Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice | Art by Victor Adame Minguez

Only a month and a few days since Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed took the mantle of 4th most popular commander in the format, the Final Fantasy upstart struck again! After having deposed Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss, the FFXIV Cat Warlock overtook Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice. In doing so, Y'shtola became the 3rd most popular commander on EDHREC's ranked list. Will she ever plateau in popularity? Read on, as we look at the reasons for this massive upset and the future of this legend's prodigious ascension.

Atraxa, Mainstay of the Top, No More?

Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice has been a top contender in the format for just about a decade now. It took the printing of The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon and Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov in Commander 2017, a year after Atraxa's first printing, for the Praetors' Voice to be hushed just a little bit. However, Atraxa is a commander known for her immensely versatile utility. If you've read my previous articles about the Top Commanders, you know by now that versatility largely makes up the cream of the crop, so to speak.

However, it also needs stating that Atraxa does suffer from the same seniority that Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss and Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast, both suffered when Y'shtola took them both down their respective pegs. These are all pretty tried-and-true commanders in this format, but the novelty of something new was each of their undoing.

Y'shtola's Stellar Ascension

Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed should need very little introduction by this point amongst my readership. Those who have read these articles know exactly why (at least to my surmising) the face commander of Scions & Spellcraft is doing so well, but I'm happy to refresh those out of the loop.

For one thing, Y'shtola is not even a year old. Normally, this poses a challenge because of the sheer insurmountability of the numbers game. However, Night's Blessed also benefits from being part of the single most successful Universes Beyond set so far. As you may recall, Final Fantasy sold better than all of Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth in presale numbers alone.

These two factors, plus the overall appeal of Commander precons (and the face commanders thereof), make a difference here. All of that, plus the fact that Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most respected massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) of all time, all contribute to Y'shtola's popularity, itself a force to be reckoned with. In this way, it's hardly a surprise that she's doing numbers... so far.

The Dragon and the Drac

Of course, Y'shtola's journey is hardly over just yet. Her popularity is not waning in the slightest, and she still has two more mountainous obstacles in her path.

The first obstacle is the ever-esteemed Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov, of Commander 2017. Edgar is a bit newer than Atraxa, but is still far older of a card than Night's Blessed. Both are tricolor commanders with similar versatility. Edgar can run a token build surprisingly well, even without resorting to the laborious role of typal commander. However, it so happens that Edgar Markov is even better when a player runs him with a typal bend. Wouldn't you know it: Eminence is a really strong ability! So our protagonist has her work cut out for her, frankly. I don't expect to see her plateauing too soon, however, and she may get through Edgar as shockingly as she did with Atraxa.

The second and final obstacle before Y'shtola take the reign of Top Commander on EDHREC is The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon. Ranked at the very top of our current list, this is a five-color commander that also has an Eminence ability. The obstacle that The Ur-Dragon will ultimately present to Night's Blessed is threefold:

1. The Ur-Dragon is in all colors, lending itself to the widest card pool possible,
2. it represents one of, if not the, most popular creature types in Magic, and
3. did I mention Eminence?

Sure, reducing the costs of all Dragons by isn't a huge thing to shout about, but with the efficacy of costs presented in the Dungeons & Dragons sets as well as all manner of additional cost reducers, it kind of is.

But let's also keep an eye on Edgar for a bit, and worry about the Dragon in the room when the time comes. Will Y'shtola, Night's Blessed manage to overtake the progenitor of all Innistradi Vampiric bloodlines, or will her appeal's extents peter out at last?

Conclusion

A big congratulations to anyone making their wagers on how far Y'shtola will climb! You're doing very well here.

And with that, let's open the floor to you, dear readers! Have you played Final Fantasy XIV? How do you like it? Are you still playing it? Apropos of none of that, where do you foresee this Cat Warlock will be on the rankings list by year's end? Sound off in the comments below!