Lathril, Blade of the ElvesLathril, Blade of the Elves | Art by Caroline Gariba

Time to Take Those Elves off Your Shelves

Yup. This week, we're looking into Elves as part of our Commander Makeover series. With a creature type so prevalent, I'm absolutely sure we can find cards within the past two years to give new life on perhaps the best Elf commander in existence (if not the most popular).

The premise surrounding our commander is simple, but I'm sure she's definitely feeling a tad behind in the power creep arms race. So, let's spice her up with new cards, shall we?

That said, looking at Lathril's EDHREC page, we have a lot of ground to cover, so I'll go through each option as much and quickly as I can.

Cauldron of EssenceCauldron of Essence

The drain won't be all that prevalent, but what will be is that activated ability. Too bad it's a once per turn deal (unless we have ways to untap it), but we can trade a token for something more worthwhile.

Emeritus of AbundanceEmeritus of Abundance

Auto-preparing on entry is nice, letting us have a RegrowthRegrowth on a pointy-eared body. What might not be is having eight or more lands to re-prepare it. I'm sure it won't be hard to get there, but a lot of ramp in Elf decks tends to be creatures, and land counts are typically lower than normal. But I'm sure this can work.

Topiary LecturerTopiary Lecturer

The latest in a lineage that includes Gyre SageGyre Sage and Incubation DruidIncubation Druid, our mileage will vary with this one. If our curve's too low to the ground, we won't get much mana out of this creature. That is, unless we put counters on the Lecturer via other means. Probably won't make the cut in my list if I built the deck.

High Perfect MorcantHigh Perfect Morcant

She's a nasty piece of work that'll stomp all over our opponents' creatures with her feet...I mean blight ability. Elves typically swarm the board easily, so -1/-1 counters will be flying everywhere. That's nothing to say to how easy it'll be to proliferate multiple times in one turn with Morcant's ability.

Morcant's LoyalistMorcant's Loyalist

An Elf with an anthem effect that can bring a fallen Elf back to our hand (not this one, obviously) isn't a bad rate. Combine with the above Cauldron of EssenceCauldron of Essence, and we got a recursion/drain engine going.

Champions of the PerfectChampions of the Perfect

Very much like Beast WhispererBeast Whisperer before it, this will draw a ton of cards in no time. The obvious target for the behold/champion ability is to exile a token, so you lose nothing of value. Then we're left with a 6/6 draw engine house that's four mana. A strong rate for sure.

Selfless SafewrightSelfless Safewright

On a very developed board state, this is a Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention for free. Also one that can easily be recurred to protect our Elves again and again. That said, this will not protect noncreatures unless they have the creature type of our choice (it's obviously Brushwagg). If we're not running this, Heroic, and Wrap in VigorWrap in Vigor, what on earth are we doing?

Eclipsed ElfEclipsed Elf

Very easy to cast, nets us a card to use (or ensure we make our land drops) on entry. It isn't much, but it's enough to make some kind of impact in the long run.

Formidable SpeakerFormidable Speaker

While the Fauna ShamanFauna Shaman-esque ability always comes in handy, what's even more impressive is the other ability. Want even more mana off of Elvish ArchdruidElvish Archdruid? Knock yourself out. Have at least 21 Elves, then tap Lathril, Blade of the ElvesLathril, Blade of the Elves twice? We may have killed an opponent or three. This creature's got some nifty uses for sure.

Virulent EmissaryVirulent Emissary

Let's face it: Our opponents will know what's up the moment we reveal our commander. They'll be racing to kick us out of the pod. Emissary allows us to stay in the game longer, especially with all the tokens we'll be making.

Trystan's CommandTrystan's Command

This is definitely a curve topper if I ever saw one. We can make a token of a crucial Elf, recur a couple of fallen creatures to cast again, remove some troublesome card, or be a finisher that untaps our board. We could tap our mana dorks for all that mana, then cast the Command to untap them, making our creatures into much stronger attackers.

Bloodline BiddingBloodline Bidding

A strict upgrade to Patriarch's BiddingPatriarch's Bidding, especially here. The ability to cast this card basically for free is a massive boon for go-wide decks, and Lathril, Blade of the ElvesLathril, Blade of the Elves is no exception. On top of that, the card only brings back our stuff, so we'll be left with a full board while opponents get nothing.

Chronicle of VictoryChronicle of Victory

I've covered the card at least several times in the past, but here is one of the decks where it'll truly shine. Suddenly, those Elves don't look like they'll snap like twigs, and each creature we cast gets us a card. All for a hefty six mana. Six mana well spent.

Morcant's EyesMorcant's Eyes

Getting to control our draw each turn is nice, and that activated ability ensures that we'll have a big board state in the late game. This will be one way to recreate an army after a well-timed board wipe.

Evendo, Waking HavenEvendo, Waking Haven

Getting this Planet fully stationed is easy, especially with anthem effects on board. For that, we get our Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle at home, which is still good. Even better that this takes up a land slot, so we can add another creature instead.

Dionus, Elvish ArchdruidDionus, Elvish Archdruid

Holy mother of Urza is this card busted here. Suddenly, all those mana dorks produce more mana, and get stronger. Had this been happening on everyone's turn, the deck would've been broken in half. Heck, Dionus would've usurped Lathril as the top Elf deck. Expect opponents to kill it on sight, so be prepared.

Eladamri, KorvecdalEladamri, Korvecdal

Chances are, we're running more creatures than any other card type, so casting those off the top of our deck is serious business. In a pinch, we can also use Eladamri's activated ability to get a creature out if we need it, but note that it can only be activated during our turns.

Tyvar, the PummelerTyvar, the Pummeler

A finisher that can also easily protect himself is a solid card. Considering how much mana we'll be producing, it'll be quite common to activate Tyvar's ability multiple times. He's no Ezuri, Renegade LeaderEzuri, Renegade Leader, but he's also the runner up for that slot. So, why not both?

Revitalizing RepastRevitalizing Repast

For a measly one mana, we can protect our commander or a key creature (like the aforementioned Dionus, Elvish ArchdruidDionus, Elvish Archdruid), and give it a small buff. In a pinch, we can play this card as a land instead. It's not like we're short of other options to protect our board.

Blasphemous EdictBlasphemous Edict

Unlike the past time(s) I've covered this card, it's actually easy to hit that thirteen-creature criterion with this deck. However, be careful when you cast this, because it'll set us back, too. Sacrificing thirteen creatures is no small matter. If we can afford to do so, great. If not, best wait until it's worth casting it.

Nature's RhythmNature's Rhythm

We can grab our most expensive Elves with this card. Or go low to the ground, but a crucial part to the elven machine. We can do this twice, too, if we tap a buffed token. Of course, we can always be boring and grab some finisher to close out the game (looking at you, Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth).

Banner of KinshipBanner of Kinship

With a well-developed board, this will get a lot of counters, and our creatures will get humongous. Perhaps we can win out of nowhere, or we can proliferate it with something like High Perfect MorcantHigh Perfect Morcant. Either way, it's certainly a card to watch out for.

Three Tree CityThree Tree City

As if Elves didn't need another way to make an absurd amount of mana. We'll want to have three Elves at the time of activation to get a net positive, and that's simple to do. In fact, we're likely to make double or even triple that number on average.

Brotherhood RegaliaBrotherhood Regalia

This card being among the recommendations will have a few players blinking, until they remember that Lathril, Blade of the ElvesLathril, Blade of the Elves has a damage trigger. That trigger dumps a number of Elves equal to the damage that Lathril will deal. So, if her menace ability isn't working, this card will do.

Patchwork BannerPatchwork Banner

The mana ability will be overshadowed by all the other ones we'll have, but that anthem can make a difference, especially with a full board. If we're building our commander on a budget, this could be one card to consider.

Disciple of FreyaliseDisciple of Freyalise

Like with an earlier card, we can play this as a land in a pinch, but it'll cost us three life to have it enter untapped. Otherwise, we're likely sacrificing a pumped up token to draw more cards and gain some life.

Back on the Shelf

Phew. That about covers all of those cards. Did you snag the new Secret Lair with Lathril and plan to build this sort of deck? Anyway, drop by next week when we revisit precons, but with a special twist.