(Zedruu the GreatheartedZedruu the Greathearted | Art by Mark Zug)

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Back to Basics! A while back, we finished off the ten two-color pairs with the most played Selesnya cards in Commander. Today we're starting the ten three-color combinations, beginning with the five "wedges," in honor of Tarkir and the latest release set on the plane, Tarkir: Dragonstorm. The wedges are so called because they're comprised of an allied color pair and both those colors' enemy on the color pie. Our first tri-color list covers Jeskai (), which is pretty much Azorius (white and blue) with red's fiery, emotional influence.

Let's meditate on these commonly played cards, shall we?

10. Pramikon, Sky RampartPramikon, Sky Rampart - 12,170 decks, 5,154 as commander

This 1/5 is a kooky banger of a card that lets you build around the "toughness matters" theme in an uncommon color combo, because these decks tend to play green and are more often Bant or Abzan than anything with red in it. I love how Pramikon takes the prevalence of the Wall creature type in blue and blends it with the sort of Boros combat shenanigans you can find in Master WarcraftMaster Warcraft.

If you're not that into winning with big backsides getting into combat, you can also run Pramikon as commander in a Jeskai planeswalker deck. And, it's also a fine role player in Zedruu the GreatheartedZedruu the Greathearted-style group hug decks that want to meddle with combat and with the table's enjoyment as well. Check out this article on EDHREC that dives into a Pramikon control build!

9. Narset of the Ancient WayNarset of the Ancient Way - 17,740 decks

I love it when Planeswalkers pop up in these Top 10 lists, because I think they're a cool card type, regardless of what some might say. And speaking of planeswalker-matters decks, Narset slots right into that theme, providing a good, if not spectacular, mix of mana generation and removal. Those builds are commonly spearheaded by Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice, Esika, God of the TreeEsika, God of the Tree, and Commodore GuffCommodore Guff. You can learn more about how to build these decks by checking out EDHREC's planeswalker theme page.

8. Elsha of the InfiniteElsha of the Infinite - 15,721 decks, 4,509 as Commander

Acting as a Future SightFuture Sight for noncreature spells that can also get in for a bunch of damage, Elsha is a great choice for many different builds of Jeskai, from prowess under Narset, Enlightened ExileNarset, Enlightened Exile, to more go-wide, token flavored decks led by Kykar, Wind's FuryKykar, Wind's Fury, to Hinata, Dawn-CrownedHinata, Dawn-Crowned builds that like to either shut the game's tempo down (a "Stax" strategy) or cast multiple huge X spells.

A card advantage engine that also brawls is just such a useful card, especially since there aren't many options like Elsha. I'm looking at the aforementioned Future Sight, its MagusMagus, and Melek, Izzet ParagonMelek, Izzet Paragon. While Melek has his own upside, just being able to threaten sorceries at instant speed and also figuring into combat gives Elsha a lot of staying power in EDH.

7. Jodah, Archmage EternalJodah, Archmage Eternal - 13,718 decks, 8,127 as commander

This legend might be a little bit of an impostor on this list, because, despite featuring only Jeskai mana in its cost, Jodah is in fact a five-color commander because of his rules text. I'll let that slide though, because I'm a big fan of his ability that lets you do weird, wonderful things fitting every Ultimatum into your deck, like Marin Conmy did in this build.

Of course, you don't just have to resort to this costly mega-cycle to build around Jodah. You can incorporate a bunch of expensive combos into your deck at a steep discount, including this relatively popular one:

Who needs a convoluted combo though, when you can just cast an OmniscienceOmniscience or a One with the MultiverseOne with the Multiverse? Jodah is also well suited to a cascade subtheme, as we can see that Maelstrom WandererMaelstrom Wanderer and Imoti, Celebrant of BountyImoti, Celebrant of Bounty are found in over half of Jodah's EDHREC decks.

6. Narset, Enlightened ExileNarset, Enlightened Exile - 12,341 decks, 11,781 as commander

As the leader of the Jeskai clan in Khans of Tarkir, it's only fitting that Narset features prominently in her wedge's Top 10 list. This version is one of the best options to lead a dedicated prowess deck. These more creature-focused spell decks are often Izzet () anyway, and playing white gives you access to one of the best prowess creatures in the format, Monastery MentorMonastery Mentor, and to one of the best enablers for aggressive spell decks, Jeskai AscendancyJeskai Ascendancy.

The ability granting every creature prowess actually makes all your token generators Mentors themselves, from Young PyromancerYoung Pyromancer to Third Path IconoclastThird Path Iconoclast and Kykar, Wind's FuryKykar, Wind's Fury. Pretty much all you need to do is surround this core of armies-in-a-can with cheap spells that keep the card velocity going, like Frantic SearchFrantic Search, Faithless LootingFaithless Looting, and cantrips like PreordainPreordain and BrainstormBrainstorm. White also lets you run extremely efficient removal spells like Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares and Path to ExilePath to Exile.

Looking at the format's Game Changers, Narset loves having access to GambleGamble, because even discarding the card you tutor up isn't too bad with her second ability letting you cast it anyway.

5. Éowyn, ShieldmaidenÉowyn, Shieldmaiden - 17,375 decks, 11,007 as commander

Like Narset above, Éowyn primarily sees play as a commander, but this time leading the charge of the Humans creature type rather than the prowess keyword. She's likely more played, by the way, because, aside from being in a Lord of the Rings precon, there are also popular commanders with more encompassing color identities that can run her in the 99, even if they aren't narrowly focused on Humans. These include Aragorn, the UniterAragorn, the Uniter and his King of Gondor counterpart (more on him shortly), Kenrith, the Returned KingKenrith, the Returned King, Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier, and Sisay, Weatherlight CaptainSisay, Weatherlight Captain. Sisay and Jodah are still pretty synergistic, because many powerful legends are also Humans.

In terms of building around her, Éowyn is pretty clear about what she wants: a ton of Humans! The tokens she produces and the incentive she provides to go wide also go very well with anthem effects like Shared AnimosityShared Animosity and Vanquisher's BannerVanquisher's Banner. You can read more about her and other Jeskai commanders in this ranking article by Angelo Guerrera.

4. Aragorn, King of GondorAragorn, King of Gondor - 25,529 decks, 5,270 as commander

Jeskai Aragorn is an excellent inclusion in Humans decks and legends decks, in large part because not too many cards in the format feature the monarchy mechanic. Either of these decks, and Equipment builds as well, will relish claiming and keeping the crown, as creature-focused decks are well suited to favorable combat phases. The King of Gondor further reinforces your battlefield supremacy, all but ensuring that your team is unblockable and letting you dole out damage as you please.

In true preconstructed deck fashion, Aragorn's Riders of Rohan deck comes packed with synergistic cards, including some that make it more difficult for opponents to take the crown from you.

3. Jeskai AscendancyJeskai Ascendancy - 37,705 decks

Birds of the same feather flock together, so it's unsurprising we already stumbled upon Jeskai Ascendancy while talking about another card. This enchantment is quite simply one of the best ways to win a game of Commander with variants of Spellslinger or Prowess decks. Interestingly, while it's certainly best known for powering up your team of Kykar or Iconoclast tokens after casting a steady stream of cantrips, there is perhaps an even more broken way to leverage the card. Untapping mana-generating creatures by casting cheap spells is a great way to abuse the convoke mechanic and cards like Gnostro, Voice of the CragsGnostro, Voice of the Crags or Faeburrow ElderFaeburrow Elder that scale in power the more you can untap them.

Don't forget that, aside from powerful cantrips like PreordainPreordain and PonderPonder that keep your Ascendancy chain going, you have access to cheap spells that "finish" the game as well, including Slip Through SpaceSlip Through Space, Enter the EnigmaEnter the Enigma, and Crash ThroughCrash Through.

2. Kykar, Wind's FuryKykar, Wind's Fury - 29,667 decks, 11,399 as commander

This Bird Wizard came in at 4th in Angelo Guerrera's ranking of Jeskai commanders, which I linked above and which I hope you'll check out. Generating a bunch of tokens is already an excellent place for a card with the Jeskai color identity to be. On top of that, the tokens have flying and you can use them as mini-ritualmini-ritual effects! Kykar is just so well suited to leading pretty much any build of Jeskai — okay, maybe not Humans. Having a super-Young PyromancerYoung Pyromancer in your command zone also makes certain themes more reliable, especially the sort of Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge-y "kill your opponents by having a lot of creatures enter the battlefield" strategy.

1. Whirlwind of ThoughtWhirlwind of Thought - 65,083 decks

What if instead of making tokens, your four-mana permanent drew a million cards instead? I'm in! And, so are enough EDH players to make Whirlwind of ThoughtWhirlwind of Thought the most played Jeskai card in Commander. Whirlwind is definitely a sweet note to end on, because it ties the room together by being commonly played in decks built around the commanders I've already written about, from Narset to Kykar, and even ones that didn't quite make the list, like Hinata and Kasla. Drawing cards is simply an incredibly powerful effect in the format, and Jeskai decks usually want to be doing that anyway to produce more tokens or get more triggers out of any number of cards, from Ascendancy to GuttersnipeGuttersnipe.

The Best Moments are Worth RelivingThe Best Moments are Worth Reliving

That's Jeskai for you, folks — a strong emphasis on spell slinging while also leaving room for other strategies like go-wide, kindred, and even combat shenanigans and group hug. I'll grant Zedruu an honorable mention as she managed a worthy 20th place in the latest most-played ranking. As for my favorite card, I have fond memories of casting Magma OpusMagma Opus in various formats for just two mana, thanks to the already-mentioned Hinata.

Until next time!