Satya, Aetherflux GeniusSatya, Aetherflux Genius | Art by Aaron Miller

One of the greatest rappers of our time once said "A hundred G's in my jeans, I'm a genius." Today's commander may not have $100,000, but he's unequivocally quite intelligent.

Welcome back 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! If you'd like a closer look at the math behind this series, feel free to take a look at this 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 into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Today, we're focusing on Satya, Aetherflux GeniusSatya, Aetherflux Genius, a Jeskai () commander from the Modern Horizons 3 commander precons. Satya led the Creative Energy deck in 2024, and currently sits as the 111th most popular commander on EDHREC!

Satya, Aetherflux GeniusSatya, Aetherflux Genius

What's Hot and What's Not for Satya, Aetherflux Genius?

For , this commander is a 3/5 Human Artificer with menace and haste. And, when he attacks, we create a temporary, tapped, and attacking copy of another creature we control. We also get , and can make that temporary token stick around beyond the end of our turn through a one time payment of equal to its mana cost.

Satya pilots want to create enough energy to maintain a board full of creature tokens. They want to load up their board with attractive targets for Satya's copying ability, creating token creatures that have powerful ETB effects. Among Satya's most popular cards are Guide of SoulsGuide of Souls (73% of lists), Amped RaptorAmped Raptor (64% of lists), and Angel of InventionAngel of Invention (26% of lists).

What's Fiery for Satya Decks?

Irma, Part-Time MutantIrma, Part-Time Mutant - Fire Score of 9.75

It seems that every deck is making use of Irma these days, and it's not hard to see why. She shaves off of the usual CloneClone cost while providing a way to skirt around the legend rule. As if that weren't enough, Irma also gains a +1/+1 counter every turn!

In this list, we'll often use Irma to make a second copy of our commander. If we do that we can create two more copies of Satya on the next turn, then four copies, then eight more. This may sound like some sort of multilevel marketing scheme, but it's actually a great game plan. If we've got a few Satyas on the field, we can end the game in just a few combat steps!

Even if we choose not to use Irma to copy our commander, we can use her to copy creatures like Goldspan DragonGoldspan Dragon or Professional Face-BreakerProfessional Face-Breaker!

Adept WatershaperAdept Watershaper - Fire Score of 4.59

For our purposes, this Merfolk is a better Bastion ProtectorBastion Protector. Adept Watershaper will protect our commander when it attacks, while also protecting whatever tokens we have come in tapped and attacking.

Despite having menace and a relatively big butt, attacking with Satya always presents some risk. Being able to shore up that weakness and preserve the token that our commander makes (at least until our end step) is sweet. This creature is a fantastic inclusion for Satya decks.

Kirol, Attentive First-YearKirol, Attentive First-Year - Fire Score of 3.48

Using Kirol to copy our commander's triggered ability is pretty sweet, as it'll net us a total of and two creature copies per turn! That means two copies of Skyclave ApparitionSkyclave Apparition, two copies of Silverquill LecturerSilverquill Lecturer or even two copies of Myr BattlesphereMyr Battlesphere! The possibilities are both endless and exciting.

It's also great that Kirol can hit the board a turn before Satya does, allowing us to set up well for our commander's inevitable arrival.

Riptide GearhulkRiptide Gearhulk - Fire Score of 3.48

This is a fantastic Oblivion RingOblivion Ring variant. This Construct gets rid of three opposing threats in a semi-permanent manner while serving as a potent attacker. A 2/5 with double strike is no joke!

Needless to say, this artifact creature is a fantastic target to copy with Satya. If we manage to make multiple copies of this creature, we can keep other players from developing any meaningful board state while also crashing in for some sizable chunks of damage each turn.

Exalted SunbornExalted Sunborn - Fire Score of 3.33

Token doublers are always fantastic, but this token doubler has two advantages over other options like Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession: 1) it's a creature and 2) it can be used temporarily for just .

Those points are particularly important in a Satya deck! We can warp in this creature, create two token copies of it with our commander, and begin stringing together some crazy turns from there. Plus, after all that goodness, we can recast this Angel Wizard again on a later turn for . We really can't ask for more from a single card, can we?

ReconnaissanceReconnaissance - Fire Score of 2.66

Much like Adept Watershaper, this enchantment is here to protect Satya and the creature tokens he creates. Reconnaissance can be cast for just , though, giving it a significant advantage over the Merfolk.

It's also neat that this enchantment allows us to see what our opponents' plans are for blocking before we decide to remove our creatures from combat. If we decide that we're comfortable making some trades, we can! This card's strength comes from its timing flexibility.

What's Icy for Satya Decks?

Synth EradicatorSynth Eradicator - Ice Score of -3.53

On its face, this Synth Soldier seems like a great card for our deck. It's a fine attacker that gives us a few per turn and gives us a chance to spend excess . We can even see an extra card per turn if we're willing to forgo some energy gains!

But, in practice, this creature isn't that good. Because it enters tapped and attacking, we won't get energy or a card off the top of our deck when we make a token copy of it with our commander. Then, because it's tapped, we can't use its ability to bolt things until next turn! There are just too many negatives dragging this 3/3 creature down, and it's not a great inclusion for Satya pilots.

FarewellFarewell - Ice Score of -3.49

Farewell is a classic board wipe, and arguably one of the best reset buttons in all of Commander. But, is it too broad-reaching? We've got access to some great recursion in this color identity. Hourglass of the LostHourglass of the Lost and Jolted AwakeJolted Awake are on-theme ways to bring cards back from the beyond, and they get shut off when we exile things instead of destroying them.

Plus, Farewell can be considered quite boring. Some folks don't want to play one Commander game for multiple hours, and I can't say I blame them.

Generous GiftGenerous Gift - Ice Score of -2.84

The blanket security that Generous Gift provides is nice. Being able to remove any problematic permanent at instant speed is pretty great! But, it costs to remove just one thing. For three mana, we could get rid of three things with Grasp of FateGrasp of Fate.We could get 99% of the same effect on a creature with Skyclave ApparitionSkyclave Apparition. And, if we're willing to spend one more mana, we could get a much better removal spell like Unexplained AbsenceUnexplained Absence.

There are just too many better options out there to justify playing Generous Gift in 2026!

Esper SentinelEsper Sentinel - Ice Score of -2.60

This card's decline is likely a result of it being "too good." Esper Sentinel is a fantastic card, no doubt, and can draw pilots upwards of a dozen cards over the course of a game. But it's got a reputation, and seeing it hit the board can turn opponents against us.

Playing a creature like this in a Bracket 3 environment is technically legal, but can cause eye-rolls and feel-bads. For some players, it's just not worth it. There are card advantage engines that fit more closely with our theme anyways.

What's in a Satya, Aetherflux Genius Deck?

Here's a Satya, Aetherflux Genius decklist with all of his Fiery cards included and all of his Icy cards excluded. This deck is, of course, heavily influenced by the Creative Energy precon that Satya led. But it's still interesting to see how the average list for this commander has changed over time.

Conclusion

All four of the precons from Modern Horizons 3 were interesting in their own way. Omo, Queen of VesuvaOmo, Queen of Vesuva's deck gave players an excuse to bring out their old Urza's lands, Disa the RestlessDisa the Restless brought 'Goyfs back into the fold, and Ulalek, Fused AtrocityUlalek, Fused Atrocity... well Ulalek is just a messed up card.

Mark Rosewater, Magic's head designer, has said that "The future of Modern Horizons sets has yet to be decided." These sets have an outsized impact on every format, and it's not immediately clear if they're a net positive for the health of our game. But, all that aside, Satya is a dope commander. Are there any other MH3 (or M3C) commanders you'd like to see analyzed in next week's Fire and Ice? Let me know in the comments below!

Read More: