (like Sensei's Divining Top), you'll create an Eldrazi Spawn token, which can be sacrificed for a colorless mana; secondly, Glaring Fleshraker will also deal one damage to each opponent, as it does this whenever another colorless creature enters under your control (such as the Eldrazi Spawn).</p>
<p>Paring this with Sensei's Diving Top, you don't even need a cost reducer, as the mana production from the Spawns perfectly keeps pace with the cost of Top.</p>
<p>As for Aetherflux Reservoir, this closer works neatly thanks to the fact that, in order to draw a bunch of cards with the Top and cost reducer combo, you'll need to cast a whole bunch of spells. That'll gain you plenty of life off of Reservoir's triggers, which you can then sink into blowing up your opponents.</p>
<h2><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> cEDH Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Squidward in Space (Mm&#039;menon cEDH)" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Aether Spellbomb
*1 Aetherflux Reservoir
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Candy Trail
*1 Chromatic Sphere
*1 Chromatic Star
*1 Chrome Mox
*1 Cloud Key
*1 Codex Shredder
*1 Conqueror&#039;s Flail
*1 Defense Grid
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Grim Monolith
*1 Grinding Station
*1 Helm of Awakening
*1 Jeweled Amulet
*1 Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Manifold Key
*1 Mishra&#039;s Bauble
*1 Moonsnare Prototype
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Mox Opal
*1 Pyxis of Pandemonium
*1 Repurposing Bay
*1 Sapphire Medallion
*1 Scroll Rack
*1 Semblance Anvil
*1 Sensei&#039;s Divining Top
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The One Ring
*1 Unwinding Clock
*1 Urza&#039;s Bauble
*1 Uthros Research Craft
*1 Voltaic Key
*1 Witching Well
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 An Offer You Can&#039;t Refuse
*1 Chain of Vapor
*1 Dramatic Reversal
*1 Fierce Guardianship
*1 Flusterstorm
*1 Force of Negation
*1 Force of Will
*1 Into the Flood Maw
*1 Mana Drain
*1 Mental Misstep
*1 Mindbreak Trap
*1 Pact of Negation
*1 Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
*1 Swan Song
*1 Whir of Invention
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Artificer&#039;s Assistant
*1 Displacer Kitten
*1 Etherium Sculptor
*1 Faerie Mastermind
*1 Foundry Inspector
*1 Glaring Fleshraker
*1 Hydroelectric Specimen // Hydroelectric Laboratory
*1 Liberator, Urza&#039;s Battlethopter
*1 Loyal Inventor
*1 Metalworker
*1 Phyrexian Metamorph
*1 Riddlesmith
*1 Shimmer Myr
*1 Spellskite
*1 The Reality Chip
*1 Trinket Mage
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Counterbalance
*1 Mystic Remora
*1 Rhystic Study
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Reshape
*1 Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn
*1 Timetwister
*1 Transmute Artifact
[/Sorceries]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Academy Ruins
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 City of Traitors
*1 Command Tower
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Flooded Strand
*1 Fomori Vault
*1 Gemstone Caverns
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*1 Island
*1 Minamo, School at Water&#039;s Edge
*1 Mishra&#039;s Workshop
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Otawara, Soaring City
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Prismatic Vista
*1 Saprazzan Skerry
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Seat of the Synod
*2 Snow-Covered Island
*1 Urza&#039;s Saga
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Mm&#039;menon, the Right Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is easily one of the more interesting variations of the "big, blue, artifact" deck that has come out in recent memory. <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> is still certainly the long-running favorite of the category, but I honestly think that combination of mana and card advantage which Mm'menon offers is simply too high to pass up on.</p>
<p>Is it better than Urza? I'm not sure, but it just might be - and that's exactly why I'm excited to see it in the wild.</p>


edge of eternities cedh

Edge of Eternities: A cEDH Set Review

Building Mm'menon, the Right Hand for cEDH