Spongebob SquarepantsSpongebob Squarepants | Art by Caleb Meurer

Hello everyone! I’m Levi from the Thought Vessel Show, and this is Ten Under Twenty, where we take a deep dive on a single commander and find those cards that are simply not getting the respect they deserve. This week we're looking at Spongebob SquarepantsSpongebob Squarepants, or, probably more commonly known as Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier.

In order to qualify for this list, the card has to appear in less than 20% of decks here on EDHREC. This is a buffet-style list, meaning you can take whatever you like and leave whatever you don't. My goal here is to simply shine some light on some great cards that deserve some love. Let’s look at SpongeBob first before jumping into the list.

SpongeBob might be the closest commander we have currently to the universally good WUBRG commander ever since Golos was banned. Having both a pump effect and an upgraded cascade effect out of the command zone will both bring a lot of power and attention to the table. There's rarely a game in which a SpongeBob deck is played where it is not the center of attention in non-cEDH pods. The deck usually wants to run the best legendary creatures possible in order to take advantage of the free casting and use the buffed attack power to close out the game. With this strategy in mind, let’s start our list with number ten.

10) Kolvori, God of KinshipKolvori, God of Kinship (14%)

Starting out, we have a pretty underrated card in Kolvori, God of KinshipKolvori, God of Kinship. In a deck that's legend-focused, being able to choose between a two mana value mana rock or a 6/6 vigilant legendary creature that can also provide card advantage is a phenomenal place to be. Attacking, blocking, ramping, or gaining card advantage, there really isn’t a single point in the game in which this would be a dead card thanks to that versatility. The fact that it's only showing up in fourteen percent of SpongeBob decks on EDHREC is criminal!

9) Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble Pilferer (14%)

Though the numbers for Ragavan might be a bit lower due to its price, this is still one of my favorite includes in this deck. Most of the time, when you cast Ragavan, it can be easy to block and trade off before generating Treasure and card advantage since this is a mere 2/1 Monkey. With SpongeBob in play, Ragavan becomes significantly stronger and will survive chump blocks. The extra mana from the Treasures will allow for multiple legends to be cast in the same turn or even permit SpongeBob to be cast earlier if Ragavan is played in the early game.

Since it's a lower mana value legend, it will also find its way onto the field pretty consistently through SpongeBob’s ability since it can still be cast off of two- and three-mana legends.

8) Karn's Temporal SunderingKarn's Temporal Sundering (14%)

SpongeBob specifically cares about legendary spells, not legendary creatures. Though extra turns are sometimes seen as taboo in Commander, this is an excellent finisher. For starters, you'll be able to bounce a nonland permanent an opponent controls back to their hand. This could be a protection piece like PropagandaPropaganda or possibly that one pesky deathtouching blocker that's in the way. It's also a six mana legendary spell, so it'll find a five-mana or less legend to come right into play.

That extra turn will also bring extra cards, mana, and most importantly, an extra combat step. It’s not too far-fetched to believe that an extra turn in SpongeBob can be enough to close out the game. Fourteen percent of decks using this card is way too low.

7) Basim Ibn IshaqBasim Ibn Ishaq (14%)

This card is flying under the radar like many other cards from the Assassin’s Creed set. Basim Ibn IshaqBasim Ibn Ishaq is another phenomenal low mana value legend to catch the four- and three-mana legends that provides card advantage once per turn. It also grows with the +1/+1 counters and becomes unblockable to get through any potential blockers.

For under $5, this should be an auto-include in these decks.

6) Aurelia, the WarleaderAurelia, the Warleader (9%)

As I mentioned with Karn’s Temporal SunderingKarn’s Temporal Sundering, the level of damage this deck can produce can lead to victory by simply adding one more turn of combat. Aurelia, the WarleaderAurelia, the Warleader provides that extra push. It's an added bonus that the card comes with haste, so you can start attacking for flying damage right away. There's even a combo that this deck can run by including Brago, King EternalBrago, King Eternal for infinite combat steps, if one were inclined to use it.

As a top-end finisher, we could do a lot worse.

5) Akroma's WillAkroma's Will (7%)

Speaking of Angel-related powers, the next card on the list is Akroma's WillAkroma's Will, which is played in only 7% of SpongeBob decks here on EDHREC. It's strange that a card can be used defensively and as a finisher at the same time. The only thing that Akroma's WillAkroma's Will doesn’t provide is stat modification, which SpongeBob has in droves. It's honestly a perfect match. 

4) Minsc & Boo, Timeless HeroesMinsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes (7%)

This is one that a lot of players don’t think about since it’s a planeswalker, and most planeswalkers that are being played in SpongeBob are in a dedicated Superfriends deck. Minsc, of course, brings along BooBoo, which normally can be pumped up with the first loyalty ability or sacrificed to spread around damage and draw cards. In a deck that's pumping the stats of all legendary creatures, that's going to push out a lot of damage and be a lot of cards drawn.

The cherry on top: the beginning of the next upkeep will bring Boo back to be used in combat or for a sacrifice again.

3) Grazilaxx, Illithid ScholarGrazilaxx, Illithid Scholar (6.8%)

Next we have another card from the Dungeons & Dragons universe, and now in the SpongeBob universe as Squidward, Sarcastic SnobSquidward, Sarcastic Snob. Grazilaxx is sneaky good in SpongeBob as it puts opponents in a lose-lose situation. Either players allow themselves to get hit by legendary creatures and SpongeBob gets to draw cards, or they can block and Grazilaxx allows the SpongeBob player to put the card back into hand, which allows them to be recast and trigger SpongeBob again, adding even more legendary creatures to the battlefield. It also makes it nearly impossible to lose an attacking creature in combat.

2) Invasion of FioraInvasion of Fiora (6.2%)

It's always a good idea to include a couple of one-sided board wipes. This is especially true for SpongeBob, since it would be able to clear out most blockers that are in the way. Since it's a battle, it wouldn’t be very difficult to attack and take out the battle to get Marchesa, Resolute MonarchMarchesa, Resolute Monarch into play for some extra combat damage and card draw.

1) Alesha, Who Laughs at FateAlesha, Who Laughs at Fate (4.1%)

And finally, at the top of our list, we have Alesha, Who Laughs at FateAlesha, Who Laughs at Fate. It almost feels like cheating to play this in SpongeBob since their stats are drastically increased, so SpongeBob can virtually bring back any creature in the graveyard right away. The +1/+1 counters are also a nice touch. Ultimately, this card deserves a lot more inclusion in SpongeBob decks than 4.1%.

Overplayed Cards With SpongeBob

When looking to add some, if not all, of these legendary cards to your SpongeBob deck, it can be intimidating to figure out what to cut from your deck. Though I can't make that decision for you, I do have some suggestions of some cards that are popular for SpongeBob, showing up in about 50% of eligible decks or more on EDHREC, that may not be worth the hype that they are getting. These are my cut candidates. 

1) Chromatic LanternChromatic Lantern (60%) – I get this is a five-color deck that legitimately needs to have all five colors available as soon as possible, but with the amount of dual lands that we're getting in sets these days, I don’t think color fixing is as big of an issue as it once was. I would much rather use my three mana value slot in the deck toward Relic of LegendsRelic of Legends, which is going to be far more impactful to the overall strategy of the deck.

2) Annie Joins UpAnnie Joins Up (50%) – This is a good card in SpongeBob, no doubt about it. Coming in and dealing five damage to a target and then doubling SpongeBob triggers moving forward is great. I don’t like that the card itself is legendary, because in a lot of games with SpongeBob, this is either going to come in instead of a legendary creature that will boost the team, or it will be cast on the turn and it brings along a three mana or less legendary creature. Yes, it will add more legends to the board, but I would rather cast or flip into cards that will help me push for the win rather than a value engine.

There are some decks that would absolutely want this, like if you were using a Najeela, The Blade-BlossomNajeela, The Blade-Blossom combo and you wanted to increase the rate of using SpongeBob’s ability on three mana or less cards, then this would be a great include. I would just suggest building your deck, recognizing the play patterns, and then adding Annie Joins UpAnnie Joins Up into the 99.

Bonus Card – Mox AmberMox Amber (29%) – Though it doesn’t quite make the list for a cut candidate since it shows up in only 30% of SpongeBob decks, I still wanted to discuss this card and why it may not be a good inclusion for SpongeBob in general. When SpongeBob triggers off of a legendary cast, it's going to take the next legendary spell in the order. While you still would be able to get this card off of casting a one-mana legend like Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble Pilferer, it would also take up that legendary spell off of a bigger cast as well. And since it's not a creature, it wouldn’t increase the power of the rest of the legends either. It just isn’t worth the hassle most of the time in this deck.

SpongeBob is like a superhero in this format. It’s an incredibly powerful card, but it will attract a lot of attention at the same time. Most SpongeBob players know this and are more than willing to accept the challenge.

I hope you find some or all of these cards helpful for your current or future SpongeBob builds. If you have a commander you'd like to see on Ten Under Twenty, send us an email at [email protected]. Until next time, happy brewing.