Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel | Art by Robbie Trevino

Hi, I'm Michael Celani. You might know me from my other objectively correct analyses of Magic cards, like Rampant Growth Isn't That Good and Stop Playing So Many Signets. Publishing a top ten list about something as broad as this on one of the most popular Magic: the Gathering websites is the content creation equivalent of jumping into a volcano, but that's not going to stop me; I've read all three thousand, nine-hundred and twenty cards that trigger whenever they enter the battlefield to find the ten very best ones, and now I'm going to share the results.

Define "Best"

Best, of course, is subjective. Yes, Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth will win you games, but you're not going to find it on my list (and even if you did, I would opt for the far superior Moonshaker CavalryMoonshaker Cavalry). A good enters trigger isn't merely overwhelmingly powerfuloverwhelmingly powerful. A good enters trigger is multifaceted and flexible; it's playable throughout the entire game, whether you're in the lead or struggling to catch up, because it has the depth to fulfill multiple different strategic roles as the situation calls for it.

A good trigger doesn't exist in a vacuum, either. You have to consider the card they're on, including their type and cost, in relation to your deck's construction to determine whether or not something is a desirable include. Thought MonitorThought Monitor gets substantially worse if it's your deck's only artifact, and Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage isn't shining in a combat-focused Gruul beat-down list.

Of course, it would be a complete cop-out to say that the best enters trigger depends on the deck, though. You're on EDHREC - you already know that, because you're looking up what banding cards fit best in Gabriel AngelfireGabriel Angelfire (it's Nature's BlessingNature's Blessing). No, the following ten cards are the strongest, most flexible, and most general options you can put into a deck - cards that you would struggle to say are incorrect to include in all but the most niche of strategies. Let's get started!

10. Witch EnchanterWitch Enchanter

Creatures that enter the battlefield and blow things up have been a staple of the format forever. Reclamation SageReclamation Sage is going strong with over 270,000 includes, its legendary version in Loran of the Third PathLoran of the Third Path is approaching 180,000, and if you're really feeling spicy, Druid of PurificationDruid of Purification has the opportunity to melt up to three more permanents for a one-mana premium. These cards are straightforward, affordable, and the abundance of terrifying artifacts and enchantments like Rhystic StudyRhystic Study and Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood means you'll always have something to target.

Like a parent thinking of their kids, there always has to be a favorite, though. Witch EnchanterWitch Enchanter makes the list at the number ten slot because of its alternate mode as an untapped white land. You have to pay three life for the privilege, but that's a modest entry fee for access to a removal spell that's always relevant, blinkable, and free to include in your deck thanks to it replacing a land slot instead of a spell slot.

9. Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel

In terms of win conditions, GaryGary has the simplest setup of any card I've read. He's not so hungry for attention that he needs a wide field of creaturesa wide field of creatures, nor one really big creatureone really big creature; he's not so picky that he needs a specific board state to combo offspecific board state to combo off, nor more cards in hand to support himmore cards in hand to support him; and he's respectful enough of your time that he doesn't charge you tons and tons of manacharge you tons and tons of mana or take a bunch of turns to ramp uptake a bunch of turns to ramp up. Gary just wants one thing: play any black permanents at all. Wow, I wish my boyfriend was that low-maintenance.

Your reward for doing something you were already going to do no matter what is one of the most effective burn spells in the game. All three of your opponents immediately lose life equal to your devotion to black, and almost nothing can stop it. It's life loss, so the damage can't be prevented, and it doesn't rely on combat, so it can't be fogged. The only thing an opponent can do to protect themselves is to Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude, in which case you've eaten their Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude, or counter GaryGary outright, in which case it's headed to the graveyard. In black.

But what warps GaryGary from good to great isn't merely the game-ending burn; it's the fact that he can rescue you from some truly dire straits.

As a floor, Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel is gaining you at least six life, and if you're playing any amount of black permanents in your deck - which you will be - then you can easily pump that number up to fifteen or higher. Gaining half your starting life back for just five mana will shield you from a surprisingly high percentage of the most common Commander strategies. Most affected are those that seek to fairly distribute damage among all of their opponents, because nothing disheartens the Aristocrats player more than seeing a life total spread of 10, 5, and 60.

That extra longevity will often be what you need to eke out a win, and for its crushing role on both offense and defense, GaryGary remains relevant to this day.

8. Bojuka BogBojuka Bog

The best enters triggers aren't limited to just creatures. The Bojuka BogBojuka Bog down in the valley-o has a simple trade offer for you: you give it one mana the turn it enters, and it gives you the complete and utter deconstruction of the reanimator player's hopes and dreams.

A well-timed BogBog will stop you from suffering all kinds of cheesy losses, and even in the event that you're not playing against a deck that uses its graveyard, it's still your land drop for the turn. It's well worth the small opportunity cost over a basic SwampSwamp, and I'd only consider cutting it (for Pit of OfferingsPit of Offerings) if I'm playing four or five colors in my deck.

7. Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle

The cEDH players would crucify me if I didn't include Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle in the list, and despite being a win condition with an involved setup, I'd say it's earned its spot. Admittedly, I'm no expert on good decks - despite accidentally inventing a cEDH deck that one time - but it's my understanding that tons of high-power strategies rely on comboing Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle onto the battlefield after emptying your entire deck, which immediately wins you the game.

Don't get me wrong; normal decks aren't running Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle. But ignoring its effect on the higher tiers of power would be disingenuous. You can't make a list of "the best ETBs in Commander" and ignore one of the, for better or worse, most iconic ETBs out there.

6. The Meathook MassacreThe Meathook Massacre

Death WindDeath Wind, but for everything - and it's an Aristocrats piece. I'm never unhappy to draw The Meathook MassacreThe Meathook Massacre, which reaches number six on this list because of its outstanding flexibility.

Sure, you can choose the right number to knock out the Naya player's field of 1/1 tokens while leaving your own board untouched, or go for a true clear and reap the benefits of a massive drain. But perhaps the most fascinating strategy of all is casting The Meathook MassacreThe Meathook Massacre for zero to do nothing but slurp up its incremental value as your twentieth copy of Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat. It's counterintuitive to say that one of the biggest strengths of an ETB is that you don't have to use it, but that's exactly correct when you're talking about The Meathook MassacreThe Meathook Massacre.

5. Kardur, DoomscourgeKardur, Doomscourge

This might seem like a sleeper pick, but have you ever been the victim of a Kardur, DoomscourgeKardur, Doomscourge?

Let's mull over the words for a minute or two. You could view Kardur, DoomscourgeKardur, Doomscourge as goading every creature your opponents control when he enters. If he did that, he'd still be good, but what he actually does is better than goading. It affects all creatures, even ones that enter after his ability resolves, so the Boros player can't surprise you with a tricky haste creature to knock you off your throne.

As long as you have two or more opponents, Kardur, DoomscourgeKardur, Doomscourge renders you entirely immune to combat for a whole turn cycle while your opponents whittle each other's health and resources away squabbling amongst themselves.

Think about how that forced combat is going to leave the board when it gets back around to your turn. Practically anything without vigilance or summoning sickness is going to end up tapped by the time you get to go, meaning you can swoop in like a vulture to feast upon any of the other three players who are completely shields down. The person going right after you is hit the hardest, because they're forced to attack first; they have to endure the most turns without blockers and are more likely to get picked on because of it.

And if that wasn't enough, anything that dies in the mayhem pings all your opponents while gaining you life. Kardur, DoomscourgeKardur, Doomscourge is an absurd amount of value for four mana, can be used both proactively for damage and reactively to protect yourself from an alpha strike, and works with your own attacking creatures to make going wide even more attractive. It's the Rakdos equivalent of Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection and the only thing holding it back is its restrictive color identity.

4. Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter

When I think of good enters triggers, I think of creatures that draw me cardsdraw me cards, creatures that find me instants and sorceriesfind me instants and sorceries, and even creatures that ramp landsramp lands onto the battlefield. All of those are great to play, blink, and recur for profit. But do you know what all those value creatures have in common? Wizards decided to balance their strong triggers by making them abysmal in combat - and that low power makes them all valid targets for Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter.

Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter is a card that can solve any problem the instant you play it. Spooky artifact or enchantment? Go fetch Loran of the Third PathLoran of the Third Path. Big creature got you down? How about Murderous RiderMurderous Rider? Sad that you can only get one trigger off of Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter? Hoo boyHoo boy.

You're not even limited to finding dudes that suck in a fight; all you have to do is put something that's technically a 0/0, like Multani, Yavimaya's AvatarMultani, Yavimaya's Avatar, in your deck and you can take control of the board from nowhere. Did you know that most CloneClone cards are 0/0?

The only caveat to Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter is that you have to have thought ahead and built your deck to take advantage of his strong tutoring ability, but if that's offputting to you, then that's more of an issue with your skill than with Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter.

3. The One RingThe One Ring

While I called Kardur, DoomscourgeKardur, Doomscourge Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection for Rakdos, The One RingThe One Ring is Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection for everybody. It's extremely easy to cast, protects you from all damage for a turn cycle, and also draws you a ton of cards for free over time. This one doesn't need any more explanation.

2. Animate DeadAnimate Dead

No, Animate DeadAnimate Dead is not cheating. It is, strictly speaking, an enters-the-battlefield effect. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't realize that, though, given its text box rivals the length of War and Peace.

Seriously, though, reanimation is a battle-tested strategy that will never go away, and Animate DeadAnimate Dead is the best of the best. If you were hoping to come away from this article with a bunch of creature ETBs that you could, y'know, blink, then I've been impressed with both Angel of IndemnityAngel of Indemnity and Sister HospitallerSister Hospitaller. If you were hoping to come away from this article with a bunch of nonsense, then did you know Yarok, the DesecratedYarok, the Desecrated doubles NecromancyNecromancy?

1. Eternal WitnessEternal Witness

When I was tasked with writing this list, Eternal WitnessEternal Witness immediately sprang my mind, and my research confirms that nothing else even comes close.

Eternal WitnessEternal Witness, at its worst, returns to you the most useful card out of your graveyard. That card can be removal, it can be a threat, and it can even be a fetchland that you want to play again for landfall triggers, but you're guaranteed to get something worthwhile. Maybe you just really need that board wipe a second time, or an opportunity to spin the Genesis WaveGenesis Wave wheel again, but the amount of times I've been saved by a timely Eternal WitnessEternal Witness is incalculable.

On its own, RegrowthRegrowth is a playable Magic card. Stapling RegrowthRegrowth to arguably the easiest-to-abuse permanent type in the entire game is what makes Eternal WitnessEternal Witness absurd. Let's just spitball for a moment, here:

If you've milled a lot of cards into your graveyard, you can get anything you want back with no strings attached. If you've milled Eternal WitnessEternal Witness into your graveyard, you can UnearthUnearth Eternal WitnessEternal Witness and then use its ETB to return UnearthUnearth to your hand, giving you an infinitely repeatable sacrificial lamb. And God forbid your commander lets you cast creature cards from your graveyard; nothing you play will stay dead for long.

You can EphemerateEphemerate Eternal WitnessEternal Witness to return another card from your graveyard to your hand, and then use the Rebound to blink Eternal WitnessEternal Witness again, returning EphemerateEphemerate to your hand. You can cast Another RoundAnother Round to blink your whole board as much as you want, with Eternal WitnessEternal Witness bringing it back and giving you as many extra cards as you poured into .

Have a PanharmoniconPanharmonicon? That's two cards instead of one. Capable of making token copiestoken copies of creatures you control? Your graveyard is now a second hand.

And to top it all off, Eternal WitnessEternal Witness is only three mana, so it's cheap enough to Sun TitanSun Titan, and it's only a 2/1, so it's weak enough to both Recruiter of the GuardRecruiter of the Guard and to Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter.

There is no Commander deck in green made worse by the addition of Eternal WitnessEternal Witness. It's a great combo enabler, it's strong at all stages of the game, and it's worth playing in practically every strategy. It's the perfect ETB.

And Now, Your Rebuttal

But surely, you have different opinions. If you have any ETBs you'd like to highlight, the comments below are a great place to start, or come and join me at my Discord and tell me in person. I won't budge on Eternal WitnessEternal Witness, though. Not in a million years.