Ambrosia WhiteheartAmbrosia Whiteheart | Art by Fajareka Setiawan

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Deep Gnome TerramancerDeep Gnome Terramancer is the only white 2/2 for two that can put a land onto the battlefield without counting your opponents' lands or destroying a land first?)

So, it finally happened. Mono-white Landfall finally got a dedicated, intentional commander.

Now, some of us have been on this train for a long time. Some of us have never even heard of Felidar RetreatFelidar Retreat. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, however, you should know that Ambrosia WhiteheartAmbrosia Whiteheart is made to put lands down and pick them back up again. But what exactly does that do? Playing out lands just to put them back in your hand? Why would a lands deck want to have less lands in play?

Well, because white isn't just any lands matter archetype.

Way back in Legends, a card with an ugly landlord caricature was printed under the name of Land TaxLand Tax. Shortly after, this catchup mechanic was broadened with another of white's best one-mana draw spells ever printed, TitheTithe. We then saw Gift of EstatesGift of Estates in Portal, group-hug favorite Oath of LiegesOath of Lieges in Exodus, and Weathered WayfarerWeathered Wayfarer in Onslaught, solidifying the "if an opponent has more lands than you, go get some lands" mechanic solidly in white.

Since those early days, however, there have been 30 more cards printed that play in this design area, making this a full-on theme you can build. But Ambrosia WhiteheartAmbrosia Whiteheart doesn't just care about Land TaxLand Tax. They also care about aggro. With that in mind, the card that pops up when I think of Ambrosia isn't Land TaxLand Tax, it's Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid. Why? Well, because it's not just a ramp or land draw spell, it's a body. An efficient, 2/2-for-two-with-a-keyword body.

So really, the question is: how many more of those are there, and which are the best?

Criteria: White creatures that can search your library for a land card if an opponent controls more than you, other than the one we know is already at the top, Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

Top 10 Knight of the White Orchids (That Aren't Knight of the White Orchid)

10. Space Marine ScoutSpace Marine Scout

(8,984 Inclusions, 0.32% of 2,770,080 Decks)

Well, Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid it's not, but that's kind of the point, right? Space Marine ScoutSpace Marine Scout does have two relevant keywords in first strike and vigilance, however, and does put a PlainsPlains of any kind onto the battlefield tapped. Despite the inefficient three mana for a 2/1 body, then, this does seem passable for an Ambrosia WhiteheartAmbrosia Whiteheart deck on the prowl for the trifecta: creatures that can swing in and take advantage of white's multiple aggro Landfall triggers, enters triggers that you can abuse with Ambrosia's own ETB, and a means to get more lands into play while having even more stocked up in your hand.

9. Boreas ChargerBoreas Charger

(9,175 Inclusions, 0.33% of 2,770,080 Decks)

Do you know what's an even more relevant keyword than first strike or vigilance, however? Flying. Boreas ChargerBoreas Charger has been a mainstay of my mono-white Lands Matter Pegasi deck since its inception, and not just because it's a winged Horse. It's leaves the battlefield trigger can be abused, heartily.

Ambrosia's bread and butter is going to be manipulating land count, whether that be by playing her out at instant speed and returning a land to hand or by deck construction. Having some extensive experience in this area, I can tell you that deck construction can take you pretty far, from Reserved List nonsense, like Scorched RuinsScorched Ruins and Lotus ValeLotus Vale, to newer, safer options, like Guildless CommonsGuildless Commons and Lotus FieldLotus Field. Ambrosia's enters ability can take place at instant speed, however, which is something these options can't do. In other words, you can play her out and bounce a land at instant speed in response to Boreas ChargerBoreas Charger leaving the battlefield, allowing you to grab multiple PlainsPlains. Now, all of that is more padding your hand than your land count, as you only get one into play, but we'll talk a bit later about what to do with all these bloated lands in hand.

8. Sand ScoutSand Scout

(16,298 Inclusions, 0.81% of 2,770,080 Decks)

Deserts aren't something that you would think would be entirely in line with a white Lands Matter deck, but you'd be wrong. There's a prime example of yet another bounce land that is a Desert, Arid ArchwayArid Archway. That allows you to play down this efficient two-mana 2/2, go grab the Archway, then immediately bounce another land so you can abuse yet another Land TaxLand Tax effect. And if that puts too many lands in your hand? Discard one at the end of turn, and you'll grab yourself a Sand Warrior to add to the aggro nonsense.

All in all, Sand ScoutSand Scout is one of the best cards you could hope to see in an Ambrosia Landfall deck, and that's before we even get into the tool-boxy Deserts, like Scavenger GroundsScavenger Grounds, Conduit PylonsConduit Pylons, and Shefet DunesShefet Dunes.

7. Oreskos ExplorerOreskos Explorer

(21,691 Inclusions, 0.78% of 2,770,080 Decks)

Oreskos ExplorerOreskos Explorer also has a two-mana 2/2 body that we like for aggro purposes, but sadly only puts lands to hand. Of course, we've been talking nonstop about bouncing lands to hand, so what if we could use all of them? My Pegasi deck does so with Pegasus RefugePegasus Refuge, an inefficient, four-mana enchantment that allows you to pay two mana and discard a card to make a 1/1 Pegasus. I think we're trying to do a little bit better here, however, what with us not restricting ourselves to a theme.

There are four main themes available in repeatable white discard: removal, tokens, card draw, and protection. Unfortunately, that first category doesn't have anything that blows me away. Mageta the LionMageta the Lion is counterproductive to our White Weenie plans, Avenger en-DalAvenger en-Dal likewise probably has our opponents gain a bit too much life, and Netter en-DalNetter en-Dal might see play in the deck, but more so because it's one mana than because we're going to be using its ability all the time. The other three, however, all have some pretty good entries that will be going right into our deck as the discard package. In tokens, Chivalric AllianceChivalric Alliance provides a much better version of Pegasus RefugePegasus Refuge, while there is also a full contingent of Spellshapers in SliversmithSliversmith, ToymakerToymaker, and Icatian CrierIcatian Crier. Card draw is less deep, but Currency ConverterCurrency Converter does provide looting in addition to Treasure and even more tokens, alongside Mindless AutomatonMindless Automaton, Containment ConstructContainment Construct, and Monument to EnduranceMonument to Endurance. Protection is deepest of all, but it's also probably the effect we want the least. Still, we'd be foolish not to grab a Medicine BagMedicine Bag and a Charm PeddlerCharm Peddler to add to our discard package that will allow us to do something with all these lands we're stacking in our hand.

6. Cartographer's HawkCartographer's Hawk

(21,713 Inclusions, 0.78% of 2,770,080 Decks)

The groupthink on Cartographer's HawkCartographer's Hawk has always been that it's just too slow, and yet, here it sits with 21,000 inclusions. Myself, I generally agree with the former sentiment, although I did dabble in a slow control Pauper EDH build with the Hawk at the helm. All that said, we're in a deck with a commander that wants to return things to hand, and we're looking at a creature that returns itself to hand. If we end up messing around with enters triggers at all, this one is just on the list.

Oh hey, look, several very playable creatures that draw cards or go aggro when other creatures enter! Yeah, I think we'll take the chance on the hawk.

5. Scholar of New HorizonsScholar of New Horizons

(28,360 Inclusions, 1.02% of 2,770,080 Decks)

There are two questions when it comes to Scholar of New HorizonsScholar of New Horizons and any deck considering it. One is, are you messing around with +1/+1 counters? If so, then you probably just play Scholar of New HorizonsScholar of New Horizons. But what if you're not? Well, if that's the case, then the question becomes: is playing a situational Sakura-Tribe ElderSakura-Tribe Elder that takes an extra turn to work good enough? I tend to think that the answer is yes, more often than not, if you're not in green. There's no question that this besuited explorer will sometimes feel bad, but even if all they do is just come down to eventually get a land into your hand, it's not like most decks aren't looking to keep on making their land drops late.

4. Claim JumperClaim Jumper

(43,493 Inclusions, 2.16% of 2,015,487 Decks)

The latest Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid variant to be printed is trying to give the original a run for its money, and it's doing all right. A 3/3 with vigilance is a relevant body on both attack and defense, and being able to search for two lands is a heck of a lot of catchup. I predict that this will continue to rise through the ranks, despite three mana being a lot more of a hurdle than two.

3. Loyal WarhoundLoyal Warhound

(66,422 Inclusions, 2.40% of 2,770,080 Decks)

For now, though, the other "closest thing I can get to a Knight of the White Orchid" reigns. Loyal WarhoundLoyal Warhound is yet another variant that has three power and vigilance, only this time with only one toughness. This makes it much less of a force to be reckoned with in combat, although it is constantly threatening to trade. More importantly, however, it also searches for a (basic) PlainsPlains upon entering. That means that if you're looking to go deep on these catchup effects like we are, then this is just in the deck.

2. Weathered WayfarerWeathered Wayfarer

(83,076 Inclusions, 3.00% of 2,770,080 Decks)

One of the OGs, Weathered WayfarerWeathered Wayfarer has something that none of the others can even touch. Claim JumperClaim Jumper and Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid might search for duals because they don't have the word "basic" in front of their PlainsPlains designator, but Weathered Wayfarer just straight-up lets you search for any land in the game. For a lot of the high-powered decks, that means going and finding things like Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle, Ancient TombAncient Tomb, or Serra's SanctumSerra's Sanctum. For our purposes with Ambrosia, however? We'll be happy to go grab a Scorched RuinsScorched Ruins or Guildless CommonsGuildless Commons so that we can continue to search with Weathered WayfarerWeathered Wayfarer the next turn and the next. Just make sure to go grab your Emeria, the Sky RuinEmeria, the Sky Ruin before you have so many lands that you never have a hope of activating this guy again.

1. Keeper of the AccordKeeper of the Accord

(93,679 Inclusions, 3.38% of 2,770,080 Decks)

It's doubtful that at the average table we'll be able to count on Keeper of the AccordKeeper of the Accord's creature ability, given that we're going to be playing 15+ catchup creatures in addition to 10 or so token-makers capitalizing on our flush lands in hand and on the battlefield. When we do, however, it's going to feel like it's all gravy, baby. What we're here for, however? The repeated search that happens every turn, starting with the turn you play Keeper. That is, it keeps on happening if you can keep your land count down, which we should be able to do for a long time with a commander that is dedicated to the cause.

Honorable Mentions

There are a few cards that didn't exactly fit our criteria, but still fit the spirit of what we're trying to do here:

Keeping our hand full of lands to discard will be easy in a world where we can just play them off the top of the library, and Verge RangersVerge Rangers are downright good in combat. That's less true of Discerning FinancierDiscerning Financier, but given that it will both reward us with Treasures for our strategy and also feed us cards if we need them, we'll let it slide. Finally, Priest of the Blessed GrafPriest of the Blessed Graf is downright terrible in combat, but that's okay because he's going to be sending Spirits over the top on his behalf. Put it all together, and we're starting to really have a list come together!

In one of the first decks ever that doesn't want to go first, it's imperative that you keep your commander in reserve until you really have something impactful to do with it. Returning a land to your hand just to do it is completely giving up a turn if you don't have a means to discard it or a means to then replace it with a Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid effect. That said, you do have an abundance of enters abilities you can double dip on, so don't get too focused on keeping lands low. Your bounce and sacrifice lands will do that for you!

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

Recent versions of Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid are getting better and better, with Claim JumperClaim Jumper specifically really feeling like it's got a shot to surpass the original. So, that begs the question: Are they good enough yet?

And finally, what is your favorite creature Land TaxLand Tax? Did we hit it here, or miss it while bathing in the sheer joy of white Landfall?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the table suspended from the ceiling.