Siege RhinoSiege Rhino | Art by Volkan Baga

Hey everyone! It's been quite a ride, but we're almost done with the top 10 most played cards from each three-color group. Last week was all about Bant. Today we go from blue being the third color to black, with Abzan ()!

Let's do what the Tarkir clan are best at and look back across history and see which of this wedge's ancestors continue to guide us to this day.

10. Vishgraz, the DoomhiveVishgraz, the Doomhive - 14,448 decks, 4,449 as commander

We're kicking things off with a spicy legend from the Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander set that leans into that set's poison counter mechanic, toxic!

Infect as a theme has steadily gotten more support over the years as more Phyrexian-oriented sets have been released. Aside from main set cards that either grant opponents poison counters or proliferate, the theme's goodies have come in the form of splashy Commander-only cards like Phyresis OutbreakPhyresis Outbreak, Contaminant GrafterContaminant Grafter, and Norn's DecreeNorn's Decree.

Thanks to EDHREC's handy tag functionality, we can see that Vishgraz is currently the third most popular Infect commander, next to another member of this list, and a pretty long way behind Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice, who offers access to an extra color as well as proliferate synergies to supercharge the counter stacking without needing to deal combat damage.

9. Betor, Kin to AllBetor, Kin to All - 16,225 decks, 5,368 as commander

The colors white and green like to play around in the defenders and toughness-matters spaces, though not exclusively, of course. Arcades, the StrategistArcades, the Strategist presents perhaps a slower, more controlling take on these archetypes thanks to the blue in his identity.

Betor, on the other hand, like Felothar the SteadfastFelothar the Steadfast, is a fine representative of Abzan mechanically, He would prefer to get to draining your opponents rather than bothering too much with combat or drawing cards - though he does generate card advantage, too!

When you control creatures with total toughness 20 or greater, Betor's untap ability lets you get multiple uses out of cards like Tree of PerditionTree of Perdition, Arbor AdherentArbor Adherent, Overgrown BattlementOvergrown Battlement, and Felothar, who appreciates having access to mana on opponents' turns to draw even more absurd amounts of cards.

Baldin, Century HerdmasterBaldin, Century Herdmaster helps you turn all those cards in hand into what is hopefully a victory. And, while Felothar is perhaps a more proactive, all-action Abzan toughness-matters commander, Betor offers inevitability. Still, you're more likely to see the latter in the 99 of the former, or in Dragon kindred decks where Betor's abilities still generate value thanks to giant flying monsters, even if they don't have defender.

8. Nethroi, Apex of DeathNethroi, Apex of Death - 15,894 decks, 6,473 as commander

If white and green feature toughness-matters synergies, then white and black bestow reanimation effects to Abzan. Nethroi may be one of the most powerful and flexible of the bunch, even though you do need to jump through the hoop of dealing with the mutate mechanic.

Something worth mentioning is that Nethroi is an absolute dream in a Felothar or Betor toughness deck, because a lot of big-toughness creatures have zero power! Imagine mutating this onto a non-Human like Tree of PerditionTree of Perdition, putting a ton of creatures into play, and being able to reduce opponents to five life instantly.

The Cat Nightmare Beast also features frequently in mutate-theme decks led by Ramos, Dragon EngineRamos, Dragon Engine, whose mana-generating ability lets you swiftly produce a complete aberration of a mutate stack boasting strange and delightful abilities.

You can also lay off the more esoteric shenanigans and simply play Nethroi as an incredible value card in graveyard decks like Karador, Ghost ChieftainKarador, Ghost Chieftain or Kathril, Aspect WarperKathril, Aspect Warper.

7. Ixhel, Scion of AtraxaIxhel, Scion of Atraxa - 16,683 decks, 6,068 as commander

Atraxa's protege is the more popular of the Abzan infect commanders. While Vishgraz helps get your army going by putting tokens into play, Ixhel provides another angle of attack as long as opponents already have a few poison counters.

It's important to note that, because the ability all happens as part of one trigger, you can play the cards Ixhel exiles from the top of your opponents' decks even when she isn't in play. It's appealing then, to get your enemies nice and corrupted with cards like Infectious InquiryInfectious Inquiry, Vraska's FallVraska's Fall, and Bilious SkulldwellerBilious Skulldweller before playing Ixhel and churning out value.

6. Narci, Fable SingerNarci, Fable Singer - 18,051 decks, 5,584 as commander

From toughness matters to infect, we're now covering another theme that Abzan likes to lean into: enchantments! Narci in particular works best with Sagas, even if she's just a legendary version of the classic family of Enchantress's PresenceEnchantress's Presence-like cards, like Mesa EnchantressMesa Enchantress, Eidolon of BlossomsEidolon of Blossoms, and Satyr EnchanterSatyr Enchanter.

As commander, she can provide convenient access to card advantage as well as a way to turn Sagas' slowly churning stream of value into a quicker kill with her drain ability.

If you don't fancy an Abzan-only Saga deck, you can also slot her into Tom BombadilTom Bombadil, Terra, Magical AdeptTerra, Magical Adept, and four-mana Atraxa, each of whom give you access to a wider range of powerful enchantments and Sagas that Narci can provide excellent support to.

5. Anikthea, Hand of ErebosAnikthea, Hand of Erebos - 13,303 decks, 12,671 as commander

While Narci may be better-suited as a supporting cast member, Anikthea exudes main character energy, featuring in nearly equal numbers at the helm of decks as she does in the 99.

That's not Narci's fault though, as this Demigod works with more than just Sagas and also puts a decidedly aggressive spin on an enchantress deck by generating 3/3 tokens. Of course, the 3/3 tokens don't just help you go wide, they also represent additional enters triggers from your best enchantments, like Ondu SpiritdancerOndu Spiritdancer, Binding the Old GodsBinding the Old Gods, and Grasp of FateGrasp of Fate, among others.

There are also a ton of ways to supercharge her ability, like incorporating the handy doubling package — also enchantments, by the way! — of Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession and Parallel LivesParallel Lives. Boon of the Spirit RealmBoon of the Spirit Realm also gets out of hand quickly, as can Weaver of HarmonyWeaver of Harmony.

Anikthea is amazing as a commander because she takes the often value-oriented enchantress game plan — draw cards, maybe build a pillow fort — and drives the aggression up from zero to 60, all while still generating value.

As a card in the 99, she also features in this Tom Bombadil build by Ciel Collins. Check it out!

4. Abzan CharmAbzan Charm - 30,458 decks

The token utility card on this list is also a modal charm, which often tends to be the case, because spells that can do more than one thing are huge in Commander. Instead of worrying about playing multiple raw card advantage spells while also balancing removal numbers in your deck, you can simply play Abzan Charm and use whichever effect is more useful at the time!

The counters mode is also relevant in the format, because countless cards benefit from getting them, including Ramos, Helga, Skittish SeerHelga, Skittish Seer if you're playing a multicolor deck, and Kami of Whispered HopesKami of Whispered Hopes.

3. The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom - 13,869 decks, 19,213 as commander

The most popular commander on the list, The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom does a great Field of the DeadField of the Dead impression and therefore is an excellent Lands Matter or Landfall leader! You want to be playing a bunch of different lands in Commander anyway, so Necrobloom, simply rewards you for playing Magic with Plants to start with, then Zombies.

There are so many different directions you can take your build. Wight of the ReliquaryWight of the Reliquary turns those tokens into the perfect fodder to churn out more lands, Aftermath AnalystAftermath Analyst rewards all your dredging by dumping lands into play, and Felidar RetreatFelidar Retreat converts all your landfall triggers into dead opponents!

Abzan lands also has access to a ton of sweet combos, including this one:

2. Thalia and The Gitrog MonsterThalia and The Gitrog Monster - 27,268 decks, 12,134 as commander

This duo may not lead as many land decks as The Necrobloom, but Thalia and The Gitrog MonsterThalia and The Gitrog Monster feature in around twice as many decks overall, thanks to a packed textbox and type line containing the juicy words legendary and Human.

The abilities work well with a ton of different commanders, including the sweet seven-drop that I haven't mentioned yet, Myrkul, Lord of BonesMyrkul, Lord of Bones, as well as Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier, and Saskia the UnyieldingSaskia the Unyielding, an aggro queen who makes the most out of the Thalia, Heretic CatharThalia, Heretic Cathar ability.

1. Eerie UltimatumEerie Ultimatum - 80,595 decks

Reanimate effects are incredible powerful in Commander, because games drag on and getting multiple bites out of the apple that is your creature suite is busted. Of course, Ultimatum's drawback means nothing in this singleton format, so it basically reads, "Put your graveyard into play."

This isn't the first time that an ultimatum has performed well among its three-colored peers. Check out DougY's breakdown of best multi-colored cycles which include these splashy sorceries, or this older list that ranks all ten ultimatums!

All Stories Eventually Come to an EndAll Stories Eventually Come to an End

That's it for the graveyardy, enchantmenty, tokeny, toughnesy goodness of Abzan! It's kind of a cop out, sure, but Siege RhinoSiege Rhino is my favorite card that didn't make the list. I also have to shout out Bilbo, Birthday CelebrantBilbo, Birthday Celebrant for the wonderful flavor.

What's your favorite Abzan card? Let us know, and stay tuned for Naya next week!

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