Back to Basics - The 10 Most Played Mono-Blue Cards in Commander

<h1>Block is for Mathers</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><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It's a neat little efficient bit of removal from <em>Kaldheim</em> that can exile an artifact or creature for 2U, either all at once or spread over multiple turns using the <em>Foretell</em> keyword. Sure, it leaves behind a 1/1 blue Bird creature token with flying, and it's limited to times when you can cast a sorcery, but it's still a pretty decent card.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ravenform"></div></div>
<p>And it's also not playable most of the time.</p>
<p>Why? Because there are finite slots in EDH decks, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is generally muscled out by other cards that do the same thing, but better. That's what I want to talk about here: cards that are, on their surface, quite good, but often can't find a slot because enough other better things exist that edge them out of the 99.</p>
<hr />
<h2>"The Only Qualifications for Being a Lineman Are to Be Big and Dumb"</h2>
<p>Now, obviously there are extenuating circumstances and caveats here. Just because cards might bump something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> out of a deck in the abstract doesn't mean they do so in reality. Price, for example, is an issue than can roadblock folks. Generally speaking I'll make notes where that's relevant, but it's also the kind of thing that can be in flux. Yesterday's $90 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Three Visits" href="#" target="_blank">Three Visits</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can become $2 today very easily.</p>
<p>Conversely, the opposite can happen. It doesn't even have to be that extreme. For some people, a card hitting $3 can push it out of their price range. Availability is also an issue in that some older cards just don't show up in store cases and trade binders, and then can limit access and make the otherwise less desirable options more attractive. As with price, this is the kind of thing I'll try to note.</p>
<p>I'm also going to focus on cards that are universally good. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is generally considered one of the strongest counterspells ever printed, but not all decks have enough blue cards in their deck to reliably have one to pitch, whereas there are few if any restrictions in terms of deck construction that might preclude playing a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<hr />
<h2>"Linemen Are Like Salt: Nobody Ever Remembers the Brand"</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pongify"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rapid Hybridization"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reality Shift"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reality Shift" href="#" target="_blank">Reality Shift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are three fantastic, instant-speed targeted removal spells that are often times going to slot-block <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. They range in price from $1 for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to around $4 for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reality Shift" href="#" target="_blank">Reality Shift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> landing somewhere in the middle. Each one is both more efficient and more versatile, and they generally have less downside. Most importantly, though, you probably don't want more than three of these in a deck, especially given blue's access to counter magic than can solve these problems on the stack.</p>
<p>Now, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can also hit artifacts, and it can be used in a deck with other <em>Foretell</em> cards to keep it from being obvious which is sitting exiled, waiting to be cast. That's useful, but does it offset the fact that it can be cast in a much narrower window due to being a sorcery? I'm not sure it does. Also, the 1/1 Bird it leaves behind can be relevant in Superfriends decks who don't want to give their opponents evasive blockers, or decks with fliers without trample that might not want to give away chump blockers.</p>
<p>This is just looking at mono-blue decks, too. Azorius and Dimir decks are going to also have access to white and black targeted creature removal spells. All this means that a perfectly good card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> winds up slot-blocked.</p>
<hr />
<h2>"When You Hang with Offensive Linemen, You Tend to Find Places that Serve the Most Food"</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Generous Gift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Path to Exile"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swords to Plowshares"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of cards in Azorius decks that might contribute to blocking things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, white has the same problem with <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> and <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> being perhaps the two best targeted creature removal spells ever printed. Both are certainly popular: Swords to Plowshares is in 114,470 decks, making it literally the second most popular card in Commander behind <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Path isn't far behind as the 21st most popular card overall.</p>
<p>These two cards are effectively keeping otherwise serviceable cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Declaration in Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Declaration in Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from seeing play. Things get further complicated in white because it has so many open-ended removal spells, like <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> and <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>. Sure, Declaration can hit a swath of tokens, but that doesn't come close to offsetting the fact that it operates at sorcery speed.</p>
<p>The reality is it's going to be really challenging for any single-target creature removal spell in white to ever break through the slot-block that Path and Swords have erected.</p>
<hr />
<h2>You Block and Tackle Better than the Team You're Playing, You Win</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gift of Estates"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Land Tax"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tithe"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gift of Estates" href="#" target="_blank">Gift of Estates</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Land Tax" href="#" target="_blank">Land Tax</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are the first where price becomes a consistent factor. That's not to say that <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> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> at roughly $4 each couldn't be a barrier to entry for some people, but the $35 you see on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Land Tax" href="#" target="_blank">Land Tax</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and $55 (and rising) you see on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are a whole different thing. That said, those cards weren't always those prices. Some folks, myself included, were fortunate enough to get multiple copies of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Land Tax" href="#" target="_blank">Land Tax</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> at $10 and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> during the decade-long window when it cost less than <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>. If you happen to be someone in that position, or if you're someone who can spend that kind of money on cardboard, or are in a proxy-friendly environment, there's just probably never going to be a catch-up land mechanic worth running that's as good as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gift of Estates" href="#" target="_blank">Gift of Estates</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Land Tax" href="#" target="_blank">Land Tax</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Further complicating this is the fact that catch-up land mechanics don't stack all that well. Sure, nobody outside a <em>Landfall</em> deck really wants to top-deck that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Lore" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Lore</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> when you're already holding a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama&#039;s Reach" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama&#039;s Reach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Three Visits" href="#" target="_blank">Three Visits</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but those three cards stack just fine. Ramping land is ramping land; it's always going to put you ahead.</p>
<p>White's catch-up mechanics? The last thing you want to see when you have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Land Tax" href="#" target="_blank">Land Tax</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> out letting you fetch three Plains a turn is another card that lets you put Plains into your hand. That's not to say you don't want redundancy. Redundancy is a great thing, and it increases your chances of hitting an effect you want. But you want to keep that density in check to the point where it provides consistency but doesn't become superfluous.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Football is Blocking and Tackling. Everything Else is Mythology.</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Darksteel Mutation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Imprisoned in the Moon"></div></div>
<p>The ability to transform a creature into a worse creature while keeping it in on the board is quite powerful. A traditional removal spell allows the player to recast their creature, especially if it's their commander, and the same is even true of white's older series of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oblivion Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Oblivion Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-esque cards thanks to the Commander replacement effect on an exiled card. With a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Mutation" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Mutation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, your opponent's commander is just stuck in play, being useless.</p>
<p>The problem with this type of effect is even if they break through the slot-block caused by cards like <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="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you probably don't want more than one of them, and they printed the best versions in white and blue the first time around. Sure, maybe <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heliod&#039;s Punishment" href="#" target="_blank">Heliod&#039;s Punishment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reprobation" href="#" target="_blank">Reprobation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would see play if <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Mutation" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Mutation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> didn't exist, but it does, and it's much harder to get rid of thanks to granting the creature indestructible. You can't just cut a deal to have an opponent chump block and kill it.</p>
<p>Same with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imprisoned in the Moon" href="#" target="_blank">Imprisoned in the Moon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can also target a troublesome land or planeswalker, and is similarly hard to deal with since it makes the target a land. Absent Imprisoned, things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Freeze" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Freeze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> get much more interesting, but Imprisoned does exist, and you generally don't want a second, worse copy.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Anyone Can Run, Not Anybody Can Block</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mystic Remora"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhystic Study"></div></div>
<p>The "problem" with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Arena" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Arena</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-style cards is they take a full turn to generate your first extra draw, providing ample time for your opponents to come up with a removal. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystic Remora" href="#" target="_blank">Mystic Remora</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> eliminate that somewhat by generating potential draws immediately, assuming an opponent tries to cast a spell. They also have the potential to generate so much card advantage as to render that risk largely irrelevant.</p>
<p>Still, it's not a sure thing. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can draw you a dozen cards, but it can also draw none if someone has a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Claim" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Claim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in hand and one extra mana. You're also limited to sorcery-casting timing. Because of this, you probably don't want too many enchantment-based draw effects. And when these two are so phenomenal, it's going to be hard for a third to push into that space.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Overtime</h2>
<p>So why am I talking about this? Well, because when it comes to evaluating cards, one thing people miss out on each spoiler season is the fact that a card being <em>good</em> isn't necessarily important. What matters is whether or not a card is good <em>enough</em> to find a slot in a deck where it may be getting slot-blocked by existing, superior cards. It was something I saw quite a bit with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenform" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and it's something I'd imagine we'll see again as the next expansion is revealed.</p>
<p>Before you get too caught up in how great a card is gonna be in Commander, just look if it's going to have a home, given the completion, and make your evaluation based with that in mind. Thanks for reading, and, as always, may your numbers be superior.</p>


Superior Numbers - Slot-Blockers

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnation" href="#" target="_blank">Damnation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.artofmtg.com/artist/kev-walker/">Kev Walker</a>)</h6>
<h1>Colorology</h1>
<p>Greetings, everyone, and welcome back to <em>Grapple With the Past</em>, a series in which we look back at the set pages for old releases to discuss the cards that made it and the cards that fell into obscurity in EDH. Once a set releases, Commander players write and read reviews, test out the new cards, and incorporate winners into their EDH repertoire. But with the constant stream of new products, it’s easy for cards to slip through the cracks. I’ve found that by exploring set pages on EDHREC, I frequently stumble upon cards that could easily find a spot in one of my decks. In this series we look for irregularities in the data, try to identify sleeper cards from formats past, and discuss the legacy of particular sets in Commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Akroma, Angel of Fury"></div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The <em>Magic: the Gathering</em> releases that I most enthusiastically and unerringly love are the ones that play with my understanding of the game. I started playing around the time of the original <em>Mirrodin</em> block, but I took a break from <em>Magic</em> after <em>Dissension</em>. As such, <em>Planar Chaos</em> has been a blind spot for me. The game has changed considerably in the last thirteen years, and yet, looking back through EDHREC, there are still cards and ideas that surprise and delight me from this set.</p>
<p>At a glance, the most salient feature of <em>Planar Chaos</em> is its ambition. It reappropriated mechanics among the colors, reimagined popular characters, and printed some of the weirdest cards I've ever seen. In what other world would <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temporal Extortion" href="#" target="_blank">Temporal Extortion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> even be possible? And all in one set!</p>
<p>These qualities also make it an interesting set for EDH, a format where color identity and the effects available to any given color matters more than anywhere else. Let's take a look at the cards that make waves and which remain under the surface for Commander from <em>Planar Chaos</em>.</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Commander Class</h2>
<p>While the commander options on display from this set may be outclassed in this day and age, some are still quite playable. Others, however, are an interesting window back into an older version of EDH.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Intet, the Dreamer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Braids, Conjurer Adept"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Radha, Heir to Keld"></div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>I remember running into the old three-color cycle of Dragon commanders fairly frequently. Nowadays, it's easy to look at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intet, the Dreamer" href="#" target="_blank">Intet, the Dreamer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teneb, the Harvester" href="#" target="_blank">Teneb, the Harvester</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Numot, the Devastator" href="#" target="_blank">Numot, the Devastator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and dismiss them on how expensive and slow they are, but they were pretty popular generals when I started playing EDH. I would love to build and play some of these Dragons today, but it just isn't interesting anymore now that there are so many more efficient commander options.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Braids, Conjurer Adept" href="#" target="_blank">Braids, Conjurer Adept</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, on the other hand, is today the most popular commander from this set. I haven't played against a Braids deck before, but I would bet that some of this additional popularity is due to publicity from Jumbo Commander. He has a very <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0FZfSawZjU">fun Braids deck</a>.</p>
<p>The rest of the commanders here are pretty innocuous. One time I played against a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Radha, Heir to Keld" href="#" target="_blank">Radha, Heir to Keld</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> mana dork tribal deck, but I can't say I've seen any of these others in the wild.</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Top 10</h2>
<p>This set is immediately recognizable based on its top ten cards. Even if you've never heard the name <em>Planar Chaos</em> before, you've been exposed to some of these cards. Not only is the card quality from this set perfectly pitched for Commander, it also distributes much-needed effects among the colors.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Harmonize"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Damnation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pongify"></div></div>
<p>What a murderer's row for EDH. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harmonize" href="#" target="_blank">Harmonize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the best generic card advantage in green. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is some of the best creature removal for blue. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnation" href="#" target="_blank">Damnation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is second only to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toxic Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Toxic Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in terms of black board wipes. I won't dwell too long on these staples in the top ten. We know them. We love them. They're still among the best options in the format. This isn't even mentioning the other staples in the top ten including <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="Mesa Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Mesa Enchantress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teneb, the Harvester"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pyrohemia"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Necrotic Sliver"></div></div></div>
<div></div>
<div>In what may seem like a strange turn, two of the aforementioned Dragons also make their way into the top ten. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intet, the Dreamer" href="#" target="_blank">Intet, the Dreamer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teneb, the Harvester" href="#" target="_blank">Teneb, the Harvester</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> both find themselves in the 99 of 5% or more of possible decks. Both see play primarily in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scion of the Ur-dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Scion of the Ur-dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <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> decks. Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necrotic Sliver" href="#" target="_blank">Necrotic Sliver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> finds itself here based on its play in Sliver tribal decks. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pyrohemia" href="#" target="_blank">Pyrohemia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, on the other hand, seems like an outlier. It sees play in more decks than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pestilence" href="#" target="_blank">Pestilence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by more than 2000 decks. Is this effect really that much more valuable in red? In <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neheb, the Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Neheb, the Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Torbran, Thane of Red Fell" href="#" target="_blank">Torbran, Thane of Red Fell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> decks, this card is a star.</div>
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<h2>Think Twice</h2>
<p>There are so many interesting cards to dissect from this set that this article could turn into a novela if I'm not careful. Because of this, I'll only focus on nine of my favorites, cards that I've played and been impressed by.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dreamscape Artist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reality Acid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rebuff the Wicked"></div></div></div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div>
<p>If anybody at <em>Wizards</em> reads this, please note that Spellshapers are my favorite creature type and I would love a <em>Spellshaper</em> general in any subsequent Commander product. The idea behind Dreamscape artist is compelling. You can essentially transform any card in your hand into a blue <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harrow" href="#" target="_blank">Harrow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. As with most Spellshapers, this is very good in any blue deck that plays with its graveyard. If you can discard a <em>Flashback</em> or <em>Jump-Start</em> card with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dreamscape Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Dreamscape Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Analysis" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Analysis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chemister&#039;s Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Chemister&#039;s Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you're already producing above-average value and ramping lands in blue.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reality Acid" href="#" target="_blank">Reality Acid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has been an all-star in my blink decks. Blinking this enchantment with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aminatou, the Fateshifter" href="#" target="_blank">Aminatou, the Fateshifter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a powerful control engine.</p>
<p>Finally, I really like surprising players in white. Over time, people I've played with have gotten wise to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lapse of Certainty" href="#" target="_blank">Lapse of Certainty</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rebuff the Wicked" href="#" target="_blank">Rebuff the Wicked</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is still unexpected. While this card is actually most similar to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gods Willing" href="#" target="_blank">Gods Willing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> rather than most counterspells, it can still protect a key piece of your board in a pinch, whether it be a creature, an artifact, or even a land. It's been a long time since <em>Wizards</em> has played with giving white counter magic, but I think the effect fits the color well.</p>
</div>
<div></div>
<div><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Imp&#039;s Mischief"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kor Dirge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Treacherous Urge"></div></div></div>
<div></div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div>
<p><em>Planar Chaos</em> gave <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toshiro Umezawa" href="#" target="_blank">Toshiro Umezawa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> a few gifts. If you still haven't hopped on the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imp&#039;s Mischief" href="#" target="_blank">Imp&#039;s Mischief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> train, I'm here to advocate for it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shunt" href="#" target="_blank">Shunt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects are sorely underrated in EDH, especially in removal-heavy metas. This effect is a perfect way to punish a player for messing with your board. Outside of that scenario, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imp&#039;s Mischief" href="#" target="_blank">Imp&#039;s Mischief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also good when there is a clear archenemy at the table. Any removal spell that they cast can be used against them. It can even clear up counterspell wars. Because EDH players tend to favor cheap removal, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imp&#039;s Mischief" href="#" target="_blank">Imp&#039;s Mischief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> won't even make you lose too much life. It's just good.</p>
<p>In a similar vein, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kor Dirge" href="#" target="_blank">Kor Dirge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great you-did-this-to-yourself style of removal spell. You can use it to blank an attack or blank a block. It's much more limited in its application than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imp&#039;s Mischief" href="#" target="_blank">Imp&#039;s Mischief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but it still has a place in some decks.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treacherous Urge" href="#" target="_blank">Treacherous Urge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a fun card that reminds me of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mindclaw Shaman" href="#" target="_blank">Mindclaw Shaman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Hand disruption in EDH usually isn't great, but if it provides you with significant value, it can work. Think <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Syphon Mind" href="#" target="_blank">Syphon Mind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. You would run <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Syphon Mind" href="#" target="_blank">Syphon Mind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> even if it didn't make your opponents discard. Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treacherous Urge" href="#" target="_blank">Treacherous Urge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is amazing in pods with players that like ramping into haymakers.</p>
</div>
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<div><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Porphyry Nodes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mantle of Leadership"></div></div></div>
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<div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Porphyry Nodes" href="#" target="_blank">Porphyry Nodes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is and always has been an underrated card for enchantment decks. It doesn't play well with enchantresses, but it can really control a board, especially if you already run a lot of removal. And for one mana, you can't get a better deal. Consider this in enchantment-focused decks that want to draw out a game, decks that already play cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Luminarch Ascension" href="#" target="_blank">Luminarch Ascension</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mantle of Leadership" href="#" target="_blank">Mantle of Leadership</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a house. I play this in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kykar, Wind&#039;s Fury" href="#" target="_blank">Kykar, Wind&#039;s Fury</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and it can turn my Bird into a one-shot Voltron commander all on its own. Consider this card in decks that produce a lot of tokens all at once. This should be played in almost every <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Siona, Captain of the Pyleas" href="#" target="_blank">Siona, Captain of the Pyleas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck from here on.</p>
</div>
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<h1>Up Next</h1>
<p>That's that for <em>Planar Chaos</em>. I am very sorry that I couldn't get to your comments in a timely fashion last week: I was moving across the country and rarely had internet for that week. I'll be engaged in the comments of this article as usual!</p>
<p>What do you all think of this set? What cards do you run? Most importantly, what is your favorite colorshifted effect? Which colorshifted effect belongs in its new color? Is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harmonize" href="#" target="_blank">Harmonize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> appropriate as a green card? Should white receive more counterspells like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rebuff the Wicked" href="#" target="_blank">Rebuff the Wicked</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? Is blue a good home for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harrow" href="#" target="_blank">Harrow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? Finally, what important character from <em>Magic</em>'s history deserves to be colorshifted like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akroma, Angel of Fury" href="#" target="_blank">Akroma, Angel of Fury</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? I would love to see some of the Gods colorshifted. Not Heliod, he should stay white. Maybe a white Bontu or a black Hazoret. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!</p>
<p>What set do you want to see next? Remember to EDHREC responsibly: always dig a little beyond the statistics. I’ll see you all on down the road.</p>


Grapple with the Past - Planar Chaos

Challenge the Stats - Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Right now, I gotta keep a tunnel vision</h2>
<p>Welcome to <em>Superior Numbers,</em> where I conduct numerical analysis on cards and deckbuilding trends using just a little bit more math and a little bit less snark.</p>
<p>A person in my LGS recently asked me to look over his deck and and make some suggestions. As readers know I usually don't like looking at <em>Magic</em> cards and offering opinions about their power and place in a particular deck, but on this day I was feeling charitable so I decided to offer my suggestions. I noticed that he was running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Austere Command" href="#" target="_blank">Austere Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cleansing Nova" href="#" target="_blank">Cleansing Nova</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Day of Judgment" href="#" target="_blank">Day of Judgment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrath of God" href="#" target="_blank">Wrath of God</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Austere Command"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cleansing Nova"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wrath of God"></div></div>
<p>When I asked about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, he responded that he hadn't even thought about red board wipes because he had access to white.</p>
<p>That's an easy mistake to make; I've made it before, where you just default to assuming the color "generally" considered to be best at a certain thing contains the best cards at doing that particular thing. It's simple to tunnel vision on an assumed piece of common knowledge and not think about other options outside that box. So let's look outside the box.</p>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">I can't stop those flashing reds</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blasphemous Act"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chandra&#039;s Ignition"></div></div>
<p>Red has comparable creature wipes to white, and in some circumstances they're flat out better. Red has always had board wipes, of course, starting way back with pseudo-wipes like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Earthquake" href="#" target="_blank">Earthquake</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in <em>Alpha</em> and full destroy-all-the-things wipes like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jokulhaups" href="#" target="_blank">Jokulhaups</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in <em>Ice Age. </em>Still, among plenty of people the perception remains that red's suite of wipes are second to the ones in white, and that's not without cause. Almost each year sees an expansion add another useful mass destruction spell in the color. For example <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cleansing Nova" href="#" target="_blank">Cleansing Nova</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from 2018 is in 7,862 decks, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza&#039;s Ruinous Blast" href="#" target="_blank">Urza&#039;s Ruinous Blast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from the same year shows up in another 4,624. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fumigate" href="#" target="_blank">Fumigate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from 2016 is in 13,771 decks, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tragic Arrogance" href="#" target="_blank">Tragic Arrogance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from the same set is in another 3,518. It's easy to understand why someone looking for creature sweepers would automatically just assume if they wanted to build a deck that even though red has wipes the white options might be better.</p>
<p>They're not.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> may be the best board wipe in EDH, full stop, and its only competition for that title isn't even in white (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toxic Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Toxic Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>). How many times is it a full clear for a single lone R? 90%? More? Probably more. Yes, on occasion it doesn't hit that ginormous suited-up <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Uril the Miststalker" href="#" target="_blank">Uril the Miststalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lavinia of the Tenth" href="#" target="_blank">Lavinia of the Tenth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> shrugs it off, and it doesn't do anything with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Wanderer" href="#" target="_blank">The Wanderer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in play, but the vast majority of times it's simply the most efficient creature sweeper ever printed.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chandra&#039;s Ignition" href="#" target="_blank">Chandra&#039;s Ignition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> isn't just a great board wipe, it's a legit win condition in plenty of decks. I have a Kresh <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fling" href="#" target="_blank">Fling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-based deck that routinely sees creatures with power in excess of 20. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chandra&#039;s Ignition" href="#" target="_blank">Chandra&#039;s Ignition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> often just ends the game, full stop. I wouldn't recommend it everywhere, but the decks where it works well it's an absolute monster. Rightfully so, it's finally being recognized as the haymaker it is, showing up in 6,962 decks in our database, but it's a card that was slept on for many years and should be the kind of thing people consider for a sweeper if they can avoid getting tunnel visioned onto white wraths.</p>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">And you made me feel so blue</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pongify"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rapid Hybridization"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reality Shift"></div></div>
<p>Black has a long history of being THE color for creature removal. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Terror" href="#" target="_blank">Terror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is right there in <em>Alpha</em>, and just like white with wraths, black seems to get a new option every year. Blue, on the other hand, does NOT have a long history of being great at targeted creature removal like red does with sweeping creatures. Yes, historically it's been great at everything else, but not targeted creature removal. Blue handled that with spells like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unsummon" href="#" target="_blank">Unsummon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Enter the <em>Time Spiral</em> block, a strange little period where all the rules of <em>Magic</em> were turned on their head, including the notion that there should maybe be one thing blue can't do better than every other color.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the card where it was decided that yeah, blue should, in fact, be able to do all the things. In the context of Standard at the time it makes some sense; a 3/3 token isn't nothing in that environment. It hits for 1/7 of your health pool and can effectively block a whole lot of bodies. We are, however, not playing Standard in 2006; a 3/3 body in a 40-life total format where you have three opponents is a whole different thing, and that 3/3 body winds up being way, way less impactful in the game we play when you give it to your opponent in exchange for that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite" href="#" target="_blank">Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It works on turn 1 or after someone drops a Leyline of Anticipation, situations when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murderous Cut" href="#" target="_blank">Murderous Cut</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is dead in your hand, and in the vast majority of situations the token your opponent gets is irrelevant to the game state. It's just a fantastic card.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is just a functional reprint of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> making your opponent a green Frog Lizard instead of an Ape, because what's better than having one 1-drop instant that's better than anything black has at the same cost? Having two of them.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reality Shift" href="#" target="_blank">Reality Shift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> costs one more colorless to cast, but it exiles <em>and</em> makes a <em>Manifest</em> creature out of the top card of your opponent's library. They can flip over that card for its casting cost if it was a creature, but the odds are so low for that happen that it's almost always worth the one extra mana to be able to exile your target. Plus it makes for a nice way to mess with the person who just cast a top-of-the-library search spell like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>The three cards above are a perfect example of a situation where I got caught up in the tunnel vision around black removal. I was brewing a Dimir deck, and when it came time to add a couple of targeted creature removal spells I immediately slotted in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Go for the Throat" href="#" target="_blank">Go for the Throat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murderous Cut" href="#" target="_blank">Murderous Cut</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Malicious Affliction" href="#" target="_blank">Malicious Affliction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It was months before someone made an offhand comment in another game about how great <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was, and I agreed, literally commenting that, "It's probably better than anything black has to offer." I knew that enough to comment on it but STILL had built my Dimir deck with three spells that I generally find less useful than the three blue options above.</p>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">All they thought they knew were lies, lies in black</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Night&#039;s Whisper"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Read the Bones"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sign in Blood"></div></div>
<p>Black has better unconditional cheap raw draw than blue. It just does. Sorry <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brainstorm" href="#" target="_blank">Brainstorm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> stans. Yes, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brainstorm" href="#" target="_blank">Brainstorm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> a near-busted card in eternal formats where the ability to hide cards from hand hate is strong and where fetches provide a chance, at will, to shuffle away the two cards you put on top. It's also great in a format like cEDH where you're digging down for a piece that just wins the game. I won't argue against any of those things. We're not playing Legacy, though, and this isn't an article about cEDH. We're talking typical standard Commander, and in typical Commander where folks aren't ducking <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thoughtseize" href="#" target="_blank">Thoughtseize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or trying to filter down to a fast combo win as efficiently as possible, or where almost nobody is running every possible fetch just to give a free shuffle, just putting raw cards into hand is often what you want more than anything else. And black does that better than blue in the slots at three CMC or less.</p>
<p>A large part of that is because black's draw almost always has a downside requiring you to pay life as part of the cost, and the amount of life you pay for these effects has traditionally been scaled for a 20-life format. Everywhere else <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Night&#039;s Whisper" href="#" target="_blank">Night&#039;s Whisper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> dings you for 1/10 of your starting life total. In EDH, however, that's only 1/20 of your starting life, a much more palatable exchange. Regardless of why black's small draw spells are so efficient in our format, the fact remains that they are, and these three are the best choices.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Night&#039;s Whisper" href="#" target="_blank">Night&#039;s Whisper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is maybe my favorite card in Commander. It's castable at almost any point in the game, and it just gets you cards ahead with no preconditions or extra factors to worry about. Pay two, lose two, draw two. Clean, simple, and perfect. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winged Words" href="#" target="_blank">Winged Words</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is pretty fantastic in blue, but it's reliant on having bodies in play, and can't be cast nearly as reliably on turn two in your average deck, same with the also fantastic <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chart a Course" href="#" target="_blank">Chart a Course</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Black does it better, more consistently.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Read the Bones" href="#" target="_blank">Read the Bones</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> costs one more, but it lets you scry down two before the draw. That's better than anything blue is going to do at three mana short of <em>D</em><em>elving</em> a <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> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treasure Cruise" href="#" target="_blank">Treasure Cruise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, something almost impossible to do early, and sometimes impossible to do at all depending on how much grave hate your meta runs.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sign in Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Sign in Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a slightly-harder-to-cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Night&#039;s Whisper" href="#" target="_blank">Night&#039;s Whisper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with an added bonus of allowing you to choose target player instead of only using it on yourself, and friend, let me assure you that you haven't seen Shakespeare the way it's meant to be done unless you've killed someone with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sign in Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Sign in Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Be colorblind, don't be so shallow</h2>
<p>These are just the first three examples where being overly fixated on a color's known strengths might make you miss out on the fact that other colors, in fact, do those things better. Have any specific examples of your own? Sound off in the comments below and let me know. I'm always looking to challenge my own assumptions about what things do what better.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Vela the Night-Clad: Intimidating Machinery" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Vela the Night-Clad
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Arcbound Ravager
*1 Crashing Drawbridge
*1 Foundry Inspector
*1 Hangarback Walker
*1 Hex Parasite
*1 Jhoira&#039;s Familiar
*1 Karn, Silver Golem
*1 Metalwork Colossus
*1 Metalworker
*1 Mishra&#039;s Self-Replicator
*1 Myr Battlesphere
*1 Scarecrone
*1 Scrapyard Recombiner
*1 Shambling Suit
*1 Shimmer Myr
*1 Soul of New Phyrexia
*1 Spellskite
*1 Steel Hellkite
*1 Steel Overseer
*1 Traxos, Scourge of Kroog
*1 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Efficient Construction
*1 Imprisoned in the Moon
*1 Mirrodin Besieged
*1 Revel in Riches
*1 The Antiquities War
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Academy Ruins
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Command Tower
*1 Darksteel Citadel
*1 Drowned Catacomb
*1 Fetid Pools
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*6 Island
*1 Morphic Pool
*1 Phyrexian Tower
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Seat of the Synod
*1 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
*1 Strip Mine
*1 Sunken Hollow
*5 Swamp
*1 Tainted Isle
*1 Underground River
*1 Underground Sea
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
*1 Vault of Whispers
*1 Wasteland
*1 Watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Ashnod&#039;s Altar
*1 Cloud Key
*1 Dimir Signet
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Grim Monolith
*1 Krark-Clan Ironworks
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Mox Opal
*1 Mystic Forge
*1 Nihil Spellbomb
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Spawning Pit
*1 Talisman of Dominance
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Unwinding Clock
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 All Is Dust
*1 Demonic Tutor
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Notion Rain
*1 One with the Machine
*1 Read the Bones
*1 Sign in Blood
*1 The Elderspell
*1 Thoughtcast
*1 Toxic Deluge
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Fact or Fiction
*1 Masterful Replication
*1 Pongify
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Reality Shift
[/Instants]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Tezzeret the Seeker
*1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
*1 Tezzeret, Artifice Master
*1 Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge
[/Planeswalkers]"></span></div>



Superior Numbers - Brewing Around Tunnel Vision

Throne of Eldraine Set Review - Green

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Mortify: To <span class="hvr">undergo</span> <span class="hvr">tissue</span> <span class="hvr">death</span> or <span class="hvr">become</span> <span class="hvr">gangrenous</span></h2>
<p>Currently, there are 21,123 decks in the EDHREC database running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mortify" href="#" target="_blank">Mortify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and not a single one of them should have it as part of the 99.</p>
<p>Welcome to <em>In the Margins, </em>a bi-monthly series where I swipe left on the card choices you make for decks. Am I needlessly cruel? Maybe. But listen, if your Tinder profile has a selfie of you wearing a trilby you've mistaken for a fedora and a <em>Big Bang Theory</em> quote where you spelled the word 'science' then I don't need to check your decklist to see if you're still running Mortify.</p>
<p>It's okay though! All hope is not lost! We're here to rebuild you. We have the technology. Better. Stronger. Faster. Less hats.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mortify"></div></div>
<p>First though, Mortify. Mortify burst onto the scene in February of 2006 in the <em>Guildpact</em> set as the other half of a similarly-named card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Putrefy" href="#" target="_blank">Putrefy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which was released just months before. It's been reprinted ten times since, including in multiple Commander precons, and even a printing as recent as January of 2019 in <em>Ravnica Allegiance</em>. During the early part of that run, the card was probably an absolute house.</p>
<p>Time, unfortunately, didn't stop in 2006. If it did, Will Smith's filmography would be way less embarrassing. No, the passage of time is the real monster at the end of this book. The years have brought us cards that are just generally better than Mortify and have displaced it from a slot in your deck, similar to how your step-siblings have displaced you from the loving place in your mother's heart. They're just better, more attractive people, and the love she has to give is finite. And yes, if you haven't caught on by now, I am in fact trying to mortify you in this article about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mortify" href="#" target="_blank">Mortify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>I'll note here that there are non-power reasons to run Mortify. There's a <a href="https://www.cardkingdom.com/mtg/promotional/mortify-textless">creepy textless version</a> that looks pretty great, though it makes it easy for people to forget whether the card hits artifacts or enchantments. That art's legit. Some people just like to run cards for nostalgic or flavor reasons, too, and I'll never argue with that. Lastly, some of the cards that have supplanted Mortify's spot in the Commander canon are priced north of $5, and it's sometimes easy to forget that such a price can be a decent amount of money for a piece of cardboard. If you like art, Ravnica-themed decks, or brew with a budget, then yes, run Mortify. If none of those reasons are why you're running it, though, you should fix that, and here're the cards that should probably take its place.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span class="hvr">Anguish: Agonizing</span> <span class="hvr">physical</span> or <span class="hvr">mental</span> <span class="hvr">pain;</span> <span class="hvr">torment</span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vindicate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Utter End"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anguished Unmaking"></div></div>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vindicate" href="#" target="_blank">Vindicate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong> was a $20 dollar card not too many years ago, and even today the least expensive versions hover near $5. It's also a sorcery, so it's not a strictly better alternative. It does hit any target, though. Not just creatures and enchantments, but lands, artifacts and planeswalkers, at the exact same CMC. Destroying a land is the really important one to note, though being able to gank a planeswalker isn't nothing in the wake of <em>War of the Spark</em>. Important lands have cropped up all over the format, though, from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cabal Coffers" href="#" target="_blank">Cabal Coffers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kessig Wolf Run" href="#" target="_blank">Kessig Wolf Run</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Once upon a time, Vindicate was a card you ran in conjunction with Mortify, but now? Now it's the competition, residing in 12,077 decks. The top commander on EDHREC running Mortify is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Praetor&#039;s Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Praetor&#039;s Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with just under 2,000 decks, and of those decks, 1,743 are running Mortify and not running Vindicate. Is Vindicate a flatly better option than Mortify? Not necessarily, given the usefulness of removal at instant speed, but you should consider it as an option for one of your precious deck slots. Consider strongly which types of permanents you most often need to be able to remove, and when they need removing.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anguished Unmaking" href="#" target="_blank">Anguished Unmaking</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong> is probably the closest card we have in terms of an apples-to-apples comparison. It's the exact same CMC, is also an instant, it exiles the target, and also hits planeswalkers and artifacts. That's a pretty huge upside at the cost of a mere three life in the two best lifegain colors in the game. Don't forget how important exiling is when compared to destruction, too; not only does it evade indestructibility, but Meren, Muldrotha, and Daretti can't revive things when they're sent beyond the grave.</p>
<p>It's currently in 26,426 decks on EDHREC. Three of the top five most popular commanders of all time are capable of running Anguished Unmaking: Atraxa, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breya, Etherium Shaper" href="#" target="_blank">Breya, Etherium Shaper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <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>. Of those, 23% of Atraxa decks, 11% of Breya decks, and 16% of Oloro decks are running Mortify and not Anguished Unmaking. I'll note here that the Atraxa precon did come with Mortify in the list, which is probably why that number is higher. But the number should not be higher. Make the change.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Utter End" href="#" target="_blank">Utter End</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong> is four mana vs three, and four mana is a lot for an instant-speed single-target removal spell. Frankly, three is a lot, too, but four is a <em>lot</em> lot. Still, it exiles anything that isn't a land, and it doesn't cost you life like Anguished Unmaking. So is it better than Mortify? Probably? There's no way to mathematically say that paying one more mana is worth being able to exile what you hit, and to also hit planeswalkers and enchantments, but for me personally, I think it is. If you draw a Mortify against an artifact player, you're in trouble, but if you draw an Utter End, you know you can deal with almost any problem, and you can deal with it in a way that's almost impossible for your opponent to recur.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Oblation: A <span class="hvr">religious</span> <span class="hvr">offering,</span> <span class="hvr">either</span> as <span class="hvr">charity</span> or to a <span class="hvr">god</span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Oblation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Despark"></div></div>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oblation" href="#" target="_blank">Oblation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong> is an old-school removal spell that flourished back when tuck was a thing, and has fallen off in recent years. Still, I'd be remiss not to at least mention it as an option, particularly since it can often be a secretly modular card; it does technically double as a draw spell if you're desperate, or have disposable tokens, or one of your creatures is about to die or get stolen. This <em>Onslaught</em> classic currently resides in 8,695 decks, and it shuffles away any nonland permanent, avoiding indestructibility, death triggers, and making recursion quite challenging. Yes, your opponent draws two cards, and that's not great, but it beats then doing whatever degenerate thing they were about to do that necessitated instant speed targeted removal. Plus, it can function as a white <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Costly Plunder" href="#" target="_blank">Costly Plunder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in a pinch. At least file it away in the back of your mind as a potential option.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Despark" href="#" target="_blank">Despark</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong> is our newest addition to the list of cards that may make Mortify obsolete. It probably doesn't make the cut at the cEDH or near-cEDH level, as the average CMC of permanents tends to be too low to the ground in those cricles. Everywhere else, though? Here's what Despark hits off EDHREC's most popular of all time lists for each permanent type:</p>
<ul>
<li>Commanders
<ul>
<li>5 of the top 5</li>
<li>9 of the top 10</li>
<li>17 of the top 20</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Creatures
<ul>
<li>3 of the top 5</li>
<li>62 of the top 100</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Artifacts
<ul>
<li>34 of the top 100</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Enchantments
<ul>
<li>45 of the top 100</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Planeswalkers
<ul>
<li>86 of the top 100</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>It also hits five of the <em>Ixalan</em> block's transform lands. Since a transform card's back has the same CMC as the front, and Despark doesn't say 'nonland', it can hit any of those <em>Ixalan</em> transform lands even after they've flipped if the front side cost four or more to cast. In this case, it can specifically exile <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gold-Forged Garrison" href="#" target="_blank">Gold-Forged Garrison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vault of Catlacan" href="#" target="_blank">Vault of Catlacan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Primal Wellspring" href="#" target="_blank">Primal Wellspring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conqueror&#039;s Foothold" href="#" target="_blank">Conqueror&#039;s Foothold</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spitfire Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Spitfire Bastion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. That's not a reason to run it, but it's worth noting when considering making a move.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Plowshare: A <span class="hvr">steel</span> <span class="hvr">wedge</span> <span class="hvr">that</span> <span class="hvr">cuts</span> <span class="hvr">loose</span> <span class="hvr">the</span> <span class="hvr">top</span> <span class="hvr">layer</span> of <span class="hvr">soil</span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Path to Exile"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swords to Plowshares"></div></div>
<p><strong><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></strong> and <strong><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></strong> are the two cards that complicate things here. They aren't multi-purpose tools like all the cards listed above as they only hit creatures, but both are so efficiently costed and good at what they do that it's really, really hard to not run both in any deck that can, and that further limits the available slots for Mortify. Path is in 45,869 decks and Swords is in 79,524 and both those numbers are probably too low. Are black-white decks running Mortify also already running these? Yes. But can they afford to keep running Mortify for creature removal when they already have these two options, and the options above offer so much more versatility? No, probably not.</p>
<p>Opening up your colors further complicates things even more, and completely pushes Mortify down and down. In Abzan, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assassin&#039;s Trophy" href="#" target="_blank">Assassin&#039;s Trophy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <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> can hit any target at instant speed. Mardu adds <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chaos Warp" href="#" target="_blank">Chaos Warp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to the mix, and Esper brings in some Swords- and Path-esque single-target creature removal options like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reality Shift" href="#" target="_blank">Reality Shift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Conclusion: <span class="hvr">The</span> <span class="hvr">close</span> or <span class="hvr">last</span> <span class="hvr">part;</span> <span class="hvr">the</span> <span class="hvr">end</span> or <span class="hvr">finish</span></h2>
<p>If you’re still running Mortify, odds are good that one of these options will work a little better for you, and over time, a bunch of little betters adds up to a lot better. There are just too many other options fighting for a finite amount of space. Mortify's flexibility is outdone by a lot of other cards, which means it's often relegated to a form of creature removal, and both black and white have better options in that slot. If you’ve got an argument for Mortify, though, I’d love to hear it. Leave a comment below and make your case, or just leave a compliment about how the masculine yet sensitive tone of my prose and rhetoric is making you question some very basic bio-mechanical truths about yourself you'd once considered long settled.</p>
<p>Until next time, I’m Dana and I’ll see you <em>In the Margins</em>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Selenia Swapping" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]Selenia, Dark Angel[/commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Expedition Map
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Mirror Universe
*1 Orzhov Signet
*1 Phyrexian Processor
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Soul Conduit
*1 Tainted Sigil
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Children of Korlis
*1 Crypt Ghast
*1 Defiant Bloodlord
*1 Doom Whisperer
*1 Erebos, God of the Dead
*1 Evra, Halcyon Witness
*1 Grand Abolisher
*1 Magus of the Mirror
*1 Platinum Angel
*1 Tree of Perdition
*1 Vizkopa Guildmage
*1 Wall of Blood
[/Creatures]
[Enchantment]
*1 Arguel&#039;s Blood Fast
*1 Axis of Mortality
*1 Blind Obedience
*1 Exquisite Blood
*1 Ghostly Prison
*1 Greed
*1 Land Tax
*1 Near-Death Experience
*1 Necropotence
*1 Pestilence
*1 Phyrexian Arena
*1 Phyrexian Unlife
*1 Sanguine Bond
*1 Tainted Remedy
*1 Wound Reflection
[/Enchantments]
[Instant]
*1 Ad Nauseam
*1 Anguished Unmaking
*1 Crush Contraband
*1 Hatred
*1 Necrologia
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Return to Dust
*1 Snuff Out
*1 Sudden Spoiling
*1 Swords to Plowshares
*1 Teferi&#039;s Protection
*1 Utter End
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*1 Ambition&#039;s Cost
*1 Ancient Craving
*1 Austere Command
*1 Council&#039;s Judgment
*1 Damnable Pact
*1 Demonic Tutor
*1 Merciless Eviction
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Read the Bones
*1 Repay in Kind
*1 Reverse the Sands
*1 Sign in Blood
*1 Toxic Deluge
*1 Vindicate
[/Sorcery]
[Land]
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Cabal Coffers
*1 Caves of Koilos
*1 City of Brass
*1 Command Tower
*1 Concealed Courtyard
*1 Fetid Heath
*1 Glacial Chasm
*1 Godless Shrine
*1 Homeward Path
*1 Isolated Chapel
*1 Kor Haven
*1 Mana Confluence
*1 Marsh Flats
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Orzhov Basilica
*6 Plains
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Scrubland
*1 Strip Mine
*6 Swamp
*1 Tainted Field
*1 Temple of Silence
*1 Terrain Generator
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
81 Wasteland
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