Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune | Art by Daniel Gelon

Red is black's reckless other half in cEDH. Bursts of mana, card draw - impulse and otherwise - plus an eclectic blend of unique effects set red apart as the fastest color in cEDH.

Need one more turn to win? Red has you covered...at a price? What about a refreshed hand? Sure, but everyone else gets one, too. Games are won and lost at a razor's edge, and red treads that line with wild glee.

Here are the top five red cards for cEDH.

#5 - Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat

First up on our list is red's premier piece of (usually) free interaction: Deflecting Swat.

For , Deflecting Swat is an instant that allows you to change the targets of target spell or ability. Additionally, you can cast Deflecting Swat without paying its mana cost if you control a commander.

It might not say "counter target counterspell" on it, but very often that's exactly what Deflecting Swat does. Thanks to a fun quirk of the rules, Deflecting Swat can be used to change the target of a counterspell (Force of WillForce of Will, Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship, etc.) to Deflecting Swat itself.

So, while Deflecting Swat is resolving but still on the stack, it will change the target of the chosen counterspell, then Deflecting Swat will be put into a graveyard. Afterwards, when the counterspell tries to resolve, it won't see a valid target and as such will go straight to the graveyard, too.

Three mana is a tall ask in cEDH, but the absolute buffet of cheap red commanders makes this a much smaller concern. As long as Rograkh is in your colors, you know you're working with cheap spells.

#4 - Final FortuneFinal Fortune

Next up is cEDH's premier means of taking extra turns (well, outside of Tivit, Seller of SecretsTivit, Seller of Secrets), and that's Final Fortune.

For , Final Fortune is an instant that grants you an extra turn after this one. The cost? You lose the game at the beginning of that turn's end step. Simple, cheap, and oh so valuable.

Final Fortune is the perfect testament to just how much a single turn matters in cEDH. Plenty of games already end on the first turn; thanks to Final Fortune, games can also end on a player's second turn and still before anyone else has taken a turn (just watch a turbo deck cast Final Fortune on turn one in seat one and you'll see what I mean).

#3 - Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune

At third place is the biggest "fair" burst of card draw in cEDH: Wheel of Fortune. TimetwisterTimetwister may be the most expensive wheel in the format, but Wheel of Fortune is the card that named this effect.

For , Wheel of Fortune is a sorcery that causes each player to discard their hands and draw seven new cards. So, what's the big deal, especially since you're the one spending mana to give your opponents cards?

First off, control over when you cast Wheel of Fortune is a power in and of itself. If a player has a hand greater than seven cards or has just cast a tutor, both of those are examples of excellent opportunities to capitalize on hand disruption.

Secondly, since you're the first person with access to those cards (the sorcery-speed ones, at least), then you'll be the first one to set up with the newfound resources.

Finally - part of the reason this is better than Timetwister - sometimes you just need to stock your graveyard. Whether it's to feed mayhem costs or enable Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach (more on that in a bit), there's plenty of reasons to use the graveyard.

#2 - Jeska's WillJeska's Will

Next up is the second hallmark of red card advantage: impulse draw, brought to you by Jeska's Will.

For , Jeska's Will is a sorcery with two modes: you can either exile the top three cards of your library, with the option of casting those cards until end of turn, or you can add an amount of equal to the number of cards in target opponent's hand.

However, if you control a commander as you cast Jeska's Will, you can choose both modes.

First, just a brief reiteration - red is the color of Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh. When playing red, you probably have a cheap Commander, which means you'll probably choose both modes more often that not. Now that's a lot of value.

On their own, each mode of Jeska's Will is already potent across the course of the game. Jeska's Will usually adds between five and seven red mana, putting it close to Cabal RitualCabal Ritual in terms of net-mana gain.

On the impulse draw front, don't underestimate the rate of three cards for three mana. It's not the best, but it's incredibly good considering the powerful flexibility this thing offers.

#1 - Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach

Alrighty folks, here we are, the win condition to end all win conditions: Underworld Breach.

For , Underworld Breach is an enchantment with, among other things, a trigger to sacrifice it at the beginning of the end step. While it's around, however, cards in your graveyard have escape, and the escape cost is equal to that card's mana cost plus exile three cards from your graveyard.

Yawgmoth's WillYawgmoth's Will is a broken card, and that spell doesn't let you recast the same spell multiple times (cards put into your graveyard while Yawgmoth's Will is in effect are exiled instead). Underworld Breach costs one mana fewer and, despite requiring that you have some cards to pitch to the escape cost, allows you to continuously feed your graveyard while the effect is active.

Brain FreezeBrain Freeze, Grinding StationGrinding Station, Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune; the list of cards that can accidentally wind up giving you an infinite combo with Underworld Breach is pretty absurdly long.

Wrap Up

Red is the color of speed. Cheap spells, bursts of mana, flexible win conditions, and all sorts of wild card draw. When you see red in a cEDH pod, keep an eye out; it might not have the flash enablers of blue, or its counterspells, but it has its own ways to fight the stack battles and steal a turn from out of nowhere.

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