Ranking Creature Keyword Combinations in Magic: The Gathering

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a href="https://scryfall.com/card/shm/223/wort-the-raidmother">Wort, the Raidmother</a> | Art By: <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CDave+Allsop%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Dave Allsop</a>)</h6>
<p>There are many mechanics in <em>Magic: The Gathering.</em> Some are more common than others. Keywords like trample or haste are everyday amongst the card pool. Let's discuss the Top 5 mechanics that require more support in the Commander format. Will we see any of these make a return in upcoming sets? Maybe one might be a big player in <em>Edge of Eternities</em> later this year?</p>
<h2>1. Conspire</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rassilon, the War President"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wort, the Raidmother"></div></div>
<p>First up on the list is a mechanic that, as of writing, only has two commanders that provide an avenue for a build around.</p>
<p>To me, the most considerable downside to the mechanic is that you need colored creatures to make the strategy work. That means colorless creatures are your worst enemy, and monocolored tokens can put you into awkward spots, not allowing you to copy certain spells. Both Wort and Rassilon take the conspire mechanic in different ways.</p>
<p>Wort rewards you for playing instants and sorceries, often wanting you to maximize Goblin tokens with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krenko&#039;s Command" href="#" target="_blank">Krenko&#039;s Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon Fodder" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon Fodder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Once you build up enough of a board using something like a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Battle Hymn" href="#" target="_blank">Battle Hymn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and then ending the game with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Comet Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Comet Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effect.</p>
<p>Rassilon, however, does not care what cards you conspire as long as they are cast from exile. Having recently gotten demolished by a Rassilon deck built around conspiring cards, I can tell you firsthand that the foretell mechanic and cards such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alrund&#039;s Epiphany" href="#" target="_blank">Alrund&#039;s Epiphany</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> do some incredible work. I suggest that if given the chance, you play against <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mikecarrozza.bsky.social">Mike Carrozza</a> and his version of this deck.</p>
<p>I would love to see more conspire cards in Commander in the future, perhaps with restrictions on specific card or creature types. At a minimum, I would love to see more cards with the Conspire mechanic, as there are only <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=name&amp;q=oracle%3Aconspire+%28game%3Apaper%29">13 cards</a> in the game currently that feature it.</p>
<h2>2. Cipher</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Call of the Nightwing"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Last Thoughts"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Undercity Plague"></div></div>
<p>Next up is a mechanic that not only has no commanders with the ability, but also has no cards that aren't sorceries. With only <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=oracle%3Acipher+%28game%3Apaper%29&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">15 tota</a>l cards and all of them in Dimir, Cipher is the next mechanic on the list.</p>
<p>This one has always had a special place in my heart as the person who taught me how to play used to demolish me with a <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> deck running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispering Madness" href="#" target="_blank">Whispering Madness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>I have no problem if this mechanic was never outside of the <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-ub" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> color combination, but I think there should be more cards added to this minimal list.</p>
<p>It gives an angle to the color combination that it has only been dipping into over the years. While none of the cards with cipher have the best effect, a few of them are not embarrassing if found in a decklist.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stolen Identity" href="#" target="_blank">Stolen Identity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works excellently as a repeatable clone, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hidden Strings" href="#" target="_blank">Hidden Strings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a powerhouse in Pioneer (but this sadly has nothing to do with cipher).</p>
<p>I would love to see the cipher cards combined with the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/rogues">Rogue</a> archetype. To me, it fits the flavor of the creatures, as well as their growing commitment to attacking and dealing damage.</p>
<p>Who wouldn't love to dive through some dungeons by making copies of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rilsa Rael, Kingpin" href="#" target="_blank">Rilsa Rael, Kingpin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or triggering card draw thanks to a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sygg, River Cutthroat" href="#" target="_blank">Sygg, River Cutthroat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadow Slice" href="#" target="_blank">Shadow Slice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>?</p>
<h2>3. Emerge</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elder Deep-Fiend"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crabomination"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Decimator of the Provinces"></div></div>
<p>Emerging its way onto the list is, well, emerge. Featured primarily on <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=oracle%3Aemerge+%28game%3Apaper%29+t%3Acreature&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">Eldrazi creatures</a> and two cards from <em>Universes Beyond</em> products, emerge is a clean and straightforward mechanic.</p>
<p>Play a large creature for cheaper by sacrificing something smaller; then, since most of these are Eldrazi, they come along with a cast trigger. Most of these creatures have probably never been seen outside of a few.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crabomination" href="#" target="_blank">Crabomination</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives what I think is the best example of a way that they could expand on this mechanic, giving creatures the ability to use emerge from noncreature permanents. You could have emerged from enchantment, or if they ever bring back Battles, something could emerge from those.</p>
<p>I could see Eldrazi creatures returning to the game with <em>Edge of Eternities, </em>and so maybe we will see the return of emerge.</p>
<h2>4. Landwalk</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Adrestia"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inkwell Leviathan"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sheoldred, Whispering One"></div></div>
<p>This is the one that I expect most people to disagree with me on, bringing back landwalk. Yes, there are some "feel bad" factors for this, as it is not always great to be on the receiving end of not being able to block. The breakdown of the different rates at which a specific can be walked on is awkward to say the least.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=oracle%3Aislandwalk+%28game%3Apaper%29+t%3Acreature+legal%3Aedh&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=color">Islandwalk: 42</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=oracle%3Aplainswalk+%28game%3Apaper%29+t%3Acreature+legal%3Aedh&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=color">Plainswalk: 5</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=oracle%3Aswampwalk+%28game%3Apaper%29+t%3Acreature+legal%3Aedh&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=color">Swampwalk: 49</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=oracle%3Amountainwalk+%28game%3Apaper%29+t%3Acreature+legal%3Aedh&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=color">Mountainwalk: 22</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=oracle%3Aforestwalk+%28game%3Apaper%29+t%3Acreature+legal%3Aedh&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=color">Forestwalk: 44</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3Alegendary+o%3Alandwalk">Legendary Landwalk: 2</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3Anonbasic+o%3Alandwalk&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">Nonbasic Landwalk: 2</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3Asnow+o%3Alandwalk&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">Snow Landwalk 2</a></li>
</ul>
<p>The biggest problem I have with landwalk, and why I want to see it come back, is that most of these cards are extremely old. The newest card that I can find with a landwalk ability is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Flood of Mars" href="#" target="_blank">The Flood of Mars</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from the <em>Doctor Who</em> set.</p>
<p>I will concede that making stronger and more efficient cards with either swampwalk or forestwalk run into issues due to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>We know that they won't be giving us lands to finish this cycle, but newer creatures with different landwalking abilities should end up in the game, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I'll even give the folks from <em>WOTC</em> a free idea if they want to read this, then go back in time to when they were working on <em>Edge of Eternities</em>, "spacewalk"!</p>
<h2>5.<em> Will of the council </em>&amp; <em>Council's dilemma</em></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Galadriel, Elven-Queen"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tivit, Seller of Secrets"></div></div>
<p>Finally, a two-for-one special to end the list. Two mechanics that both originated from <em>Conspiracy </em>and <em>Conspiracy: Take the Crown. </em>Mechanics that, as of now, only have one commander for each variation on the voting mechanic.</p>
<p>There is also not a single red card across the 19 total cards between the two mechanics. The difference between the two mechanics is that, with <em>Council's dilemma,</em> you get both effects if they receive votes, and the <em>Will of the council</em> gives whichever effect gets the most votes.</p>
<p>Either way, there should be more voting in Commander. People have praised the goad mechanic as great, as it forces action and requires players to make decisions.</p>
<p>Outside of cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expropriate" href="#" target="_blank">Expropriate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tivit, Seller of Secrets" href="#" target="_blank">Tivit, Seller of Secrets</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (if you're playing cEDH), the remaining cards are all well and good.</p>
<p>The easiest place to put these cards is in the precons, and whenever there is a set with four or five different decks, there should be space to include one card for each deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Council&#039;s Judgment" href="#" target="_blank">Council&#039;s Judgment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coercive Portal" href="#" target="_blank">Coercive Portal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> have even seen competitive play, and everyone should try out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sail into the West" href="#" target="_blank">Sail into the West</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in your Simic Commander decks.</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>Those are my five (secretly six) mechanics that I think should receive more support in Commander. What mechanics would you like to see receive more support? When someone plays the card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expropriate" href="#" target="_blank">Expropriate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, do you vote for Time or Money?</p>
<p>Lastly, do you think any of these mechanics will make an appearance in any of the remaining sets for 2025? Let me know the answers to this or your favorite card with cipher in the comments or on <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/nicnax96.bsky.social">Bluesky</a>. As always, I have been Nick, and I hope you liked the list.</p>


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