Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier | Art by Barbara Rosiak

When I first read Jodah's AvengerJodah's Avenger, I thought they'd included him in Marvel Super Heroes!

Welcome once again to Fire and Ice! This is the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article.

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Today, we're focusing on Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier. This five-drop commander plays very well with others, according to his report card, and currently sits as the #17 commander on EDHREC.

Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier

What's Hot and What's Not for Jodah, the Unifier?

For , Jodah is a 5/5 that gives each of our legendary creatures +X/+X, where X is the number of legendary creatures we've got on board. He also lets us perform a pseudo-cascade each time we cast a legend from our hand, allowing us to flip into a less costly legend from our library.

These decks want to flood the board with powerful legendary creatures, using their commander both as a value engine and as a game-ending anthem. Among this commander's most popular cards are Urza's Ruinous BlastUrza's Ruinous Blast (55% inclusion rate), Sisay, Weatherlight CaptainSisay, Weatherlight Captain (49% inclusion rate), and Jhoira, Weatherlight CaptainJhoira, Weatherlight Captain (42% inclusion rate). Big fans of the WeatherlightWeatherlight around here!

What's Fiery for Jodah Decks?

Jennifer WaltersJennifer Walters - Fire Score of 14.72

While this is a double-faced card, I'll keep most of my analysis centered on its front half. The Sensational She-Hulk is a good attacker, admittedly, but doesn't provide much more value than its two-mana counterpart.

All that said, Jennifer Walters is the latest in a long line of Grand AbolisherGrand Abolisher variants. Having the legendary supertype means it's a great inclusion in this deck, and allows it to trigger tons of our payoffs. We'll be putting a lot of powerful stuff on the stack during our turn, so Jennifer Walters will prove to be a stellar pick.

King T'ChallaKing T'Challa - Fire Score of 11.00

As Jennifer Walters is to Grand Abolisher, King T'Challa is to Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind. This Human Noble Hero provides the same card draw ability as the Faerie Rogue, but this time as a legendary creature.

In this case, the flipped side of this card (Black Panther, Hope Enduring) is a great attacker. When paired with the massive anthem that Jodah can provide, Black Panther can be a particularly scary sight during combat. Either half of this creature is more than serviceable for Jodah players.

Tam, Mindful First-YearTam, Mindful First-Year - Fire Score of 3.41

Jodah, and many of our other creatures, are multicolored. Tam provides tons of protection then, and can even feel like a two-mana Privileged PositionPrivileged Position at times. It's neat that she's got a Mother of RunesMother of Runes-esque protection ability built in, allowing us to protect a low-color creature in a high-stakes scenario.

The SeriemaThe Seriema - Fire Score of 1.45

This is a legendary spell that brings another legendary creature into our hand, while also providing some much-needed protection to our legendary creatures. That's a lot of legendary synergy!

But, more seriously, The Seriema is an on-rate legendary creature tutor that will also allow us to cascade into a one- or two-drop legendary spell from our deck. We really can't ask for more from a tutor.

Raph & Mikey, TroublemakersRaph & Mikey, Troublemakers - Fire Score of 1.38

Jodah's anthem lets us attack with impunity. That means that we'll be able to grab a legend with Raph & Mikey every single turn. Because most of the creatures in our 99 are legendary, we'll often flip into a creature that gets a benefit from Jodah's anthem too.

Because this creature has haste, we'll reap its benefits immediately. If we cast Raph & Mikey during our first main phase, we'll get a total of three legendary creatures on the field for just . That's a good rate for a curve-topper. This duo even has trample, allowing them to really take advantage of the power and toughness bump that our commander provides.

Mona Lisa, Science GeekMona Lisa, Science Geek - Fire Score of 1.35

Jodah provides a big anthem to legendary creatures, so Mona Lisa provides tons of mana! Mona Lisa is a better version of Circle of Dreams DruidCircle of Dreams Druid in this deck specifically, and she's a great inclusion for those looking to beef up their legend count.

What's Icy for Jodah Decks?

Chulane, Teller of TalesChulane, Teller of Tales - Ice Score of -1.45

Chulane does a bit of everything that we want. He'll keep our hand full while giving us progressively more mana to cast spells with, and even lets us return creatures to our hand should we need to protect them from harm (or just recast them for more value).

This creature does occupy the same spot on the mana curve as our commander, though, making it a tough sell. Our commander is even stronger than Chulane. So, this Human Druid's decline in popularity may be due to its mana cost.

Jhoira, Weatherlight CaptainJhoira, Weatherlight Captain - Ice Score of -1.44

Jhoira is a fantastic card draw engine, but costs a good bit of mana. Cheaper cards like Venat, Heart of HydaelynVenat, Heart of Hydaelyn are seeing heavy play in Jodah decks, as they provide utility beyond simply drawing cards.

Jhoira is still in tons of Jodah decks, but the small drop in popularity that it's seeing may be due to the rise of other card advantage engines.

Arvad the CursedArvad the Cursed - Ice Score of -1.34

This is not a good card. There are other anthems available that cost significantly less mana (Flowering of the White TreeFlowering of the White Tree) or cost the same amount of mana but have a much more significant effect (Unnatural GrowthUnnatural Growth).

I'm assuming that Arvad sees some play because he's a legendary creature, but there are just so many better options out there.

What's in a Jodah, the Unifier Deck?

Here's a Jodah deck with all of his hot cards and none of his cold cards:

Conclusion

Five-color commanders can often feel a bit samey. Sadly, Jodah may not be immune from that trend. He provides a nice power and toughness boost to our legends, and lets us "cascade" into more legends, but there's nothing particularly interesting about this card. It rewards us for playing the game the way we were already going to.

Do you play any rainbow commanders that break the mold and feel unique? If so, let me know in the comments below. Maybe we'll take a look at them in a future Fire and Ice...