(Vnwxt, Verbose HostVnwxt, Verbose Host | Art by Izzy)

After devastation, hope bloomedAfter devastation, hope bloomed

Hey everyone! Tarkir: Dragonstorm is upon us — at least on Magic: The Gathering Online and Arena — but today we're saying goodbye to Aetherdrift's run as the latest set by looking at its top Commander cards! It's going to be interesting seeing what impact start your engines! and Max Speed has had on EDH, considering it currently has much less support than a similar mechanic, energy.

I predict that it's going to be a matter of how easy it is to play the speed cards in your deck and how powerful their Max Speed effects are, because, unlike energy, there's nothing stopping you from playing just one copy of a card with that mechanic in your deck.

10. Gonti, Night MinisterGonti, Night Minister - 8,116 decks, 2,027 as commander

Gonti's original incarnation, Gonti, Lord of LuxuryGonti, Lord of Luxury, is an incredibly sweet card that lets you do one of the coolest things (in my opinion) in Magic: cast your opponents' stuff! This latest version maintains that sweetness and even turns it up a notch by turning all your creatures into top-of-the-deck saboteurs.

Getting a Treasure token on top of that makes the Night Minister all the more desirable in decks that both have creatures to attack with and that like playing off this theme of thievery.

If that's a theme you want to build around, then you need look no further than another Gonti, Canny AcquisitorGonti, Canny Acquisitor, who serves as a "lord" or buildaround commander for these shenanigans. Laughing Jasper FlintLaughing Jasper Flint lets you play Rakdos instead and perhaps leverage Sacrifice themes that require a lot of creatures that don't mind chump-attacking. You can also stay in mono-black with Gonti, Night Minister or even Tinybones, Bauble BurglarTinybones, Bauble Burglar or Gix, Yawgmoth PraetorGix, Yawgmoth Praetor.

9. Riptide GearhulkRiptide Gearhulk - 9,943 decks

I love it when Wizards of the Coast R&D takes a popular mechanic or theme from a past set and puts a little twist on it, like an additional color, and, since Aetherdrift's race runs through the plane of Avishkar, Gearhulks are an appropriate and fun cycle to do in allied color pairs this time around!

While they're all pretty sweet, Riptide Gearhulk sees more play than the rest for being a quite efficient piece of (albeit temporary) removal. Add to this that Azorius () is perhaps the color pair best equipped to reuse its enters ability through blink effects, and you've got yourself a solid role player, and with a relevant card type to boot!

8. Avishkar RacewayAvishkar Raceway - 10,928 decks

The first of three Raceways on the list, this colorless land sets your speed at 1 and ticks it up on each of your turns that an opponent loses life. Its bonus for reaching max speed isn't particularly efficient, but in colorless, mono-color, and maybe more budget-leaning aggressive decks will benefit from being able to "loot" in the mid-to-late-game and turn excess lands into action.

I like seeing it run in decks like Greasefang, Okiba BossGreasefang, Okiba Boss and The Capitoline TriadThe Capitoline Triad where putting specific, expensive cards in your graveyard can be important.

7. The AethersparkThe Aetherspark - 13,850 decks

What a weird and interesting card! Let's break down this legendary artifact planeswalker - Equipment into what is likely its common play pattern. For four mana, you get an Equipment that you don't have to pay more mana to equip. Instead, you can add a loyalty counter to The AethersparkThe Aetherspark to attach it to a creature and buff it with a counter.

That creature will add more loyalty counters to this when it deals damage. Depending on what hits the opponent, you can either start drawing extra cards the following or even add a whopping 10 mana right away!

But where do you play it?

An Equipment-themed deck seems like the natural home for this; cards like Captain America, First AvengerCaptain America, First Avenger and Nahiri, Forged in FuryNahiri, Forged in Fury love having lots of good Equipment around to boost their effects. Meanwhile, Giada, Font of HopeGiada, Font of Hope represents a creature type, Angels, that will evasively and effectively add loyalty counters to The Aetherspark so you can draw cards more often.

My final suggestion would be to look into some sort of proliferate theme, where commanders like Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice can help you activate the second and third loyalty ability more easily and earlier.

6. Amonkhet RacewayAmonkhet Raceway

Coming into play untapped and giving creatures haste once you get to max speed make for an interesting card in an aggressive-leaning mono-color or two-color deck. Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger, Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss, Arabella, Abandoned DollArabella, Abandoned Doll, and many other aggro commanders and/or commanders with powerful activated abilities would love to slot this into the manabase.

If you're looking to utilize speed as a mini theme, then look no further than Zhulodok, Void GorgerZhulodok, Void Gorger, who really doesn't mind you packing your deck with colorless utility lands (you have to, anyway!). Based on EDHREC data, I'm seeing speed decks built around powerful payoffs like Mendicant Core, GuidelightMendicant Core, Guidelight or Vnwxt, Verbose HostVnwxt, Verbose Host in mono-blue.

5. Unstoppable PlanUnstoppable Plan - 15,875 decks

This is a little something we like to call a "do-nothing enchantment" in Limited because, well, it really doesn't do anything to further a game plan in Draft or Sealed. But, we're here to talk about EDH, and Unstoppable PlanUnstoppable Plan does A LOT in this format. I talk about redundancy quite often, and I'm going to bring it up again because this is a cheap addition to other one-sides untap effects like Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse, Murkfiend LiegeMurkfiend Liege, Unwinding ClockUnwinding Clock, and others. It's just what we needed: more opportunities to assemble a StasisStasis lock!

This being mono-blue means you can also play it in non-green decks that love untap shenanigans, including Urza, Lord High ArtificerUrza, Lord High Artificer, Shorikai, Genesis EngineShorikai, Genesis Engine, and Phenax, God of DeceptionPhenax, God of Deception.

4. Full ThrottleFull Throttle - 16,301 decks

Here we go again with redundancy. Full Throttle provides that in spades, complementing cheaper effects like Aggravated AssaultAggravated Assault, Relentless AssaultRelentless Assault, World at WarWorld at War and others with a whopping two additional combat phases!

What kind of deck can make the most of these effects? Let's start with combat or attack trigger-commanders, like Isshin, Two Heavens as OneIsshin, Two Heavens as One, Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast, Otharri, Suns' GloryOtharri, Suns' Glory, and Xenagos, God of RevelsXenagos, God of Revels. While not a combo, per se, unless we have Aggravated Assault and some other stuff going on, getting more bites of the apple with any of these creatures will often end the game.

Creatures with activated abilities will also benefit from these effects untapping your team: Krenko again, as well as new cards Loot, the PathfinderLoot, the Pathfinder and Oviya, Automech ArtisanOviya, Automech Artisan.

3. Monument to EnduranceMonument to Endurance - 20,936 decks

Check out this sweet build from Ciel Collins at Commander's Herald that incorporates the Monument! While not as devastating or snowball-y as Bone MiserBone Miser can be, drawing extra cards, accumulating mana through Treasure tokens, and even draining the opponent can help you while you assemble discard combos like Waste NotWaste Not and Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune or Dark DealDark Deal.

Casting Burning InquiryBurning Inquiry even triggers every mode on Monument, which sounds pretty fun! On the topic of enablers, there are a ton of creatures that let you discard a lot of cards at once, including Varina, Lich QueenVarina, Lich Queen, Raffine, Scheming SeerRaffine, Scheming Seer, and Ghostly PilfererGhostly Pilferer. Having Monument in play won't win you the game, but it is a sweet utility card in this archetype.

2. Muraganda RacewayMuraganda Raceway - 22,578 decks

The last of the three and the rarest Raceway, this one does a great Ancient TombAncient Tomb impression when the conditions are right. That is a very powerful card to have in your deck, especially, again, in colorless and mono-color decks, and maybe some artifact-heavy or aggressive two-color decks as well. Zhulodok, Krenko, and Shorikai make another appearance in the Top Commander tab on EDHREC, while Ulalek, Fused AtrocityUlalek, Fused Atrocity is also a popular choice for this powerful land, alongside Karn, Legacy ReforgedKarn, Legacy Reforged, with both commanders inviting you to play expensive, splashy cards.

1. The Rare Lands

I'm a big fan of this cycle of lands because they come into play untapped. To get the second color of mana, you don't really need to jump through hoops; a shock- or fetchland will suffice. You're really only getting punished if you have a clunky mana draw with this and utility lands, but you can always mulligan and this cycle even spots you the first color for free!

What a bunch of junk. I'll take the lot.What a bunch of junk. I'll take the lot.

And that's it for Aetherdrift! I look forward to seeing how much of an impact the speed mechanic makes on the format in the coming years. I wouldn't be surprised if some supplemental set or future Standard-legal set revisits speed, unless it turns out players weren't such big fans. Until then, I wanted to mention how much I love Transit MageTransit Mage, simply because I have been waiting to see what WOTC would do after Trophy MageTrophy Mage, Treasure MageTreasure Mage, and Trinket MageTrinket Mage.