Reliquary TowerReliquary Tower | Art by Mark Poole

Today I present to you the ten best uncommon cards in Commander! Since a good number of the most played uncommon cards (as defined by the EDHREC deck database) are redundant in effect, I've picked the most popular of the bunch for the list, with a shout-out to other similar cards that are are also highly played and are actually at the top of the list too.

So each top card will represent the best of a particular kind of card, and I'll talk about why each card is so good that it's played in tons of Commander decks.

Before I get to the list though, I have a special call out to the "S-tier" uncommon card that would easily be #1; but how fun would that be? So let's just pay homage to the GOAT and move on to the main event.

While Sol RingSol Ring is an uncommon, it is undoubtedly one of the most powerful mana acceleration cards in the history of Magic. In the very early days of EDH it was relatively easy to pick up since it was banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. So when Wizards of the Coast (WotC) first got in the business of making Commander decks, they included a Sol Ring in each deck, and the rest is history. Sol Ring is entwined with the identity of Commander.

Okay, let's get to the count down!

#10 ReanimateReanimate

Bringing good creatures back from the graveyard is a strategy as old as Magic: The Gathering itself, and ReanimateReanimate's incredible low mana cost and flexibility in targeting any graveyard makes it the most powerful of the uncommon reanimation spells. The downside life loss is easily absorbed when you start at 40 life, and black usually has plenty of ways to recoup the life loss - or just win the game before the life loss matters.

Other uncommon reanimator spells near the top of the list include the incredible VictimizeVictimize, which lets you get back two creatures from your graveyard at the cost of sacrificing a creature; and Animate DeadAnimate Dead, which is similarly powerful as Reanimate but a little more mana and without the life loss.

#9 Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor

It's wild to think about a card so powerful as Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor was an uncommon, but much like Sol Ring, power levels were pretty wild way back in the early days. While it's been used many times over the years as just a utility spell to go get your next land drop, or a battlefield sweeper to reset the board, the ability to go get a game winning combo piece has put Demonic Tutor on the Game Changers list.

Demonic Tutor is so efficient and powerful that reiterations of the concept have been way less powerful over the years. The iterations on Demonic Tutor from Mirage - Enlightened TutorEnlightened Tutor, Mystical TutorMystical Tutor, and Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor - shaved a mana and put the searched card on top of your library instead of your hand, but made it instant speed and, by the way, are also uncommon and are very, very popular as utility and combo finders.

#8 SkullclampSkullclamp

Card draw is incredibly important in Commander, and SkullclampSkullclamp is one of the most efficient card draw engines ever printed in Magic. As long as you've got a steady stream of one-toughness token creatures, Skullclamp can turn each one into two fresh cards for just one mana to equip. And you can always just equip it to a creature your know your opponents will be interested in killing anyway!

Other potent uncommon draw spells at the top of the Commander list include BrainstormBrainstorm (best if used with ways to shuffle your library) and Garruk's UprisingGarruk's Uprising (best if used with large power creatures). Deadly DisputeDeadly Dispute is mostly out there as a common, but it was designated as an uncommon in Final Fantasy: Through the Ages so technically it's on the list of powerful uncommons.

#7 Nature's LoreNature's Lore

Green has a ton of options for early mana acceleration and color fixing, but Nature's LoreNature's Lore and the functionally identical Three VisitsThree Visits are particularly special because the Forest your search up and put on the battlefield doesn't have to enter tapped, unlike similar cards like Rampant GrowthRampant Growth. So often you're getting a mana back to use for other things.

Also there are a ton of Forest cards that can fix your colors too, from old school duals like Tropical IslandTropical Island, to the oddball Murmuring BoskMurmuring Bosk up to the tri-lands like Ketria TriomeKetria Triome or Ziatora's Proving GroundZiatora's Proving Ground.

Since Nature's LoreNature's Lore and Three VisitsThree Visits are functionally identical, I'm giving Nature's Lore the nod here because it's cheaper to pick up.

There are also a few uncommon lands that help with mana acceleration. Myriad LandscapeMyriad Landscape is fantastic for one- or two-color decks. Ancient TombAncient Tomb taps for two mana, but at the cost of two life each time. And Temple of the False GodTemple of the False God can also tap for two mana, but only if you control five or more lands, so make sure you've done the math and are playing enough lands to justify the risk!

#6 Rogue's PassageRogue's Passage

Speaking of cool lands, Rogue's PassageRogue's Passage is a very powerful and popular uncommon that plays an excellent role later in the game when there are so many creatures on the battlefield that combat has stalled out. For four mana you can tap this land and make target creature unable to be blocked this turn.

And that's any creature. So if you want to team up with an opponent that has a huge creature and wants to attack another opponent, you've got that flexibility. Best of all, this doesn't cost you a nonland slot in your deck; it can just tap for mana when you need to cast spells.

#5 CounterspellCounterspell

Spells like CounterspellCounterspell get a bad rap because some players want to jam every bit of countermagic in their deck and try to counter every relevant card they can before they inevitably run out of steam in multiplayer games. But cards like Counterspell serve a vital purpose in breaking up the plans of an opponent trying to assemble a fast combo kill, or to protect your own battlefield position.

There are other top uncommons with a similar effect, like An Offer You Can't RefuseAn Offer You Can't Refuse and NegateNegate. It's wild to think about now, but Mana DrainMana Drain was an uncommon when it was first printed in Legends! While it's technically better than Counterspell, it's price relative to Mana Drain gives the number nod to Counterspell for my list.

#4 Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots

Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots and Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves are two uncommons with a very similar effect. Greaves might be considered more powerful on paper due to the zero equip cost, but Boots is more powerful because hexproof is so often much better than shroud, especially when you want to be able to target your protected creature with other effects - especially more Equipment!

#3 Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares

Interaction is one of the joys of Magic, and the most prevalent of those are removal spells, where Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares is the absolute gold standard of any rarity. When it is so easy to bring creatures back from the graveyard, or give a creature indestructible, an exile effect at instant speed for just one mana is a must-have if you're running white.

Since this card was printed way back in Alpha, it's sometimes fun to think about just how large a farm there must be in Exile Land that holds all those creatures: from Hypnotic SpecterHypnotic Specter to Erhnam DjinnErhnam Djinn to Super ShredderSuper Shredder.

Other uncommon removal spells include Path to ExilePath to Exile, which comes real close to Swords, to the color-pie breaking Beast WithinBeast Within, to the white reskin(ish) Generous GiftGenerous Gift.

#2 Reliquary TowerReliquary Tower

One thing has been true since the earliest days of Magic: players love drawing cards more than nearly anything. But it always felt bad when you had so many cards in your hand you had to discard some of them during your end step, so people would jam cards like Library of LengLibrary of Leng or Anvil of BogardanAnvil of Bogardan in their deck to greedily keep all the cards.

Then some designer of Conflux brought Reliquary TowerReliquary Tower to the masses and we could have that effect without costing a nonland spell slot, and the world rejoiced!

#1 Arcane SignetArcane Signet

It could probably be argued that Arcane SignetArcane Signet deserves to be in the S-tier with Sol Ring, but I consider two-mana rocks to be A-tier because they're not quite as good as green's more durable land ramp spells. But Arcane Signet is so good for non-green deck mana ramp and color fixing, plus all the potent artifact synergies running around Commander decks these days, it warrants the #1 uncommon slot.

In the early days of EDH we relied on Fellwar StoneFellwar Stone and Mind StoneMind Stone for off-green mana acceleration at two mana. The more recent Thought VesselThought Vessel gives you extra mana and lets you keep all those extra cards if Reliquary Tower isn't around.

The cycle of Talisman cards, such as Talisman of DominanceTalisman of Dominance, Talisman of CreativityTalisman of Creativity, and Talisman of IndulgenceTalisman of Indulgence, are incredibly powerful mana acceleration and color fixing for a life if you need it.

The cycle of Signets like Dimir SignetDimir Signet, Rakdos SignetRakdos Signet, and Boros SignetBoros Signet are nearly as good, with the edge going to the Talismans since you can always tap them for a mana, while the Signets need a mana to make more mana.

Honorable Mentions

At the top of the uncommons were a few more cool cards I wanted to call out.

Tireless ProvisionerTireless Provisioner goes in any Landfall or Lands Matter decks and will generate a fair number of Treasure tokens, or - if your life needs padding - Food tokens. Rhythm of the WildRhythm of the Wild ensures your creature spells can't be countered, and gives your nontoken creatures riot - either haste, or a +1/+1 counter. That haste ability is great when you're deploying a creature after a battlefield sweeper!

Then there's Idol of OblivionIdol of Oblivion which is a great card drawing engine in any deck that reliably make tokens, especially if the ability is attached to a commander such as Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss. Or if you have eight mana available, why not make a 10/10 Eldrazi token?

Which uncommon cards do you consider the most powerful in Commander? Which ones are your favorites?

Read More:

Ranking the Swords of X and Y in Commander

Glimpse the Core: Clarifying Bracket 2's Definition