Sultai AscendancySultai Ascendancy | Art by Karl Kopinski

Hey, everyone! After exploring a little bit of what the latest set Final Fantasy has to offer with most-played double-faced commanders, we're back to colors! Picking up where I left off previously with Jeskai cards, now it's Sultai's () time to shine — or to bubble, or fester, maybe?

Let's dive right into the muck!

10. Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale - 7,044 decks, 14,455 decks as commander

Michael Celani pointed out here that Teval is basically SixSix and Tormod, the DesecratorTormod, the Desecrator smushed together, with slight differences.

Indeed, having these two abilities on a Sultai card lets you put together a deck that includes both of those bangers alongside enablers and payoffs for stuff leaving the graveyard! Thankfully, the color combination boasts a ton of effects that either self-mill or pick stuff out of the graveyard. You even get a little mana bump to boot!

In terms of themes, EDHREC users are playing Teval in a variety of archetypes, including Reanimator, Mill-focused strategies, and Lands Matter. While the Spirit Dragon doesn't always help your Plan A in these decks, they can buy you time and gain you some board presence by amassing an army of Zombie tokens just by doing what your decks wants to do anyway.

As for synergy pieces, there are tons of repeatable effects that net you tokens with Teval, including Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds, Life from the LoamLife from the Loam, and GravecrawlerGravecrawler loops with Phyrexian AltarPhyrexian Altar.

9. Felix Five-BootsFelix Five-Boots - 15,743 decks, 5,310 as commander

I love how Felix is the "deals combat damage" counterpart of Isshin, Two Heavens as OneIsshin, Two Heavens as One's on-attack trigger doubler. They're sort of similar abilities but being in a different color trio means Five-Boots can lead a team of Ninjas.

This creature type is very much a feature of Dimir, but that doesn't mean green doesn't boast powerful synergy pieces. Spring-Leaf AvengerSpring-Leaf Avenger is a great inclusion in grinder builds, which Sultai leans into well, as is Kappa Tech-WreckerKappa Tech-Wrecker as a, well, tech piece for sniping problem permanents while staying in the Ninja theme.

Though not a Ninja, Trygon PredatorTrygon Predator is a classic EDH utility creature that slots right in and is evasive as well, so it's excellent as a creature you pick up to replace with a Ninjutsu ability.

Simic () also features a bunch of creatures that draw you cards when things hit: Toski, Bearer of SecretsToski, Bearer of Secrets, Edric, Spymaster of TrestEdric, Spymaster of Trest, and the less color-intensive Enduring CuriosityEnduring Curiosity.

As a supporting cast member, Felix is a great amplifier in decks led by commanders that do stuff themselves when they deal combat damage.

There are a lot that fit the bill, including deck-mate Gonti, Canny AcquisitorGonti, Canny Acquisitor, Kotis, the FangkeeperKotis, the Fangkeeper, and Nine-Fingers KeeneNine-Fingers Keene.

8. The Master, TranscendentThe Master, Transcendent - 17,489 decks, 3,773 as commander

While The Master is in more decks, it's also less popular as a commander then the previous entries, perhaps because its potent reanimation ability needs some building around. Or, perhaps its thunder is stolen by a more popular Sultai commander from the same set (stay tuned!).

In the 99, though, he's a good threat alongside a bunch of milling effects, including synergistic commanders like Sidisi, Brood TyrantSidisi, Brood Tyrant and Teval, and repeatable millers like Ruin CrabRuin Crab or Mesmeric OrbMesmeric Orb.

7. Glarb, Calamity's AugurGlarb, Calamity's Augur - 10,803 decks, 12,792 decks

Cards like Future SightFuture Sight and Courser of KruphixCourser of Kruphix that let you play spells and/or lands from the top of your deck are among my favorites in Magic. You aren't always getting value from this type of ability and it may not be as much card advantage as simply drawing a bunch of cards, but using your deck as an extension of your hand feels busted.

Glarb takes this to the next level by giving you the ability to manipulate your top-deck so you have a greater chance of getting value. Of course, the Frog Wizard Noble only lets you cast expensive spells, but that's why you can build around it!

It's not too hard to do that either, given that Glarb is the 79th most popular commander on EDHREC as of this writing. Deckbuilders are supercharging his ability by playing effects that let you double up on lands, including ExplorationExploration, The Gitrog MonsterThe Gitrog Monster, and Azusa, Lost but SeekingAzusa, Lost but Seeking. Getting a bunch of lands in play won't just help clear the top of your deck; it lets you cast more expensive spells, too!

There are also a plethora of expensive cards that are great hits off your top-deck and also help your game plan, like Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre StraitAesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, Grolnok, the OmnivoreGrolnok, the Omnivore, and Phyrexian MetamorphPhyrexian Metamorph.

6. The Wise MothmanThe Wise Mothman - 6,894 decks, 21,546 decks

The 16th most popular commander on EDHREC is the one I alluded to in the entry for The Master. The Wise MothmanThe Wise Mothman is a very good leader in a flexible mill deck. You can win with a bunch of combos including MindcrankMindcrank+Bloodchief AscensionBloodchief Ascension, Inexorable TideInexorable Tide+Evolution WitnessEvolution Witness, or Maddening CacophonyMaddening Cacophony+Bruvac the GrandiloquentBruvac the Grandiloquent.

There's also the +1/+1 counter angle that can lead to pretty big blowouts with cards that also work with combos or with the rad counter plan (Tide, Witness, and more) or with more focused pieces, like the Hardened ScalesHardened Scales package.

Sultai is certainly a graveyard-focused color identity, but great commanders like Mothman and a surprisingly wide toolbox of themes and archetypes lets you build a deck that uses as little or as much of the yard as you would like!

5. Sultai CharmSultai Charm - 28,133 decks

Every top 10 list needs at least one utility spell, and Sultai CharmSultai Charm is a sweet one! Charms are especially powerful in EDH, because they're like getting multiple spells in one precious deck slot.

Getting to remove a creature (though probably not a commander), artifact, or enchantment already makes this worth a slot, and filtering your draws and putting something in the graveyard are sweet bonuses. This one even made Noah Chen's recent list of top 10 Charms in the format, so check it out!

4. Sidisi, Brood TyrantSidisi, Brood Tyrant - 21,950 decks, 7,409 as commander

Sultai's original clan leader also fits into that sort of flexible self-mill, reanimator, general graveyard goodness space that The Wise Mothman excels at. She also offers the upside of being a good commander in a Zombie deck, which tends to want self-mill to fuel Gisa and GeralfGisa and Geralf, Diregraf ColossusDiregraf Colossus, Cemetery ReaperCemetery Reaper, and more.

Sidisi, however, is more common as a card in the 99 than as a commander, unlike Mothman. Sure enough, the 3/3 also features frequently in Mothman and the Master decks, as well as Teval, Glarb, and the #1 most played Sultai card in the format.

It's a motley crew of Dragons, Frogs, and Shamans, but they get along well!

3. Yarok, the DesecratedYarok, the Desecrated - 19,435 decks, 11,131 as commander

We've got another doubler! This time, Yarok is a PanharmoniconPanharmonicon on a creature that invites you to build a few different types of decks. The most popular option to put Yarok at the helm is a Landfall or Lands Matter deck, not least because cheap cards like Coiling OracleCoiling Oracle, Lotus CobraLotus Cobra, Risen ReefRisen Reef, Wood ElvesWood Elves, and more let you generate a ton of mana for big things like Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar and Scute SwarmScute Swarm.

Yarok and Panharmonicon also go well with recursion effects like Eternal WitnessEternal Witness, which also invites you to play combos like this one, though Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker, Peregrine DrakePeregrine Drake, and Witness do the trick to net you infinite mana, and, sometimes more importantly, infinite landfall triggers:

2. Villainous WealthVillainous Wealth - 53,927 decks

One of my favorite cards (I have a lot, okay?), Villainous Wealth is so sweet they even stapled it to a creature in the form of Kotis, the FangkeeperKotis, the Fangkeeper.

You definitely want a ton of mana generators to get the most out of the sorcery, and remember, you can also just use it to end an opponent's game by casting it for X equals the number of cards in their library. Zaxara, the ExemplaryZaxara, the Exemplary seems tailor-made to help you achieve this, and Sultai already lets you run the infinite mana combo I listed above.

Omnath, Locus of AllOmnath, Locus of All is another great deck to slot this into, because poor compleated Omnath generates extra mana and your deck has a ton of ways to go big.

1. Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide - 55,349 decks, 19,108 as commander

What a card! Mully G is truly the epitome of what the average Sultai deck wants to do: use the graveyard as a resource and bury opponents in card advantage.

While Muldrotha works great with a bunch of different themes, you do have the option to play cheap cards that make it easy to get value on the same turn you cast her. Kaya's GhostformKaya's Ghostform does double duty as protection for your commander or something else and as a combo piece:

Meanwhile, recurring Spore FrogSpore Frog can be an absolute nightmare for opponents and Seal of PrimordiumSeal of Primordium does a great Aura ShardsAura Shards impression with the 6/6 in play. There's just so much you can do with Muldrotha that I'd say her place atop this list is well-deserved.

As you act, so shall you be judged.As you act, so shall you be judged.

That's a wrap for the lovely graveyard goodness that is Sultai! There are a lot of goodies that missed the top 10 that I wanted to shout out, including combo darling Emergent UltimatumEmergent Ultimatum, recent Sultai Duneblast riff Death Begets LifeDeath Begets Life, and OG color combo commander The MimeoplasmThe Mimeoplasm.

What's your favorite Sultai card? Let us know!