10 Best Blue 1 Mana Commander Cards You Aren't Running (But Probably Should!) | Magic: The Gathering

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Special thanks to our Professional Consultant, Bennie Smith! Bennie has been writing professionally about Magic for 20 years, and he’s been writing about EDH/Commander for 12 years. He’s written the authoritative book about the format, The Complete Commander, which you can find along with his columns about Commander every week at Starcitygames.com!
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[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Lesser Known 1 Mana Commander Cards in Black: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4THeaB8mp2mjc0 Lesser Known 1 Mana Commander Cards in White: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXzcZoRjjdh0ppI Lesser Known 1 Mana Commander Cards in Red: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYqYn5qVaJ50rpo

[@Starcraftgamer97]

"How miserable is it to just drop a land and pass?" I feel attacked right now Prof. Stop it.

[@seb_fancysheep]

Same

[@burcelljc_2306]

That's why i build a cedh kess deck... almost every card in the deck is 1 or 0 mana. it feels great

[@ecpmath5658]

lol, ask that question to a blue player

[@neoboyam6548]

No no for real, I am hurt

[@timjames5027]

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV has entered the chat.

[@averyphipps4940]

i dont understand how the professor isnt drowning in sponsors, he has the best intros and is always creative with his ad reads

[@chromarush1749]

Most sponsors dont want that. They want you to read a copy paste script. Also he probably doesnt accept most of them because he only supports products he likes.

[@The_Murder_Party]

Andrew Sawyer ^^^ yeah... this.

[@johnbinsch6253]

@@chromarush1749 That's easily the most important part: Only supporting products he feels comfortable supporting. I don't need earbuds or anything, but if I were to buy some, I'd feel comfortable with something that Prof tells us (even via silly skit) is a quality product.

[@shanekhiu9884]

He’s one of the only ones I sit through the whole ad segment without skipping

[@valiantstallion]

Corporate sponsorship is in direct correlation with number of subscribers.

[@jewcce]

i like how the professor uses terms that I, your average young delinquent can understand:)

[@chaunceyarroyo8490]

I agree

[@playahsan]

That intro was totally bodacious, my tubular professor!

[@glennlawhon2376]

stop plz

[@kushluk777]

Damn how did the Prof know about my mad phat beets.

[@Chamoy11]

Only the mtg god knows

[@brendancorey7831]

He knows because he can sense all music in his classes

[@Gobeman]

That Ad was so sneaky. I swear you used haste and unblockable on that

[@santuli_91]

It as a full blown Sneak Attack

[@pauljimerson8218]

Put the lightning greaves on it

[@solomonsomers7033]

I think Marchesa's Smuggler must be the one writing those ads for him

[@TheGamingLegendsOfficial]

nah, I think he used Skulk because that was a low (damage) blow

[@megaman161]

The Prof sits down on a backwards facing chair Me: "Oh god, here it comes."

[@conker3425]

“... Know that if I see any in class they will be confiscated and I’m gonna keep em’!” 😂👍

[@LadyTsunade777]

5:45 Actually, since the aura gives the creature the text ability, the controller of the creature will untap their lands, not the controller of the aura. 14:20 Why would you need to counter a spell that targets Helix Pinnacle when it has Shroud though?

[@coreysierchio4650]

"Imagine jumping through so many hoops to target a Shroud permanent only to get stopped by "Turn Aside?"

[@kozaklee9838]

My thoughts exactly.

[@PhazonOmega]

I was looking for this comment, lol

[@Ariurotl]

11:31 Also can't use Shadow Rift to target a creature equipped with Sword of Fire and Ice but I guess it can be equipped later.

[@VolvoxSocks]

You need to protect Helix Pinnacle when there's an Opalescence on the battlefield and an opponent activated Arcane Lighthouse. I'm sure that's... maybe... possibly... happened before.

[@minebattle5679]

Where is the 6 hour podcast, I need to listen to it

[@Xenozfan2]

I believe it's Limited Resources.

[@AnIdiotsLantern]

Spoiler alert - garrison cat wins because cat

[@gabrielamaro1470]

14:28 But Professor, Helix Pinnacle has Shroud already. It doesn't need spot removal protection.....

[@username4835]

If someone can target your Helix Pinnacle with single target removal, they deserve it. I know there are many ways to target things with hex proof, but with shroud I can only find effects that remove/let you target through on creatures. Nothing for permanent or enchantment.

[@m1gr3nA]

but what if there is Humility and Opalescence on board, huh? how will you protect your win condition then? oh wait...

[@billyshakespeare488]

Council's judgement from conspiracy works, but it doesn't target.

[@TSpice]

I was waiting for [[Soothsaying]]. Talk about an under played 1 cmc blue drop

[@TheStephenation]

Seems like Soothsaying is reasonably popular. But it certainly is pretty good in a lot of decks. Might be that it is still underplayed.

[@dakyriscynn]

Great video, a few of your examples were flawed though. (This is meant to be constructive) Somebody already pointed out the issue with the bear umbra example (the creature gains the ability, not the aura so giving it to an opponent hurts you). Shadowrift and swords, you showed one that gives pro blue so you can't target it. Turn aside, you mention pinacle helix which is shroud so it wouldn't be targeted in the first place outside of very specific circumstances. One of my favorite 1 cost blue spell is soothsaying while it's not quite as good as a scry, being able to dig as deep as you want at the end of the turn is often very powerful. Edit: another very powerful 1 cost blue spell is aqueous form. Unblockable, scry every turn for 1? Yes please!

[@FearOgre]

Sometimes soothsaying is better than scry, I use it in Kruphix for a mana dump to set things up.

[@av110386]

Totally thought that was gonna be a "serious talk" about secret lairs.

[@bierchen71]

I don't even play Magic, but I love this stuff

[@Hoivey]

Im pretty sure Bear umbra gives the creature the untap ability, meaning that the creature controller benifits, not bear umbras control.

[@m1gr3nA]

you are right. there other errors in this video too. :(

[@ATownShow]

Reading the card explains the card.

[@Eclipse8502]

Retraced Image is my pick. One mana mono blue ramp when used on an island as the floor, and the ceiling is super high to cheat things in.

[@_mrcrypt]

Now THAT was a good sponsor ad! See? Knew you could do it 🍷

[@Rascus75]

Clockspinning is also a great choice if your commander is Arixmethes, especially since he can help pay for the buyback himself.

[@M4J0RCH40S]

Great video been really loving your content lately

[@JacquesSnacques]

I was doing fine with the intro until he pronounced bass "bass"

[@Sceleri]

awesome bass!

[@MGlBlaze]

@@Sceleri Fresh, delicious bass! Be it freshwater or sea bass.

[@Krishnath.Dragon]

@@MGlBlaze Sea Bass? No, wait- it's at least a C+!

[@gubernator2122]

Mason Brown its part of the whole “super hip and rad” joke

[@imdavid78]

as a musician this was really irritating

[@225ozone]

Sad that telepathy isn’t on here. It’s one of my favorite pet cards and everytime I play it everyone is like wait what😂 the our knowledge it gives is definitely worth 1 mana

[@dakyriscynn]

I'm glad your group let's you play with that. Mine usually ganged up on my as soon as I drop it so I ended up removing it entirely from my decks

[@Snarwin]

The only problem with Telepathy is finding room on the table for everyone to lay out their hands.

[@m1gr3nA]

it slows down play and clutters the board immensly. also it has resolving time comparable to Thieves Auction because everyone needs to read al the cards before doing anything. its just not wort it.

[@lorenzobergamini8916]

I play telepathy in my sen triplets deck!

[@manuelrodriguez1818]

So fun to play but wastes a lot of time while playing si most people don't allow it. :(

[@TenSuns1914]

always appreciated. you are the man. it sure is nice to have such a concise well worded "streamer" to spend time watching. you hit all the marks in my book.

[@alphinart]

Yeah it’s true fool, I was bumpin’ phat beats here on KZbin, but I got a notification that this video is new, I was like man this beat slaps I don’t know what to do, yeah I guess I’ll scope the vid since I use blue.

[@varalawraga7817]

My favorite 1 mana card is genju of the falls. It's a one mana blue enchantment that allows you, at any time, to convert an island into a 3/2 flyer for 2 mana, with the upside that it'll return to your hand if the land-creature dies

[@Terashi]

Whim of Volrath, Shadow Rift, and Mystic Speculation have changed up my Merfolk Tribal deck for the better! I also found room for Mystic Speculation in other blue decks I found. This has been a most informative lesson, indeed.

[@gavingalitsky4985]

I don’t usually run blue, I tend to prefer decks that are heavy in black and that suits my play style more, but i recently built a sultai deck and I really appreciate this video because it helps me learn more cards for a color I’m not very well versed in building/playing.

[@bulgedbutts2886]

These sponsorship ads are Internet Historian level of entertaining

[@j.m.3600]

Prof this is one of my FAVORITE series youve ever done! Spectacular! Wonderful service to the game in a much needed way.

[@GraveGeist482]

Turn Aside is a great shout. Helped me to protect my mill theme safe in a recent game when I got a scary Consuming Aberration down.

[@aidennoir597]

Prof, that was some FANTASTIC physical comedy at the end. Much props.

[@phears7435]

Wow.... I'm definitely running Mystic Speculation in my Haldan and Pako deck now, thanks a lot 😊

[@mudrahel.philosophovich]

Great video! Nice animation.

[@nathanielpittman722]

the whim of volrath stuff you talked about is what i was doing with my angus deck, northern paladin destroys a black permanent, lifeforce counters a black spell, change them all to what ever colour i need, i also ran some versions of it that effected spells. Loved watching my friend green sun for a red creature in his simic deck

[@kassidygordon8231]

4:18 Text-altering effects apply to the type line too, so changing Human into Goat on Wingspan Mentor also changes the Mentor into a Goat Wizard, and thus it still can't choose itself as the target non-Goat creature. (You still could use it this way to make it give one of your other humans a flying counter, though!) This is just a little nitpick and I still love this card (it's been a longtime favorite of mine - I just wish it had buyback like some of the others you pointed out so that I could use it to run a *bunch* of fun tribal cards and make them all synergize with the same creature type), as well as the video as a whole!

[@ShardNetwork]

Oh... I was already using Clockspinning as my favorite little dirty secret.

[@andrewlaverghetta715]

Yay! I loved all of this! Thanks for more prof TCC flavor!

[@TechDragon1]

I really really love that room you're in!

[@micahhonig1575]

I love that you put effort into your adds

[@swekyde41]

Glad to see Clockspinning make this list. Excellent synergy with Sphinx-Bone Wand as a way for a spell-based deck to put some pressure on on a budget (of money, not mana). As long as you have planeswalkers kicking about it's just a really nice outlet for excess mana.

[@geraudbroussaud894]

Hey ! I dug into my archives and found out I had two Shadow rifts left ! They go directly into my Commander Box ! Thanks Prof for pointing to a cool use for these forgotten cards !

[@ButzPuff]

All Tolarian videos from here on out should have the Professor sitting on the chair like this. It really makes Magic much more relatable.

[@alvisrouge8690]

I still can't believe you managed to make your sponsor time so fun to watch. Every time.

[@willhibbard6903]

That chair bit at the end got me. Great bit of physical comedy 😂

[@zackpumpkinhead8882]

I have a niv mizzet commander deck with minor scry synergy and these one-cost instants make me excited!

[@manuelsantacruz9625]

Hi. I just wanted to tell you that I love your videos and I thank you for putting out sooo much content. I never could really play Magic The Gathering because it`s too expensive, but I really enjoy your videos about it. Sorry for my bad english

[@weedAndTransRights]

Mystic Speculation is probably my new favorite card in my Melek deck. Thank you!

[@salmonking007]

I love me some 'Curfew'. Super underrated- especially with a creature etb deck.

[@AzianFightingKid]

Yay! [Curfew] buddies!

[@domenicdefusco6328]

It's getting to a point where I'm looking forward to your next video so I can also see your sponsor pitch.

[@FailOwlProductions]

Best ad opening I have seen in dayz... Thanks Prof bro.

[@davidhenriques6372]

That was some top notch physical comedy there at the end. Peter sellers would be proud.

[@BrienneofDarth]

I have exactly one copy of Mystic Speculation from when Future Sight came out. And it is probably my favorite card in my Intet the Dreamer deck. Love it.

[@nicolastoe8328]

Prof is actually really good at these ads. Not ashamed to say I was influenced into picking up a pair

[@Hachifromthecastle]

When I started to watch professor's videos I really could'nt tell is the ads he did were real or just jokes. Here's a guy who knows.how to advertise.

[@GaryFromLiberty]

This is literally the only big channel that I don't skip the ads because he makes them so funny

[@ranuuki_sempai9297]

Best commercials ever! Loved the recommendations.

[@muticancan123]

That was a pretty good setup for the sponsor.

[@mull2one]

OOO love this new camera angle :)))

[@eugegno]

Professor, you're the only youtube channel that I dont skip the sponsor claim because you do that SO well. Idk how much they pay you for this but you're doing double the job you're supposed to do, like.. WOW! (oh, and great video as always)

[@B-Ran_the_Man]

One I am surprised that is not on the list is Abjure. Sure you have to sacrifice a blue permanent to counter a spell, but a one mana counter ANY target spell should be considered.

[@Dirtyfouts]

I spit my beer out in the intro when I heard him say “awesome bass (like the fish)” when referring to the headphones.

[@lucasenraraujo]

Clockspinning is one of my favorite cards

[@thewizardsstaff-amtgedhpod7780]

The card animations on this seem drastically new (but in a fantastic way) ! What program are you using to make these?

[@ValariaxSword]

I love all the future sight picks.

[@guilhermeribeiromichelino3852]

Great list

[@mightyone3737]

I actually like Clockspinning, and have used it, specifically in Talrand, where it was mostly a card that could nab me 2 drakes a turn while slightly nerfing an opponent's creature, since it wasn't hard to end up vs the odd +1/+1 counter user. The fact that it can add or remove is nice though, makes it way more Johnny-able.

[@horsesattack]

The professor is definitely a legendary creature in the mtg community. I would say he’s mythic, for sure. I wonder what his stats would be and mana colors 🤔 The mtg content is so fun to watch and artful. Wizards of the coast should be paying you for these and give you a lot of fetch lands. 😁Your videos are awesome.

[@BookofAeons]

3:50 In your Rite of Replication/Reaper King example, Artificial Evolution does very little. Text-changing effects do not change copiable values, so after Rite of Replication resolves the opponent would have one Goat King and five Reaper Kings. They'd get five fewer "destroy target permanent" triggers, but they'd still get 20 of them and could choose to keep an unmodified Reaper King. Likewise, you can't use Artificial Evolution to let Wingspan Mentor target itself. If you replace "human" with "goat," it'd be able to target a non-goat creature, but Wingspan Mentor itself would be a goat wizard.

[@jrvaughn9038]

I loved the Tempest set so much. Probably one of my all time favs.

[@johnbuscher]

There's also the slightly more obvious play in Clockspinning off a counter in Arixmethes, since that will take two off from him and may be enough to make him a creature and ready to swing.

[@MoeganFGC]

The bear umbra on an opponent doesn’t work, it ties the trigger to the creature so the opponent untaps All his or her lands :( I wish I worked like that

[@chromarush1749]

Just like with the recently printed impetuses, since the card belongs to you, no matter what creature it is attached to, all instances of 'you' gaining an activated ability go to the owner of the enchantment.

[@iambensummers]

@@chromarush1749 The problem here is that it doesn't say "Whenever enchanted creature attacks," it says "This creature has 'Whenever this creature attacks.'" Thus the creature has the ability, not the enchantment, so the creature's controller untaps.

[@Wabiman70]

An alternative to "spy network" could be "telepathy", for 1 blue mana you have an enchantment that make your opponents play with their hands revealed, so you could prepare for anything while your hand is a mistery

[@nerdsforcardgames]

Gotta add a second comment on here really quick. I started watching this channel to learn how to play Pokémon. Now not only do I know how to play Pokémon very well, I also have gotten 2 friends into playing magic with me. I didn’t play magic before watching this channel lol. I love this channel. Keep up the good work.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Daaaaaw. Thank you. :)

[@nerdsforcardgames]

Tolarian Community College you’re very welcome! Thanks for the great videos!

[@felipeguidolin1055]

Is this the first time we had a panoramic view of the Studio/office? It looks really cool

[@deanofcool]

I’m a fan of visions of beyond, in commander I find at least one person usually has the required prerequisite for value, at which point it just turns into an ancestral recall;)

[@Lotties_handsaw]

Awesome bass🐟

[@spencerclark6113]

Clockspinning is also a good way to ramp planeswalkers, especially Teferi, Temporal Archmage and Tezzeret the Seeker. There's easy ways to even go infinite with it and Temporal Archmage.

[@timrichards8418]

Does Artificial Evolution work with Wingspan Memtor? If you change "non-Human" to "non-Goat" (for example), you also change the type line to "Goat Wizard" do it still can't target itself.

[@weirdproq]

Whoah. I didn't realize those red chairs and that desk we're all in the same room. I thought they were two separate small rooms.

[@phamhoangthong4815]

Hello im a new beginner in MTG which pack should i buy? ( i like liliana char, i read the lore during the time which pack i buy)

[@poseidon934]

So smart! Tolarian apex of strategy!

[@Highstar7331]

So glad awareness of Mystic speculation is going up

[@Will_Morand]

I relate to the intro promo, especially since I have used the E25s in school(listening to metal, not rap) and outside of class.

[@TOFWHY]

If you put Bear Umbra on another person's creature it prints the text onto their creature, and THEY will untap THEIR lands. It's the important differentiation between Curiosity, and the "fixed" pseudo reprints like Curious Obsession and there was one more around Ixalan or Dominaria that I cannot remember at all

[@electricblue2920]

I just bought a couple foil Turn Aside a few weeks back. Both Talrand and Damia use it

[@horsesattack]

God I loved this video too lol. How about a video where you play a game of sealed draft! I’ll sponsor your three booster packs 😁

[@user-sp4pk9td3d]

shadow rift and similar cards are awesome alongside precursor golem (my favorite "bad" card) push 9 damage through and draw 3 cards seems good to me

[@SuperDuperKoboldGod]

One one-mana blue card that I've enjoyed using is Retraced Image. If you're in a staple-heavy meta it can "cheat" the cost of powerful cards. Most cases though it is a blue explore without the card draw. Island, Retraced Image, Island gives you solid ramp early that doesn't get blown up with artifact hate.

[@kozaklee9838]

Brian you cannot target a creature equipped with a Sword of Fire and Ice with Shadow Rift because of the protection from blue. Though you can use Volrath's Whim to change the color of protection. Also Turn Aside is unlikely to save your Helix Pinnacle due to it having Shroud.

[@zoobnash2578]

Bear Umbra doesn't work like that. A quick glance at the ruling on Scryfall reveals that "When the enchanted creature attacks, all lands controlled by that creature’s controller (who is not necessarily the Aura’s controller) untap."

[@Nemesis653]

Do you still stream or have plans to in the future? I notice Tolarian Public Library hasnt been updated in a few years.

[@ljgljg8002]

Love the content 👌

[@eusouzoom]

My wife started humming your intro song as the intro played out. She recognizes you by your voice!

[@HakureiIllusion]

3:50 I get what's being said here but in this instance the five copied Reaper Kings will still say Scarecrow and each will see each other enter for 20 total triggers. Only the original will miss them, and therefore miss out on a comparatively low 5 triggers.

[@thepineappleyempireofsuper9612]

In reference to number 8, I prefer slip through space. Same card except it's true unblockable and has devoid, meaning protection from blue is not a way to counter it.

[@Blackvolttage]

Slip is a sorcery and rift is instant. Also, if your opp have only one blocker (or only one decent blocker) just give shadow to it and swing out. Rift is definitely better than slip. I think it goes rift>artful dodge>slip.

[@KashPreble]

I have literally been playing with command the dreadhorde since it came out and never knew I could bring back a creature from other people's graveyards. Reading the card explains the card goddamnit!

[@Dalenthas]

As soon as he turned the chair around I knew a Raycon ad was coming.

[@stephenross5586]

I was running Mystic Speculation and turn aside in my Niv Mizzet drawslinger before this video came out. My replacements for them would be Mana Tap. You basically turn turn that one big thing you havent been able to do anything with because someone put a pacify on it inti mana you can use for other stuff

[@Gee_359]

Hello, would like to reccommend Cosi's Trickster. It has a tendency to grow to a decent size in a relevent deck given how often people shuffle their libraries.