Conformer ShurikenConformer Shuriken | Art by Nakamura8

The pace of Magic releases and the sheer volume of new cards makes it a bit overwhelming to keep track of all the cards that you might want to consider for your Commander decks. Sure, we're all very aware of the flashiest, hottest cards that everyone is excited about; but what about the rest?

To assist in this challenge, I have examined each and every card released in 2025 through Final Fantasy and pulled a list of cards your eyes may have glazed over when scanning the previews a while back. These cards deserve a second look if you aren't already excited about them!

Unstoppable PlanUnstoppable Plan

Unstoppable PlanUnstoppable Plan is one of a handful of cards that helps mitigate the very real cost of tapping a creature to crew a Vehicle or saddle a Mount in multiplayer where blockers matter. And now that Edge of Eternities has brought us the station mechanic, Unstoppable PlanUnstoppable Plan is even more helpful!

If you're playing a bunch of nonland sources of mana like Arcane SignetArcane Signet or Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise it can generate extra mana you can use during your opponents' turns.

Dragonfire BladeDragonfire Blade

If your commander is three or more colors, definitely find a slot in your deck for Dragonfire BladeDragonfire Blade. I put a copy in my Kynaios and Tiro of MeletisKynaios and Tiro of Meletis deck, which can equip it for free, and provides a sizeable stat boost, but more importantly hexproof from monocolored - in other words, most of the instant-speed removal that people run in Commander.

Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares, PongifyPongify, and Go for the ThroatGo for the Throat will all need to be sent in another direction.

Restoration MagicRestoration Magic

Modal cards like Restoration MagicRestoration Magic always play much better than you think in Commander, and having the option of spending more mana in the late game to make the card even more powerful is awesome.

Loran's EscapeLoran's Escape is an excellent piece of interaction when you want to protect your commander or a key card, but if your deck cares about lifegain - such as having Hope EstheimHope Estheim as your commander - Restoration MagicRestoration Magic gains even more value.

Heritage ReclamationHeritage Reclamation

In the beginning there was DisenchantDisenchant, and then it got color-shifted to green with NaturalizeNaturalize, and since then the card has been iterated on over and over with additional utility tacked on, and now we have Heritage ReclamationHeritage Reclamation.

The floor of this card is effectively just cycling it away for , but all the modes are going to be clutch in various situations.

Duty Beyond DeathDuty Beyond Death

Duty Beyond DeathDuty Beyond Death is another excellent piece of interaction, saving all but one of your creatures from a destroy effect. The mana cost is cheap, but you do have to sacrifice a creature, which, in some decks, is negligible or even an upside. This also adds a +1/+1 counter to all your surviving creatures, which can sometimes just be game-ending if you've got enough attackers.

You've got +1/+1 counter synergies that can take advantage of this, along with synergies with modified creatures, or the persist mechanic.

Ironwill ForgerIronwill Forger

Myriad is an incredible mechanic in Commander, especially if you can give it to creatures that have enters or leaves play triggers. Ironwill ForgerIronwill Forger is a very cool addition to these strategies, especially if you can deploy your commander early so that the Forger can give you value the same turn as you play it.

Maybe like a Spirited CompanionSpirited Companion or a Stoneforge MysticStoneforge Mystic?

Conformer ShurikenConformer Shuriken

Conformer ShurikenConformer Shuriken is one of those Equipment cards where it helps to mentally walk through scenarios to unlock its true value. This card looks incredible to me in an aggressive monowhite or Boros () deck that can sometimes struggle once much larger creatures start hitting the battlefield that makes attacking problematic.

Equip the creature you want to attack with and Shuriken will tap down that big blocker and add a bunch of +1/+1 counters to the attacker. Next turn, attach Shuriken to another one of your small attackers and repeat.

You can also do wild things with creatures that do stuff with +1/+1 counters like Walking BallistaWalking Ballista or Spike FeederSpike Feeder.

Eye of NidhoggEye of Nidhogg

The goad mechanic is surprisingly powerful in Commander pods where creatures and creature combat play a prominent role, and enchantments that cause a creature to be goaded are often quite good. Not only are you now protected from being attacked by the problematic creature, but you're forcing it to attack one of your opponents, which can be more effective than just using pinpoint removal.

Eye of NidhoggEye of Nidhogg stands above most of the others since if it's put into a graveyard from the battlefield it will return to its owner's hand, where you can play it again and again. If you have Aura synergies this fits right in, but what's really interesting is how it changes the size of enchanted creature. So depending on the size of the target it could be shrinking it down or making it bigger.

You might even want to put it on your own creature in a pinch!

Dragon SniperDragon Sniper

It's wild just how many abilities they jammed on Dragon SniperDragon Sniper for just one mana; and it's an uncommon! Reach and deathtouch make this the ultimate rattlesnake blocker, ready and willing to take out a much larger creature that dares to attack in your direction. Vigilance means you can even use it to poke an opponent on attack if they don't have a throwaway creature that they'd be okay to trade with.

And since this is so cheap to cast, after it's traded for something more substantial it can easily brought back from the graveyard and cast again.

Naga FleshcrafterNaga Fleshcrafter

CloneClone is another classic Magic card that has been iterated on over the years, to the point that it's easy to just think "oh hey another Clone" and just move on. But Naga FleshcrafterNaga Fleshcrafter deserves a second look.

Clone-type cards are cool to have in Commander decks because it scales with the power level of the decks you're playing with; if they're playing high powered creatures, you can copy the best one. But when Fleshcrafter dies it has a really cool renew ability: for , exile it from your graveyard to put a +1/+1 counter on target nonlegendary creature you control, and each other creature you control becomes a copy of that creature until end of turn.

If you're playing cool and powerful creatures in your deck, having your whole team become a copy of the best one for a turn could really turn a game around.

How about an army of Ancient Silver DragonAncient Silver Dragons for a turn?

Relm's SketchingRelm's Sketching

Speaking of Clones, Relm's SketchingRelm's Sketching is a sorcery that lets you create a token that's a copy of any artifact, creature, or land on the battlefield. At a minimum it's a way to get some mana acceleration by either copying a land or a mana artifact, though most of the time you'll want to get a copy of the best creature around.

But what's really exciting is when you play this in conjunction with cards that care about making tokens; just imagine casting this with an Ojer Taq, Deepest FoundationOjer Taq, Deepest Foundation on your battlefield!

Summoning MateriaSummoning Materia

I think Summoning MateriaSummoning Materia might suffer from TL;DR syndrome, but it's worth taking the time to read and digest it all. What's really nice about this is its low equip cost of , and when you equip it the creature gains vigilance and can tap to add a green mana to your mana pool, giving you a mana back.

Being able to look at the top card of your library at any time can be quite useful for planning your next turn, and of course playing creatures from the top of your library is going to be golden in a creature-heavy deck. Green's mana ramp spells can reset the top of your library to give you fresh looks too.

Pair it up with Hua Tuo, Honored PhysicianHua Tuo, Honored Physician to keep your creatures coming back for more!

Tifa's Limit BreakTifa's Limit Break

Tifa's Limit BreakTifa's Limit Break is another nifty modal spell that I've found surprisingly useful. The first tier ability somersault is less useful overall but can occasionally save a creature in combat or from a burn spell. But the next two are where the card really shines - doubling or even tripling a creature's power and toughness at instant speed can surprisingly end a game, especially when it comes to commander damage.

Even better, you can cast this on an opponent's creature that's attacking another opponent. It's one of the reasons I like BerserkBerserk so much. So if your deck could make use of Berserk, give Tifa's Limit BreakTifa's Limit Break a look.

Gaius van BaelsarGaius van Baelsar

Look, it's another modal spell, this time attached to a creature! Gaius van BaelsarGaius van Baelsar's options are nifty; you can force each player to sacrifice an actual creature card rather than a token, or if someone has one large and threatening token, you can force them to sacrifice it. But what's really cool is black dipping further into the enchantment destruction pool, with the option of forcing each player to sacrifice an enchantment.

And with black able to bring creatures back from the graveyard, replaying this once or twice can really clean up some annoying enchantments your opponents might be playing.

Just remember, each time you force someone to sacrifice a Rhystic StudyRhystic Study or a Smothering TitheSmothering Tithe, your other opponents will thank you!

Guardian SunmareGuardian Sunmare

In the early days of EDH Zur the EnchanterZur the Enchanter was a menace. While you can't run Guardian SunmareGuardian Sunmare in your command zone, it has a lot of that same power. Even more so, since it can tutor up any nonland permanent with mana value three or less.

I'm picturing a deck where this could go find Aggravated AssaultAggravated Assault in the deck, and then you activate it to attack again! And maybe the second attack go get Pain for AllPain for All?

Protector of the WastesProtector of the Wastes

Protector of the WastesProtector of the Wastes has an awesome enters ability to get rid of up to two target artifacts and/or enchantments so long as they're controlled by different players; and it's not destroy, but exile, so that Rhystic StudyRhystic Study is gone forever!

The monstrous ability lets you get that effect one more time, but don't forget you can simply blink it with something like Teleportation CircleTeleportation Circle or Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet.

Undergrowth LeopardUndergrowth Leopard

Yes, there are several previous versions of a two-mana creature that can be sacrificed to destroy an artifact or enchantment, and I play them now alongside Undergrowth LeopardUndergrowth Leopard. For my money you can't have enough of these since they give you a body you can attack or block with and attach Equipment to, even if you don't need to blow anything up yet.

Having one on the battlefield means your opponents might not play a combo piece until they can get rid of it, or perhaps they'll want to make a political deal. Not to mention, having a creature go to your graveyard on demand can play well with all sorts of synergies.

Fast Mana

I'd like to finish off with a few cards that all provide fast mana. Green is no stranger to one- and two-mana spells that make mana, and while I typically stay away from artifact mana while playing green, since you can use various sorcery spells to actually fetch the more durable lands, Herd HeirloomHerd Heirloom is one bright exception since its second ability is so good!

If you're playing a green commander with power four or greater, this card is a slam dunk; if you've got a good number of creatures in your deck with power four or greater, again, this card is a slam dunk.

These three cards might look like draft chaff, but two-mana cards that tap for mana are quite useful for colors outside of green that might otherwise be hard pressed. Pit AutomatonPit Automaton is very limited in what you can use the mana for, but if you take a look at your decks you may be surprised just how many cards you have with activated abilities. And if you're playing any cards with exhaust abilities, the Automaton can copy it.

Cargo ShipCargo Ship gives you mana to cast artifact spells, or activate an artifact ability, all while being a Vehicle with flying and vigilance and a really cheap crew cost.

Then there's Sunset StrikemasterSunset Strikemaster, which taps for a red mana with no conditions attached. But if you don't need mana, it's got a solid three power to smash life totals. This would already have my attention, but it's even got a reasonably costed sacrifice ability if you need to knock a flying menace out of the skies - say, a Dragon perhaps?

I hope some of these cards sparked some interest to spicing up one or two of your Commander decks! Let me know which ones you like, and if there are any other hidden gems from the first part of 2025 people may have missed.

Read More: