20 Cards You Should Put In Your Commander Decks

This is it guys. Make sure to check out all the other episodes in the playlist below.
Playlist
• 10 Cards You Should Be...
Database by episode
deckstats.net/decks/113415/22...
Database by card type
deckstats.net/decks/133687/25...
TCGPlayer Affiliate Link
www.tcgplayer.com/?...
Patreon
/ edhdeckbuilding

[@drongobrat6471]

ahhh this is the series that originally got me subbed to your channel! I’m sad to see it ending! thanks for showing me the cards aura flux and energy flux back in the day! all my friends hate it when i play those against them

[@EmoWolf93]

Same here

[@badstephano9974]

Same. Hopefully he revives this series in the future when there’s even more old cards to talk about.

[@andrewamann2821]

You, an Energy Flux player: "I'm going to wreck this artifact deck's whole career..." Me, a clever artifact player: "heheh... Mycosynth Lattice into this board state goes brrr...." Sometimes, the best response to an oppressive tax is to force the other guy to pay it, themselves.

[@FozzyFUCT]

Sad to see this series end but I totally understand. Really appreciate the hard work you've put into finding these gems!

[@ZSAITOSEI]

Aww this series is solely responsible for my playgroups shouting "what the hell is that??!" when I turn a janky 20 year old card into my win condition. So many great choices in sets before the power creep began, going to miss seeing these pop up. Thanks for putting out so many old unused cards to be loved again ☺️

[@vergescalvin428]

That s what i loved, its like you find a great old vynile and listen it at home, and nobody knows the band, that do the same feelings! Old cards , good cards :)

[@katherynedarrah4245]

I LOVE this list, and I took notes. I also want to say: I watch quite a few MTG/EDH channels on YT. Most of them are a "how do they speak in this video" type of thing, since I have profound hearing loss. You speak clearly, and your mic volume isn't insamely low/high, which means I can just turn on your videos. No need to fiddle with captions or volume

[@richardharrison4762]

You were not kidding! I paused the video at Mooring Mirror and immediately got a foil for my Madness discard and draw deck! THANK YOU! You have earned this Like Sir!

[@alexscott8799]

Glad to have been here for the ride. Thanks Demo I'll stick around to see what's next

[@davidcardoso3525]

This has been a great series. I subbed to your channel because of it. Thank you.

[@Dalfort73]

Awesome series, I almost commented last time that I catalogued each episode and now I regret not doing so lol. Like others have said too this was my favourite feature of the channel and I'll miss it a lot. Thanks for pouring so much time and energy into your videos, I think you'll see it's definitely appreciated. Take care, Dalfort.

[@LordPyotr]

Dude, your series is like my EDH secret weapons arsenal, I was hooked to the series because I myself put some cards before you showcased here (Like Razia's Purification). Anyway you rule, mr EDH Deckbuilding

[@LadyTsunade777]

Dauthi Embrace is also great for politics, which as much as some people may not like it (MaRo) is a very important part of EDH. It says "target creature" and _not_ "you control", so you can give other players' creatures shadow to let them get through on another opponent or another planeswalker.

[@cinaedpv]

It also interacts with Maze of Shadows. Give their creature shadow, then hit it with Maze of Shadows.

[@wheelinshirt]

you can also make a specific person's creatures unable to block

[@qurangreen7041]

Not going to lie, I've made most of my singles purchases based on EDH rec and you. I'm a big fan of "under the radar" quality utility cards that shine in certain scenarios and builds. I've won a hand full of games with them and my playground has asked me more than a few times, "hey what's the name of that card?" This series was so good and will be key for all kinds of players past, present, and future wanting to make unique decks. Awesome stuff man 🤙🏽

[@Glamerth]

Why not do another episode a couple times a year for only underplayed cards from the newest sets?

[@edhdeckbuilding]

not a bad idea

[@Dom9606]

yeah a yearly or twice yearly review sounds cool

[@hahahafunniness]

@@edhdeckbuilding itd be a cool idea. a retrospective look back on how the format has changed, and the new "staples" that might be flying under the radar. Thanks for your work, best EDH youtube channel, hands down.

[@ryanmcguffin3350]

First vid of yours I've seen; I love it! Zany and older cards are what attract me as a newer player, so these vids are a dream :D Thank you for posting!

[@Dunhilina]

Hammer Mage is a 10 cent repeatable version of meltdown if you really want to keep those treasures off the table.

[@mbarker_lng]

A long time ago, me and some friends spent 45 mins - hour debating what Ice Cauldron actually does while tripping on magic mushrooms. Good times. :)

[@blipboyy]

Loved the series. Thank you as always!

[@mrpinguimninja]

I loved this series, you helped me make my orvar deck better without spending too much. Last sunday i won a game with proteus staff and cryptoplasm and i got both of them after seeing your series here

[@matthewbenoit3098]

Love seeing the old cards in commander. I just built a premodern commander deck about a month ago, love me some old frames :)

[@SSolemn]

Loved the series, thank you.

[@Wojtek36762]

I knew about Dauthi Embrace and loved it back in the day, thanks for the reminder! My Mari, the Killing Quill deck needs a way to get creatures through on demand, and that seems perfect.

[@SentientAnimations]

thank you so much for this series, i run parallel thoughts and diplomatic immunity in most of my blue decks because of your videos, and im sure theres even more gems in here to find.

[@marjoramme]

Scalding Salamander wins the cuteness award, too :)

[@ZagrasNixillis]

Credit Voucher is nice in my Locust God deck. Also, the audio on your channel is really good lol

[@alexmacgregor5265]

I keep forgetting about ice cauldron and whenever I remember I try to find space in my ranar deck for it. Essentially reads "tap:fortell a nonland card from your hand" plus it comes with a spirit.

[@jokersjacket3174]

I love credit voucher in my jhoira, weatherlight captain deck and now that you mention it imma add one to my scion of the Ur-dragon as well. I use it in jhoira mostly to shuffle away hands full of lands

[@kayfalcon3978]

i loved this series!, gave me so many cool commander ideas, and im very excited to see the new stuff, but i must know, what is the source for the the fantastic jazz intro?

[@deadNdivine12]

The final episode?... Whoa guess you can only recommend so many cards haha loved this series. Can't wait for what's next.

[@barthalen]

Great picks!

[@hellionimmortis9362]

Pain's Reward is great in Nekusar as well. Most of the time, you can bid 0 life and draw 4 because your opponents don't want to bid life and take a bunch of damage.

[@rurounikreep]

Great content buddy, keep it up

[@andrewamann2821]

"Credit voucher," or "how I learned to stop worrying, and love the instant-speed, localized wheels." Also, eye of singularity eats non-basic lands... Like shock lands...

[@MonkeyGone2Heaven650]

This video is A++ thank you!

[@steffensgary]

Dauthi embrace can be used defensively against creatures with lure abilities- you give them shadow and then only shadow creatures have to block them.

[@andrewbiggie1389]

melt down is used in the side board of legacy decks

[@scottnixon9367]

Your 10 cards videos are my favorite.

[@Flatwing]

I love Shivan Harvest in my Yasova dragon claw deck. Nice to steal creatures and sac them for the extra value.

[@bdawg8877]

Pure reflection in a naya creatures deck with pandemonium. Chef's 💋

[@chayadol]

Credit Vulture really fun for Queza, Augur of Agonies. I'll definately try this card with that deck! Salamander and Basilisk Collar is such a good combination down right evil LOOOL

[@faribx1]

credit voucher is one of my favs It's even in my Izzet wheel theme deck

[@Chidon0]

dystopia has always been a favorite of mine

[@benjaminriggs6881]

Vanishing is also a quite fun card in line with the Vedalken Illusionist.

[@scuttlebus]

Not sure if it was from your channel or not but titanias song has become a personal favorite care for me. I built around it in a hatebears deck and it just slows down all artifact ramp

[@ceronmachtdinge]

Pure Reflection: have a look at Spirit Mirror, an old azorius stax combo piece which literally says: "0: destroy target reflection" Gonna surprise ppl with mono white reflex stax :D

[@Syncopiia]

Strands of Night is amazing in a Korlash deck. And Scalding Salamander fits right in with Tibor and Lumia, especially if you're running Archetype of Imagination and Basilisk Collar.

[@statutoryape9098]

It was a great run

[@ivorymantis1026]

Phyrexian Reclamation is also nice for constant recursion, however it's to hand and not to field.

[@Spectre-wd9dl]

Curse of the lariatmage(sp?) Is one of my favorites.

[@moreplease394]

I think people need to play Reduce to Dreams more often. Blue has some great creature boardwipes but what about enchantments? Well, thats where my named card comes into play and it costs about as much as an Overloaded cyclonic rift without the salt, River's Rebuke, Upheaval, etc but again with the unique feature of caring about enchantments in an enchantment heavy meta now. Backgrounds, enchantress and stax deck cower in it's presence!

[@joshbowdish9851]

Regarding Eye of Singularity - there's a Leyline of Singularity that does the same thing in blue. But ALSO turns things legendary. which uh. wait. that legendary mardu planeswalker lady. nice. 4 colors. no problem!

[@skruffytiger2002]

Eye of Singularity is also useful for just clearing out staples. Sol ring, command tower, etc.

[@JaimeAGB-pt4xl]

I love how Red actually has Stack pieces in older expansions... and Yes, the salamander Is going into my Zagras deck

[@steffensgary]

When I bought my 100 earnest fellowship copies for 11 cents each in 2017, everyone said I was nuts. Just waiting for the value to hit a few more bucks. Mana maze makes your 5 color creatures uncounterable. It is also amazing in flash-based or vedalken orrery decks.

[@willh1655]

yes, but your opponents get the effect as well.

[@steffensgary]

@@willh1655 yep, and it completely kills the strategy of most voltron commanders.

[@JacoDeltaco]

ok I have a Tibor and Lumia deck and scalding Salamander is a good alternative for my commender nice find

[@satchmosanzabar9023]

keep up the great content

[@jasoncook4008]

I saw one of your videos where you showed a card that phases out your creatures until end of turn . I have 2 questions about that card . #1 what was that card name & #2 is it just until the end of my turn or is it until everyone that I'm playing against has a turn ? I think the card was 2 blue mana & 2 colorless or it was one blue & one colorless .

[@austinshores819]

Love Mana Maze in my Jodah deck

[@llowery720]

Meltdown is big mostly from popularity in red decks in cedh plus legacy sideboard

[@forloveofthepage2361]

I love primal order in mono green or two color decks. Always does more work than anyone thinks it will.

[@theRANDOMmanta]

This was a truly fantastic series! Sad to see it end but hey, you run out of janky stuff eventually.

[@jormungardwe]

thanks to foretell keyword it became really easy to explain ice cauldron, you just say it just like I activate Ice Cauldron to give foretell to a card in my hand, but I show the card and is in instant speed.

[@vergescalvin428]

dauthi Embrace in a Kamyz deck is definitively good ! With some great trigger on combat damage apply, that can be awesome !

[@waynefeller8824]

I run Dystopia in my Jund Shattergang deck. Since I want to sacrifice my own creatures, there really is no downside. And having a built-in way to rove it myself (by not paying the cumulative upkeep) means I am not stuck with it when it outlasts it's usefulness.

[@blackmountain1983]

Woah!! Credit Voucher!? This card is amazing! Going in my Gerrard Weatherlight Captain combo deck for sure.

[@mananoimage]

Credit Voucher im gonna test out in the polymorph tribal deck, need to get the big creatures out my hand back into the deck, thanks!

[@JacoDeltaco]

for the vodalian Illusionist what the rule for phasing back in end of turn, as it resolve or never the card is not clear on that part I could look it up but let say it video intraction edit: funny thing I was going trough my binder and found a vodalian Illusionist in it also the phase out come back at the start of your turn if some one is wondering

[@ZackeroniAndCheese]

I've considered playing Lifebane Zombie for similar reasons as Dystopia. But I do play 1v1 sometimes and it can be really useless there

[@Purgatog]

Two aspects of Dauthi Embrace which I think also needs to be said: 1. There’s an interesting political angle to it. “I will activate this at the end of the declare attackers step if you promise to attack someone else”, for example. 2. It should be noted that while creatures with Shadow can’t be blocked by other creatures without shadow it also works the other way around. Meaning, if you’re in a situation where you have more attackers than potential blockers, it might be more efficient to just give other people’s creatures shadow instead.

[@sentientmeatcomputer8097]

Queza, Augur of Agonies, Peer into the Abyss and Credit Voucher

[@BobJones-bg4ui]

Hurray! I’m happy to see the database.

[@trevorsmith7643]

Credit Voucher with Alhammeret's Archive or Teferi's Ageless Insight would double your hand size

[@notinvispineapples5346]

I acrually put seedborn muse in my tribal decks just in case of An-Zerrin ruins!

[@PieBandit]

Credit voucher combos with niv mizzet curiosity loops. Draw your library to remove two opponents, then play and sac credit voucher to draw more, pinging the last

[@jamespanter6768]

Loved tempest.

[@GrimSoulBanisher]

For Strands of Night, if there is an untapped Archelos, Lagoon Mystic and you have both Worlds Shaper and something like a Ravenous Chupacabra or Plaguecrafter, you can go infinite.

[@wayloncampbell8963]

Long term plans lessgoo!!

[@EloquentTroll]

I've had Meltdown for 3 cast against my Ruhan of the Fomori Voltron deck and I was blasted back to the stone age, but at least it didn't hit Assault Suit (the heart of the deck, and why I'm running 7 tutors)

[@zebmaxwell7979]

@24:33 Trench Wurm

[@Zendrig]

Earnest fellowship (giving creatures protection from their colors) can be pretty strong but it can also backfire very easily. Your Ur-Dragon for example can now only block colorless creatures.

[@edhdeckbuilding]

nope. that's not how protection works. it can block anything and won't take damage.

[@jocool1908]

​@@edhdeckbuilding That is how protection works, because the creatures attacking into a wubrg creature will have protection from at least one of the colors. Unless they are colorless.

[@willh1655]

@@edhdeckbuilding your opponents get protection as well.

[@crawdaddy2004]

Mana Maze only checks the most recent spell cast during the turn. I use this to set up wins by casting this, then some small spell followed by Teferi. Your thought might be, “Why not just cast Teferi first, then?” Well, my friend, this is the bait.

[@SirGrimLockSmithVIII]

You can also use Amoeboid Changeling and similar effects in tandem with An-Zerren Ruins to ensure you'll be able to lock down any creature

[@ceruleangiant4544]

i don’t think so, there is no priority on a players turn before they untap their permanents. this means that you can’t use an effect to change the creature type of a creature until the end of a turn before it becomes untapped.

[@SirGrimLockSmithVIII]

@@ceruleangiant4544 shit nvm

[@chrisgebben2043]

my only question for the new series is will they be hidden gems or just assumed to be any way thank you sir for the series this is how i found you in the first place. i will probably give one of my own cards I'm highly considering even though it looks stinky its called Tidal Flats its a blue enchantment for a single blue its saids {U}{U} :For each attacking creature without flying, its controller may pay {1}. If that player doesn’t, creatures you control blocking that creature gain first strike until end of turn. this sparked my eye because its gonna make it ridiculously tough to attack you since your creatures can get first strike and kill their creatures before yours die especially if you creatures have death touch and usually ground attacks is what happens in commander games. second if they do pay it you can try again if you have another blue blue available you only usually have to worry about flying matters if its dragons or token maker commanders that them fly. and also wait a sec what about "indestructible" well creatures with Wither or infect can fix that and you could also have something like Shadow spear or Bonds of Mortality in play to remove it but what the spark really is is its mono blue doesn't not typically give first strike to creatures so this is defense in blue besides propaganda and actually makes any creature a phenomenal blocker

[@couchpotatoe91]

Earmest fellowship doesn't see more play because it also affects all your opponents' creatures. So they all become unblockable, untargetable, etc. Horrible against synergy or combo decks that want specific creatures out.

[@vgnut007]

May I add meltdown destroys artifact land for one red to cast and one of anything into a shadowspear

[@PhiladelphiaCoIlins]

Not me using An-Zerrin Ruins to hose my friends Sliver deck..

[@jasoniorio4528]

Love the Illusionist, but I think Soul Sculptor edges it out for me. And I will never understand seeing a deck with white that wants to attack and doesn't have Reconnaissance..

[@jcsscalemodels]

Finally someone else noticed An-Zerrin Ruins! Homelands isnt as bad of a set as people say. (Well, maybe not...)

[@SeraphimKnight]

Mana Maze + Painter's Servant is pretty good prison tech. Only 1 spell can be cast each turn, sounds good to me... Especially if you've got a lot of mana sinks on the table.

[@T_v_W2]

You could also just run rule of law effects. But if your not in white it sounds descent.

[@batatac4mil86]

I'd personally love an evolved version of this series. Instead of 10 cards in general no one plays, why not 10 cards in tribal/storm/stax... decks no one plays!

[@Mecal00]

Here's my thought: Pure Reflection with Maskwood Nexus? 🤔

[@gilliganallmighty3]

Scalding Salamander + Quietus Spike.

[@Josh-iv5ou]

Divine presence is fantastic, however I built my zur deck as a toolbox/voltron control deck so it wouldn't fit at all lol

[@scottpearson9846]

moon ring mirror is great for self mill by draw. you get rid of more cards that way

[@fireball5655]

Actually I would say that the biggest reason to run nonbasic land removal is Glacial Chasm.

[@skaven969]

I really hate commander staples because it homogenized the format, but I appreciate the videos

[@dennissteubing909]

sadly he missed the Mana Maze/ Oracle problem. That after casting oracle, you still need to exile/remove/draw your lib. So you have to cast, most likely, a black spell to do so, which than opens up a blue spell again, which will be the counterspell to stop the black one.

[@TheStephenation]

This applies to the specific scenario of casting Thassa's Oracle and then following it up with Demonic Consultation. Usually, it's the other way around. And even if you were in a situation where you needed to cast Oracle first, if you did have Mana Maze on the board, you would wait until Oracle has resolved and put its EtB trigger on the stack to cast Demonic Consultation. In that case, they could counter the Consultation, but not the Oracle.

[@ratska96]

Had an opponent basically start the game with 10 life with pains reward. They won the game

[@ChristiantrospectiveGamer]

Pure Reflection is busted with Divine Visitation. Everyone else is losing Reflections every turn while you create Angels.

[@aaronmitchell3204]

Might try credit voucher in my Muldrotha deck

[@christianmiller376]

Ice Cauldron.... Wow.

[@brendans1983]

Shhhhh 🤫 don't let everyone know about Scalding Salamander and Zagras!