Command BridgeCommand Bridge | Art by Constantin Marin

Hey, everyone! I've really been enjoying breaking down the most played three-color cards. You can check out my latest article on Jund () here. Today, however, we'll bring things closer to the present — and the distant future, sort of — by looking at the top 10 most played cards from Edge of Eternities!

Now, sci-fi had been a bit out-of-bounds for Magic lore for most of the game's existence. I didn't mind it at all, but I'm also just so happy to see different literary genres and aesthetics being explored recently. As a fan of Ursula Le Guin, Star Wars, and really just any movie set on a starship, Edge feels like a marriage of many of the things I love.

Enough about me, though, let's dive into the set!

10. Umbral Collar ZealotUmbral Collar Zealot - 16,453 decks

This may cost 100% more mana than Viscera SeerViscera Seer, but Seer is one of the most played mono-black cards in the format, being played in nearly as many decks as Sacrifice theme buddy Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat.

Sac decks will always want new enablers or outlets, especially ones that let you put a creature in the graveyard in exchange for some extra benefit for zero mana!

Cards like Zealot boast a lot of combo potential as well, including with GravecrawlerGravecrawler:

Interestingly, Zealot is a Human, which has some additional upside in sacrifice-flavored kindred decks. Where might the intersection of type and ability be useful? Perhaps as emergency fodder for Silvar, Devourer of the FreeSilvar, Devourer of the Free or General Kudro of DrannithGeneral Kudro of Drannith, or another warm body to make better use of Horn of GondorHorn of Gondor or Katilda, Dawnhart PrimeKatilda, Dawnhart Prime.

9. Tannuk, Memorial EnsignTannuk, Memorial Ensign - 13,195 decks, 3,425 as commander

You might have read it before, but Omnath, Locus of CreationOmnath, Locus of Creation is my favorite card in all of Magic. It should make sense, then, why I love Tannuk, Memorial EnsignTannuk, Memorial Ensign so much; he's a mini-Omnath, while also being a Gruul-ier take on Tatyova, Benthic DruidTatyova, Benthic Druid!

Pinging opponents for one isn't immediately exciting, but the damage does add up, to be fair. Where he really excels is as an affordable card advantage engine that calls for removal eventually. He seems like a great bridge to get you from your Lotus CobraLotus Cobra to your Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar, and to keep your hand full in the process.

You can check out Alejandro Fuentes' Pauper Commander article on Tannuk to see how you can build a fun deck that looks to draw a bunch of extra cards, and deal a bunch of damage, too.

8. The Eternity ElevatorThe Eternity Elevator - 17,849 decks

The space elevator is a classic sci-fi trope, and the idea is translated deliciously into Magic mechanics in the form of a Gilded LotusGilded Lotus-like artifact that gets supercharged into a tremendous source of mana after you do a lot of work.

But where does taking The Eternity ElevatorThe Eternity Elevator get you? Commander Spellbook tells us that it gets us infinite mana, if around 20 isn't enough:

Combo shenanigans aside, Eldrazi seems like an ideal home for this rock: The deck can use a lot of colorless mana and it's chock full of creatures that can station it to pinnacle of mana generation, with or without your Voltaic KeyVoltaic Key and Rings of BrighthearthRings of Brighthearth.

7. Exalted SunbornExalted Sunborn - 18,278 decks

Virtually every new large booster set like Edge is going to bring goodies that add more redundancies to popular decks. The Earth CrystalThe Earth Crystal did it in Final Fantasy for the Counter theme decks. Now, we have Exalted SunbornExalted Sunborn to act as an additional copy of token doublers like Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession, Mondrak, Glory DominusMondrak, Glory Dominus, or Doubling SeasonDoubling Season.

This Angel being a creature without a protection ability like Mondrak's makes it a little less reliable than other doublers. But Magic is a game of trade-offs, where "strictly better" cards are rarely a thing, and Sunborn offers some potent upside.

First, you get to warp it for . This means that, for two mana, you get a cut-price Procession to help you go off with tokens on one crucial turn. Unless this eats a removal spell, you still get to cast it later from exile. On top of that, this is an Angel that can absolutely brawl, giving it additional utility in a kindred deck that just happens to produce a bunch of tokens.

6. Haliya, Guided by LightHaliya, Guided by Light - 17,766 decks, 369 as commander

Speaking of redundancy, Haliya is both another potential commander (though currently not a very popular one) in a mono-white lifegain deck, as well as another Soul WardenSoul Warden in the same type of deck. While there are a few combos that Haliya herself figures in, she's more likely to take up a slot in decks led by popular lifegain partner commanders Frodo, Adventurous HobbitFrodo, Adventurous Hobbit and Sam, Loyal AttendantSam, Loyal Attendant.

Here, she can fill in as one way to satisfy the "you have a way to gain life" prerequisite of the Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood family of combos, especially as a one-mana way to do that with her warp ability:

That deck is just extremely combo-tastic anyway, giving you access to lines involving Walking BallistaWalking Ballista with Heliod, Sun-CrownedHeliod, Sun-Crowned, Cleric ClassCleric Class, TriskelionTriskelion, and other variant combinations and a bunch of Peregrin TookPeregrin Took engines as well.

Haliya also offers card advantage in a white card, which adds up to a great package with her other abilities for just three mana.

5. Weftstalker ArdentWeftstalker Ardent - 18,408 decks

I love how warp allows you to leverage a pretty big discount to "go off" on a big turn with whatever your deck is designed to do. Just as you can pay a measly two mana to double tokens for one turn with Exalted Sunborn, one red mana gets you another copy of Impact TremorsImpact Tremors, Reckless FireweaverReckless Fireweaver, Ingenious ArtilleristIngenious Artillerist, and the rest of the gang. You even get additional utility by having this work with artifacts as well!

Just like the rest of its ilk, Ardent is right at home in token generating decks like Zinnia, Valley's VoiceZinnia, Valley's Voice, Xyris, the Writhing StormXyris, the Writhing Storm, and Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss. But, because of the artifact rider, your artifact token decks built around Food, Clues, and Treasure benefit as well.

4. Tezzeret, Cruel CaptainTezzeret, Cruel Captain - 22,760 decks

Move over, Karn, Ugin, and The AethersparkThe Aetherspark! There's a new colorless planeswalker in the format, and this one is the cheapest yet.

Like other Tezzerets, Cruel Captain works very well with artifacts. First of all, congratulations to the two players on Commander Spellbook running this convoluted combo:

That aside, Tezz works especially well with cheap artifacts that he can fetch from your library. Even better if they generate mana, though he'll be happy with either a Sol RingSol Ring or Gilded LotusGilded Lotus. As if we needed to make Sol Ring better, eh?

Note that you can also fetch artifact lands from your deck, which is useful when you're setting up or in a pinch.

Tezzeret also excels at building up your offensive presence. With his static ability and any decks with Urza, Lord High ArtificerUrza, Lord High Artificer, Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw, Breya, Etherium ShaperBreya, Etherium Shaper, which both play a lot of artifacts and can generate a lot of artifact tokens, you can look to activating his emblem ability multiple times in a game, giving you a tamper-proof way to threaten opponents' life totals.

3. TerrasymbiosisTerrasymbiosis - 23,851 decks

Some of the cards on this list reinforce popular decks with redundancy. TerrasymbiosisTerrasymbiosis gives the counters deck another angle of attack. Sure, attacking with buffed up monsters is a great way to win, but what if your opponents have sweepers and removal? Let's draw cards instead!

When figuring out where to play this, we want to look at commanders and effects that put a lot of +1/+1 on a creature in one trigger. We're talking about Bristly Bill, Spine SowerBristly Bill, Spine Sower's doubling ability, Betor, Ancestor's VoiceBetor, Ancestor's Voice, and Zaxara, the ExemplaryZaxara, the Exemplary. Branching EvolutionBranching Evolution helps you go even bigger.

Even when you're going wider, just having this and Hardened ScalesHardened Scales in play means you're drawing two extra cards a turn, which makes this an attractive option in perhaps all but the most aggressive counter doubling decks.

2. Icetill ExplorerIcetill Explorer - 35,423 decks

This is the most played single card in the format from Edge, and it's not hard to guess why. Ramping is one of the best things you can do in EDH, and this Oracle of Mul DayaOracle of Mul Daya variant is also a Ramunap ExcavatorRamunap Excavator and a self-mill engine. That's pretty incredible, even for four mana! Landfall theme deck commanders are plentiful and varied, from token generators like The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom to brawlers like Tifa LockhartTifa Lockhart.

Even more value-oriented decks like Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide want Explorer for the entire package it provides.

You also get a repeatable FogFog combo with Glacial ChasmGlacial Chasm, among other combos you can assemble:

1. Planets

Utility lands are among the most powerful card types in Commander, because they provide value in the form of spell effects without taking up a nonland slot. That's why you'll almost always see nonbasics in these top 10 lists.

Edge has given us a new subtype, Planets, which start out worse than basics but that scale up to being virtually as good as Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle and Tolarian AcademyTolarian Academy. That's huge upside, even for a card printed in 2025! Stationing for 12 isn't even that challenging in the format, meaning you're going to get to these lands' maximum potential sooner rather than later.

Certainly, the Evendo and Uthros are the best ones, given that they're callbacks to two of the games most busted nonbasic lands. Adagia and Susur Secundi can generate serious value over a long game. Even Kavaron, by far the least popular one, can do a ton of work in a deck like Krenko, where the haste is relevant and you're going wide. These cards are amazing and you should be playing them if you can!

For Navigating That Which Was, Is, and Will BeFor Navigating That Which Was, Is, and Will Be

This set is so cool, and I'm glad to see its various unique mechanics — warp, station, and the Planet subtype, alongside returning favorite landfall — all figure in the top 10.

It's kind of hard for me to pick out a favorite, because I'm in love with the entire set's lore, so please help me out by letting me know which of your favorite cards from Edge of Eternities didn't make the list!

Read More: