Riveteers AscendancyRiveteers Ascendancy | Art by Svetlin Velinov

Hey, everyone! Today I'm excited to bring you the top ten cards from one of my favorite sets of all time: Streets of New Capenna.

I think it's a pretty underrated set that appeals to me for a couple of reasons. First, it takes the three-color faction formula introduced in Shards of Alara and expanded in Khans of Tarkir, and reimagines it mechanically and creatively. The Obscura and Esper feel similar and many of their cards work well together, but they don't necessarily feel like they're cut from the exact same cloth.

Second, the plane of New Capenna is a great example of how Magic: The Gathering can push the boundaries of its worldbuilding and creative identity without having to dip into other intellectual properties through Universes Beyond. New Capenna feels much more contemporary or modern than, say, Alara, which leans much more heavily into MTG's classic fantasy tropes, but to me it still feels like Magic, not least because you've got Angels, Demons, and Dragons pulling strings and running the show.

I'm by no means a Universes Beyond detractor, by the way — don't forget to check out my last article on Baldur's Gate here — but I do love it when we get completely new planes in Magic's vast Multiverse. And now, let's dive right in!

10. Lethal SchemeLethal Scheme - 111,085 decks

This is just a really efficient removal spell that rewards you handsomely for playing a normal game of MTG. Having creatures on the board to convoke this doesn't just give you a big discount, you get card selection, +1/+1 counters, and you even get to fill your graveyard for that sweet, sweet synergy with Hashaton, Scarab's FistHashaton, Scarab's Fist or Admiral Brass, UnsinkableAdmiral Brass, Unsinkable! Fantastic card.

9. Topiary StomperTopiary Stomper - 121,288 decks

Look at him, he's so cute, and so efficient, too! Stomper is an excellent inclusion in Dinosaur Typal decks for multiple reasons. It ramps your mana, which helps you get to your commanders like Pantlaza, Sun-FavoredPantlaza, Sun-Favored and Gishath, Sun's AvatarGishath, Sun's Avatar sooner. Even if it doesn't get into combat until later in the game, the 4/4 body for just three mana works so well with Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger. Pantlaza makes casting this on turn five or six look pretty good, too, as you get a meaty discover trigger for cheap.

8. Damning VerdictDamning Verdict - 124,372 decks

Sweepers like Supreme VerdictSupreme Verdict and FarewellFarewell are already among the format's most powerful effects, and anything that can turn into a cheaper Plague WindPlague Wind deserves even more attention. The most obvious home for this is a dedicated +1/+1 counter theme deck led by Tidus, Yuna's GuardianTidus, Yuna's Guardian, Voja, Jaws of the ConclaveVoja, Jaws of the Conclave, or Shalai and HallarShalai and Hallar, just to name three examples, where you can aim to clear everyone's board but your own.

On the other hand, I'd venture to say that putting counters on stuff is one of Commander's most common game actions, but that's what makes card evaluation and selection fun: you pick the variants of cards that work the best in your deck while accepting that playing conditional cards like Damning Verdict carries risk. You'll be pretty sad when you draw this and your opponents are all playing the same deck as you, but more often than not it's going to be a fantastic rip.

7. Slip Out the BackSlip Out the Back - 132,479 decks

This family of effect — I'm talking one-mana protection spells like Dive DownDive Down, Shore UpShore Up, and Turn AsideTurn Aside — tends to travel in packs in decks that really, really want to keep their commander alive. Think about creatures like Kotis, the FangkeeperKotis, the Fangkeeper, Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier, and The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner, whose game plans can often hinge on whether they can deal combat damage with their leaders or keep them around long enough to snowball.

Slip even provides extra upside by saving its target not just from pinpoint removal, but from sweepers, too, as phasing something out is like pretending it doesn't exist until your next turn. It's a deceptively powerful spell that has probably contributed to a lot of surprise blowout wins in its time.

6. Ledger ShredderLedger Shredder - 162,835 decks

I'm a huge sucker for two-mana cards that enter the fray early and accumulate value: Suspicious StowawaySuspicious Stowaway and Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind immediately come to mind. Shredder can often be even better because it offers card selection while also doing a great Sprite DragonSprite Dragon impression. It's both setup card and threat, and coincidentally a decent target for Slip Out the Back in response to a removal spell.

Its versatility is also backed up by the most common decks you see it in: Hashaton, Scarab's Fist works extremely well with connive discarding powerful creature cards. Choco, Seeker of ParadiseChoco, Seeker of Paradise wants as many Birds as it can get its hands on, while Captain Howler, Sea ScourgeCaptain Howler, Sea Scourge needs a critical mass of discard spells without caring too much about what you actually bin.

5. Void RendVoid Rend - 173,685 decks

This was the most played Esper card when I featured that shard in a list last year, and its stock has only risen. Three mana is simply a reasonable price to pay for a flexible and somewhat inevitable answer to problem permanents. Being uncounterable is relevant upside in Commander, and Rend's power and play rate only serve to show how deceptively powerful Slip Out the Back and other cards that protect creatures without countering them are. Good luck saving your build-around enchantment, though, unless you've got a Heroic Intervention up your sleeve.

4. Professional Face-BreakerProfessional Face-Breaker - 433,111 decks

Aside from being one of my favorite card names of all time, this utility creature is so much more versatile and powerful than you might think. It offers you card advantage, it generates tokens, and it even adds to your artifact count. Decks ranging from Prosper, Tome-BoundProsper, Tome-Bound to Cloud, Ex-SOLDIERCloud, Ex-SOLDIER-powered Equipment builds to Vihaan, GoldwakerVihaan, Goldwaker Treasure piles all want this card. Crucially, you don't even need the Face-Breaker itself to get into combat to net you an advantage, which does make me want to call this a Fight-Avoider instead, but that just doesn't have the same aura to it.

The Treasure mechanic is a hell of a value generator overall, and to find out more about why, you can read my guide to that archetype here.

3. Common Fetch Lands

A three-color draft environment needs a lot of mana support to work properly, and we see that principle applied in Streets of New Capenna. The set came with not just one, but three land cycles, and that's part of what made the set such an enjoyable Limited experience for me. Commander players surely aren't complaining either, as they got their hands on a new kind of Evolving WildsEvolving Wilds that even gains life, which probably gives this cycle the edge over it and Terramorphic ExpanseTerramorphic Expanse in decks with three colors or fewer. There are decks like Hearthhull, the WorldseedHearthhull, the Worldseed and Tifa LockhartTifa Lockhart where you want a whole host of fetch land effects, though, so having access to a more of this type of card is only a good thing. This common cycle collectively finds itself in around 1 million EDHREC decks.

2. An Offer You Can't RefuseAn Offer You Can't Refuse - 1,215,854 decks

Aside from describing how it feels getting to write about Magic: The Gathering every week, this is also one of Commander's most powerful CounterspellCounterspells. Getting to deal with a game-winning artifact, enchantment, or spell for just one mana represents an almost-unbeatable return on investment (Force of NegationForce of Negation exists). The downside is real, sure, and it's usually worse than what Swan SongSwan Song grants, but it's certainly much more bearable in a multiplayer game, where you and your tablemates have a shared responsibility to deal with whatever the two free Treasures produce, than it would be in, say, 60-card Constructed or cEDH.

It's also the type of "spiky" card that players who run some of the most popular commanders in the format like to run, which is why you'll see this frequently in top decks like Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier, Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy, and Kefka, Court MageKefka, Court Mage. These decks also tend to get built to win with combos, which this is essentially built to support and protect.

1. Tri-Lands

There's not a ton more to say about this cycle of rare lands other than that they prop up the mana bases of some of the most widely played decks in the format, from color-hungry chart-topper The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon to three-color piles like Baylen, the HaymakerBaylen, the Haymaker. Cycling is a pretty big upside, too. In the late game when you have a ton of mana, turning three lands into a real spell can help save games or keep the pressure up when you're ahead.

Only a Fool Believes They Have Nothing Left to LearnOnly a Fool Believes They Have Nothing Left to Learn

My years of writing top ten articles have reinforced my grasp on some of Commander's most important deckbuilding principles, which you can certainly see at play in this list: lands are powerful and crucial, and utility cards are as important as splashy bombs and legendary creatures, if not more so. What's your favorite card from Streets of New Capenna that didn't make the list?