Call the Spirit DragonsCall the Spirit Dragons | Art by Liiga Smilshkalne

Winning the game. There are many ways to do it in Commander - some easier than others. Reducing a life total down to zero, having someone draw with an empty library, or stacking up ten poison counters on a player. While all of these options result in you winning the game, the outcome is more a matter of your opponent losing.

This is usually a trivial distinction - but not today. Today we're ranking every "You Win the Game" card by difficulty. To help organize the list of 34 cards legal in the Commander format, I'll be batching the cards into the following categories.

• Impossible
• Near Impossible
• Difficult
• Average
• Easy

So, how easy is it to truly "win the game?"

Impossible

The only two cards in the Impossible category are there because they don't work within the rules of the Commander format.

First up is the easiest one in Battle of WitsBattle of Wits. Outside of playing Claire D'Loon, Joy SculptorClaire D'Loon, Joy Sculptor in a Rule Zero game, there isn't a way to get your deck to reach the 200 cards needed to win the game.

Next up is Hedron AlignmentHedron Alignment. Another card beholden to the rules of the format, as you need four copies of it, or at least three, to win the game. Not to mention, you need a copy of each card in a different zone. Some have tried making this card work in Commander, but I've never heard of anyone achieving it.

Near Impossible

Near Impossible as a category is a bit awkward. This is mainly because, while for all but one of these cards you can actually perform the actions needed to win the game, they take so much setup, and you have to build your deck around this one effect, it often makes your deck worse. The first three in the Near Impossible section need to be built around even to have a chance of working.

Starting with Chance EncounterChance Encounter. While there're a few different ways to build coin flipping decks, winning ten coin flips is still very hard. The real problem with this and many cards is that you need to get back to your upkeep for the win-the-game trigger. So, unless you can flip a lot of coins, the end step before your turn, or have many spells to keep this card safe, winning will be a coin flip. Although proliferate effects will certainly help.

Not the typical alternate win condition for a Dragon deck - that's for later on the list - Call the Spirit DragonsCall the Spirit Dragons is probably playable in a Dragon deck just for the first line of text. The specific wording on the rest of the card raises some issues. Instead of being able to get an easy win by having out a single Dragon, such as The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon, you need to have a Dragon of each color. Some colors have fewer playable Dragons than the rest, making the ability to get five Dragons of a different color more challenging than just getting five Dragons.

Luck BobbleheadLuck Bobblehead is far and away the most difficult alternate win condition that is playable inside the rules of the Commander format. Without making copies, there are only seven Bobbleheads in the entire game. I'm not good enough at math to do the calculation, but I know the odds of rolling exactly seven sixes on a d6 are astronomical.

Happily Ever AfterHappily Ever After has three specific conditions to win the game. The first of having five colors among permanents you control is relatively simple, if you're playing a five color deck. Not so simple if you aren't. The next two conditions are a bit more difficult. Getting a greater-than starting life total is average at best, and many decks do this regularly. It's the six different permanent types that give us pause. While working, if they are on the battlefield or in the graveyard, it's nice; having to play enough different card types and find them all is a pain.

Twenty-Toed ToadTwenty-Toed Toad could be easy to win with, if it contributed to any part of its own alternate win condition. Twenty cards in hand or twenty counters on a creature that, at best, can contribute only half of the attack trigger makes winning with this Frog the opposite of a ribbiting good time.

TriskaidekaphileTriskaidekaphile has similar issues with not providing enough to help win. The biggest issue is that you need exactly thirteen cards in hand. So the mass card draw doesn't help as it normally would, and no max hand size only helps a little. The three toughness and no protection don't do this card any favors either.

Difficult

A bit easier and with a lot more white cards than categories above, we enter into the Difficult territory.

First up are Barren GloryBarren Glory and Near-Death ExperienceNear-Death Experience. Both cards are high in mana cost, require you to have one of something, and can utilize Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection to facilitate the win. Barren Glory wins have happened for a long time. Stick the card under something like Oblivion RingOblivion Ring then make your board disappear on the end step before your turn, and boom, you win.

Near-Death Experience needs you to stay alive until you take 39 damage or can pay 39 life. Both of these are hard, but can be planned around well enough that they fall outside the impossible range.

Test of EnduranceTest of Endurance falls near the cheaper end of the mana values when it comes to alternate win conditions, but needing 50 life at your upkeep is quite a lot. Keeping that high a life total with this card out means fending off a plethora of attacks from three other players if you want to get the win.

Speaking of fending off attacks, that is exactly what you must do to win with Azor's ElocutorsAzor's Elocutors. Five whole turns without taking any damage. No combat damage, no getting hit by a pinger, no Invisible StalkerInvisible Stalker sneaking in. While the game does introduce a few new cards to prevent you from taking combat damage every set or two, taking no damage of any kind is another story. As with Chance EncounterChance Encounter, proliferate effects are your friend, but only get you so far.

Central Elevator // Promising StairsCentral Elevator // Promising Stairs has one big drawback that a few of the other alternate win conditions feature: a lack of components. With the largest number of options, with 28 available, only needing eight Rooms should be easy enough. Sadly, aside from the Elevator side of this card, no other room has any actual synergies. Your best chance is to use Marina VendrellMarina Vendrell to find Rooms as fast as possible.

Celestial ConvergenceCelestial Convergence is both an alternate win condition and one of the few cards that can draw the game due to its effect. Unless you combine this card with something like SolemnitySolemnity or a Vampire HexmageVampire Hexmage, keeping the highest life total for seven full turns with the risk being a tied game is more than likely not worth the trouble.

This last card in the Difficult section could be argued to belong in the Average, or possibly even the Easy, section of the list. Gallifrey StandsGallifrey Stands luckily works with any Doctor-type creature in the game (changelings coun too). But without an above-average draw or access to creature type changing cards such as Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus a enchantment that needs you to keep 13 or more creatures around on the board might be harder than it looks even if it has a straighforward idea.

Average

Now we find ourselves in the Average tier: win conditions that you have more than likely seen in a game before, or that have somewhat trivial requirements for winning.

A few years ago, Halo FountainHalo Fountain would have been below average due to how hard it can be to keep fifteen creatures around. Getting fifteen creatures isn't bad if you play tokens, and the Fountain helps you out in that regard. The cost is what holds this card back the most.

Mortal CombatMortal Combat isn't just the name of a gaming franchise, but also an alternate win condition. Filling your deck with 20-plus creatures to make sure you can put enough in the graveyard is a challenge. Combining this card with either Iname, Death AspectIname, Death Aspect, or Morality ShiftMorality Shift eases the burden. But waiting for your upkeep does mean that one well-timed Bojuka BogBojuka Bog is your worst enemy.

Epic StruggleEpic Struggle is possibly not as epic a struggle as it first seems. Ideally, you would play this in a token deck, possibly with white added, but something like an Elf deck should be able to get 20 or more creatures onto the battlefield. Similar to Halo Fountain, the problem is keeping those creatures alive till your upkeep.

Next up is a pair of creatures with almost the same conditions to win the game: Knuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the Echidna and Hellkite TyrantHellkite Tyrant. Most opponents will have some amount of artifacts for you to steal, and the more you play yourself, the easier it will be to hit the 20 or 30 required, depending on the creature you play. Knuckles is cheaper to cast and comes with haste, but the Tyrant needs ten fewer artifacts to win.

Last up in the average category is a semi-recent unbanned card Coalition VictoryCoalition Victory. Hitting the creature of each color and land of each basic type is pretty trivial, believe it or not. Transguild CourierTransguild Courier can do handle "creature of every color" by itself, and with something like Prismatic OmenPrismatic Omen or Dryad of the Ilysian GroveDryad of the Ilysian Grove, the land requirement is just as simple. The mana cost is what holds this one back from being considered easy. Nothing easy about a spell that costs .

Easy

Last but not least, the Easy category. What makes these easy? The build-around and cost of inclusion are often pretty low, so they slot naturally into decks. Most importantly, they have the easiest conditions to win the game compared to those on the list above.

First up is a trio of blue cards that can all find themselves in the same deck. Jace, Wielder of MysteriesJace, Wielder of Mysteries, Laboratory ManiacLaboratory Maniac, and Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle all want the same thing: for you to have no cards in your library. Thassa's Oracle is the best of the trio as it's an enter the battlefield ability, meaning that removing it does nothing to stop you from winning the game. It's also part of a well-known combo that has ended countless games of cEDH.

I myself am partial to Laboratory Maniac ("Lab Man") as it's the original of the bunch. Just know that drawing your entire deck is not as hard as it seems when that is the one thing you're trying to do.

Mechanized ProductionMechanized Production might be the most misunderstood alternate win condition on the list. Most people don't want to use it as a win condition because it's too easy. Enchanting something like a Treasure, Food, or Clue token and getting eight or more copies will occur in any deck that even half focuses on creating these types of tokens.

Speaking of Treasure tokens, Revel in RichesRevel in Riches can also use them to win you the game. Ten of something seems to be the middle ground for "number of things needed to win the game." But ten Treasures is far too easy. One of the best parts is that you don't need to use the Treasures just from Revel in Riches. You can use ones you have lying around. Either way, this is one of the easiest alternate win conditions.

Here's another group of three cards that you may find all within the same 99. Helix PinnacleHelix Pinnacle and Simic AscendancySimic Ascendancy both love counters, albeit to far different numbers. When it comes to Helix Pinnacle, the cheap mana cost and the fact that it comes with shroud ensure that when built around, the 100 counters come quickly. Simic Ascendancy's ease comes from not needing to put counters on it directly. Every creature that gets one gives one, so playing a normal game plan is all that's required here.

Last up in the Simic () color pie is BiovisionaryBiovisionary. Every single set comes with at least one new clone or spell that makes a clone of a creature. As long as those cards don't keep their own name after copying Biovisionary, then every set makes this easier and easier to achieve.

Mayael's AriaMayael's Aria is another card that gets easier every year. Twenty power on a single creature can seem like a daunting task, but with creatures like Primeval ProtectorPrimeval Protector or Impervious GreatwurmImpervious Greatwurm getting most of the way there by themselves, a simple power boost can do the trick.

Felidar SovereignFelidar Sovereign used to be the boogeyman of the format long ago. A card certainly not designed with Commander in mind, needing 40 life on your upkee, is achieved at the start of the game. Sure, the Sovereign costs six mana, but with a 4/6 body paired with vigilance and lifelink getting to your starting life total is still pretty simple.

Last, and certainly not least, is the easiest alternate win condition in the entire game: Maze's EndMaze's End. With 23 Gates that can be used to help you win the game, and all of those being lands, winning with Maze's End means playing Magic: The Gathering. The strategy has gotten a tad harder with Golos, Tireless PilgrimGolos, Tireless Pilgrim out of the format, but commanders like Omo, Queen of VesuvaOmo, Queen of Vesuva and Nine-Fingers KeeneNine-Fingers Keene are picking up where Golos left off.

Wrap-Up

There are other cards we didn't discuss today because they don't say "You win the game," even if they effectively say that. Cards like The Millennium CalendarThe Millennium Calendar and Nicol Bolas, Dragon-GodNicol Bolas, Dragon-God. But we'll save those for another time.

What do you think is the easiest alternative way to win the game? What do you think is the most difficult? And what is your favorite way to win the game, alternative or not? Let me know. Hopefully, one day I can lose to you because of one of these cards.