<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://indusconcept.com/?ckattempt=1">Yongjae Choi</a></em></p>
<p>The exile zone is a zone with two purposes: permanent removal like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swords to Plowshares" href="#" target="_blank">Swords to Plowshares</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or a temporary holding zone, like when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murderous Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Murderous Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is on an Adventure.</p>
<p>Cards interact with the exile zone sparingly (and cards in said zone even less) but a new line of rules text came onto the scene five years ago: "whenever you play a card from exile." I want to dig into this design space, what made it possible, and how it’s evolved over time. How did we get from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karolina Dean, Runaway" href="#" target="_blank">Karolina Dean, Runaway</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prosper, Tome-Bound"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Karolina Dean, Runaway"></div></div>
<p>As I always say: there’s no time like the present to dig up the past.</p>
<h2>Laying the Groundwork</h2>
<p>Way back in 1995’s <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/ice"><em>Ice Age</em></a>, there was <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elkin Bottle" href="#" target="_blank">Elkin Bottle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a curious little artifact which let you pay <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to exile the top card of your library and let you play it until your next upkeep. It was an interesting twist on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jayemdae Tome" href="#" target="_blank">Jayemdae Tome</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (far from the only one).</p>
<p>This effect was used on a couple of blue cards, interestingly, before getting more or less shelved for almost 20 years. <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/m14"><em>Magic 2014</em></a> (released in 2013) would see a printing of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chandra, Pyromaster" href="#" target="_blank">Chandra, Pyromaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that would do this same style of draw effect as a 0-loyalty ability, except the card went away at the end of your turn instead of your next upkeep.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elkin Bottle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Three Wishes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chandra, Pyromaster|M14|132"></div></div>
<p>There are three names for this style of effect:</p>
<ul>
<li>“Bottling” cards, from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elkin Bottle" href="#" target="_blank">Elkin Bottle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li>"Chan-draw," a favorite of Gavin Verhey's</li>
<li>"Impulse" draw, coined by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Act on Impulse" href="#" target="_blank">Act on Impulse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p>Impulse draw has largely won out, and Wizards began experimenting with it more and more as a way to help red in a little-known format called Commander. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Commune with Lava" href="#" target="_blank">Commune with Lava</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/hooked-draconics-part-1-2015-03-16">was shouted out specifically</a> by Mark Rosewater as a card he made with this feedback and goal in mind. Rates got ironed out over time — it joined rummaging (discarding a card, then drawing a card) as a regular source of card flow for the color. Wizards would tweak timing on the mechanic occasionally, sometimes allowing players until the end of the current turn or until the end of their next.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prophetic Flamespeaker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Commune with Lava"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Light Up the Stage"></div></div>
<p>There’s one more little twist for red before we get to the "play from exile" mechanic, a stepping stone to mention. In <i><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/c21">Commander 2021</a>,</i> tied to Strixhaven, Lorehold had a “leaves the graveyard” theme built around recurring cards from one’s graveyard or exiling them for value. Neither red nor white does much graveyard work, so the precon stretched out to have an artifact theme — except for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Laelia, the Blade Reforged" href="#" target="_blank">Laelia, the Blade Reforged</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>She not only cared about cards being exiled from the graveyard to work with Lorehold, but also from your library to tie into red's impulse draw. She’s technically not the first commander to care about impulse draw, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant" href="#" target="_blank">Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> wasn’t exactly influential.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Osgir, the Reconstructor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Laelia, the Blade Reforged"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant"></div></div>
<p>Red is core to the story but far from the only part. Using exile as a temporary holding zone turned out to not just be good for holding your cards, but also your opponents', and thus, the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/theft">Theft</a> archetype was brewing.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grinning Totem" href="#" target="_blank">Grinning Totem</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ornate Kanzashi" href="#" target="_blank">Ornate Kanzashi</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> originated the effects as we might recognize them some twenty years ago, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Villainous Wealth" href="#" target="_blank">Villainous Wealth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was the big, splashy card that really put this style of play on WotC’s radar. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gonti, Lord of Luxury" href="#" target="_blank">Gonti, Lord of Luxury</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would solidify it as a core-black mechanic, although blue and red would get in on the action as an extension of the way they naturally tended to steal permanents from opponents.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gonti, Lord of Luxury"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dazzling Sphinx"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Etali, Primal Storm"></div></div>
<h2>The Portal Opens</h2>
<p>In July 2021, Magic released <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/afr"><em>Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms</em></a>. Amongst its various attempts to capture the feeling of dungeon-crawling and dragon-slaying was the use of Treasure to represent…well, treasure (as in the kind looted from dungeons or killing 20 dire rats in a basement).</p>
<p>This landed in the black-red draft archetype and would be tied into <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/planar-portal"><em>Planar Portal</em></a>, a Commander preconstructed deck of the same color combination. The face commander, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, had built-in impulse draw and provided Treasure for every card played from exile. The flavor is great: he's literally summoning his magic from an extraplanar being and therefore casting spells from "outside the game" (a.k.a. the original name of the exile zone). And thus, the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/exile">Exile</a> theme was born.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prosper, Tome-Bound"></div></div>
<p>Before this deck, there were no cards that cared specifically about playing from exile. Indeed, the deck only provided one other new card for the theme: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild-Magic Sorcerer" href="#" target="_blank">Wild-Magic Sorcerer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Most of the new cards seemed intended for <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/treasure">Treasure</a> decks (like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Hireling" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Hireling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reckless Endeavor" href="#" target="_blank">Reckless Endeavor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>). The back-up commander had a goad angle.</p>
<p>It’s hard to call a theme supported when it’s just the commander and one other card, but it was an iconic start. A year later, in June of 2022, the theme would get another injection in the form of <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/exit-from-exile"><em>Exit from Exile</em></a>, a precon from <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/clb"><em>Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate</em></a>. This red-green precon featured two new commanders that cared about the theme.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Passionate Archaeologist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Durnan of the Yawning Portal"></div></div>
<p>Green didn’t have the theft-into-exile effects like black (aforementioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Villainous Wealth" href="#" target="_blank">Villainous Wealth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> notwithstanding), so what synergies did it add? Let’s backtrack a little.</p>
<h2>Another Road Connects</h2>
<p>Impulse draw and theft were two of the biggest sources of cards cast from exile, but <em>Magic</em> has been making mechanics that naturally want to bottle a card before casting for more than twenty years. Here’s a brief list, with years included! Shoutout to <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/too-specific-top-10-path-from-exile">DougY’s article</a> for the reminder about madness and Battles.</p>
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">Madness, 2002</li>
<li aria-level="1">Suspend, 2006</li>
<li aria-level="1">Hideaway, 2007</li>
<li aria-level="1">Cascade, 2009</li>
<li aria-level="1">Rebound, 2010</li>
<li aria-level="1">Adventure, 2019</li>
<li aria-level="1">Foretell, 2021</li>
<li aria-level="1">Discover, 2023</li>
<li aria-level="1">Battle - Sieges, 2023</li>
<li aria-level="1">Plot, 2024</li>
<li aria-level="1">Airbend, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1">Prepared Spells, 2026</li>
</ol>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Terminal Agony"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nomads&#039; Assembly"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emeritus of Ideation"></div></div>
<p>There’s been quite the acceleration since 2019. Unlike impulse draw or theft, these mechanics are not limited to red or black, instead being found across all five colors. As a matter of fact, I specified that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was the first card to care about a card being played from exile, and that’s true when you care about specificity! But playing from somewhere other than your hand, well…</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vega, the Watcher"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mizzix, Replica Rider"></div></div>
<p>Vega and that “anywhere other than your hand” clause would tie together the forms of exile found outside of red and graveyard mechanics like flashback, retrace, aftermath, jump-start, and even disturb, if you’re so inclined</p>
<p>And yes, it would count casting from your library via <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panglacial Wurm" href="#" target="_blank">Panglacial Wurm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> if you want to make judges gnash their teeth. Or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Future Sight" href="#" target="_blank">Future Sight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects, if you’re normal.</p>
<p>This theme would grow over time, adding tools to the “cast from exile” theme as it picked up steam.</p>
<h2>Options Opening Up</h2>
<p>So first <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> came out, combining black’s theft with red’s impulse draw, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald" href="#" target="_blank">Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> used the myriad bottling mechanics like suspend and foretell that had shown up in green.</p>
<p>The following year, 2023, would be a real boom for the theme. <em>March of the Machine: Aftermath</em> produced two new commanders in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival" href="#" target="_blank">Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rocco, Street Chef" href="#" target="_blank">Rocco, Street Chef</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, ensuring players could find the ways white synergized with the exile theming as well. In addition, we got the <em>Doctor Who</em> commander decks, which officially gave a name to the “cast from anywhere other than your hand” theme: <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/paradox">Paradox</a>. Going forward, Paradox is largely an upgrade on <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/exile">Exile</a>, but it won't entirely replace it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Thirteenth Doctor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Iraxxa, Empress of Mars"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Osgood, Operation Double"></div></div>
<p>Moving forward, we would get more and more commanders that can put cards into exile before casting them, with <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/otj"><em>Outlaws of Thunder Junction</em></a> dishing out four on its own — <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rakdos, the Muscle" href="#" target="_blank">Rakdos, the Muscle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> being the most popular. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urianger Augurelt" href="#" target="_blank">Urianger Augurelt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would be the first commander with blue that cares about exile, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gwen Stacy" href="#" target="_blank">Gwen Stacy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the first with both blue and red, so players have at least one option for each non-red color while dealing with wacky exile shenanigans. Most recently, the <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/msh#commanders(msc)"><em>Marvel Super Heroes</em></a> set included Jumpstart packs with the Runaways as a theme, which cared about the Paradox text and gave us <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karolina Dean, Runaway" href="#" target="_blank">Karolina Dean, Runaway</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. In no time at all, the theme went from nonexistent to viable with a five-color commander option.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urianger Augurelt"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gwen Stacy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Karolina Dean, Runaway"></div></div>
<h2>End of the Road...For Now</h2>
<p>As of now, five years since <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, there are more than 10 commanders which care about casting spells from exile, at least 15 commanders that care about casting spells from anywhere other than your hand, and dozens of commanders that help you do one or the other.</p>
<p>This was built on quickly, using at least three precons, but I love how it also weaves in disparate mechanics from throughout <em>Magic</em> history. There are clever uses for it, like how <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire Lord Zuko" href="#" target="_blank">Fire Lord Zuko</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> ties in blinking effects to make white more relevant to the game plan while feeling thematically appropriate. There's also great flavor to be dug through, like the aforementioned "cast from outside" of Prosper, but also how Zuko and the Runaways used it to represent being exiles or on the run, or how <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Thirteenth Doctor" href="#" target="_blank">The Thirteenth Doctor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> used it to demonstrate clever tricks and quick thinking.</p>
<p>More than anything, the theme's sudden emergence and development shows how even after more than thirty years, this game has lots of exciting new tricks yet to be explored.</p>


The Exile Theme: Five Years Later

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wheel of Fortune" href="#" target="_blank">Wheel of Fortune</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=artist%3A%22Daniel+Gelon%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Gelon</a></em></p>
<p>Red is black's reckless other half in cEDH. Bursts of mana, card draw - impulse and otherwise - plus an eclectic blend of unique effects set red apart as the fastest color in cEDH.</p>
<p>Need one more turn to win? Red has you covered...at a price? What about a refreshed hand? Sure, but everyone else gets one, too. Games are won and lost at a razor's edge, and red treads that line with wild glee.</p>
<p>Here are the top five red cards for cEDH.</p>
<h2>#5 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deflecting Swat" href="#" target="_blank">Deflecting Swat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deflecting Swat"></div></div>
<p>First up on our list is red's premier piece of (usually) free interaction: Deflecting Swat.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Deflecting Swat is an instant that allows you to change the targets of target spell or ability. Additionally, you can cast Deflecting Swat without paying its mana cost if you control a commander.</p>
<p>It might not say "counter target counterspell" on it, but very often that's exactly what Deflecting Swat does. Thanks to a fun quirk of the rules, Deflecting Swat can be used to change the target of a counterspell (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fierce Guardianship" href="#" target="_blank">Fierce Guardianship</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, etc.) to Deflecting Swat itself.</p>
<p>So, while Deflecting Swat is resolving but still on the stack, it will change the target of the chosen counterspell, then Deflecting Swat will be put into a graveyard. Afterwards, when the counterspell tries to resolve, it won't see a valid target and as such will go straight to the graveyard, too.</p>
<p>Three mana is a tall ask in cEDH, but the absolute buffet of cheap red commanders makes this a much smaller concern. As long as Rograkh is in your colors, you know you're working with cheap spells.</p>
<h2>#4 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Final Fortune" href="#" target="_blank">Final Fortune</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Final Fortune"></div></div>
<p>Next up is cEDH's premier means of taking extra turns (well, outside of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tivit, Seller of Secrets" href="#" target="_blank">Tivit, Seller of Secrets</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), and that's Final Fortune.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Final Fortune is an instant that grants you an extra turn after this one. The cost? You lose the game at the beginning of that turn's end step. Simple, cheap, and oh so valuable.</p>
<p>Final Fortune is the perfect testament to just how much a single turn matters in cEDH. Plenty of games already end on the first turn; thanks to Final Fortune, games can also end on a player's second turn and still before anyone else has taken a turn (just watch a turbo deck cast Final Fortune on turn one in seat one and you'll see what I mean).</p>
<h2>#3 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wheel of Fortune" href="#" target="_blank">Wheel of Fortune</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wheel of Fortune"></div></div>
<p>At third place is the biggest "fair" burst of card draw in cEDH: Wheel of Fortune. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Timetwister" href="#" target="_blank">Timetwister</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> may be the most expensive wheel in the format, but Wheel of Fortune is the card that named this effect.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Wheel of Fortune is a sorcery that causes each player to discard their hands and draw seven new cards. So, what's the big deal, especially since you're the one spending mana to give your opponents cards?</p>
<p>First off, control over when you cast Wheel of Fortune is a power in and of itself. If a player has a hand greater than seven cards or has just cast a tutor, both of those are examples of excellent opportunities to capitalize on hand disruption.</p>
<p>Secondly, since you're the first person with access to those cards (the sorcery-speed ones, at least), then you'll be the first one to set up with the newfound resources.</p>
<p>Finally - part of the reason this is better than Timetwister - sometimes you just need to stock your graveyard. Whether it's to feed mayhem costs or enable <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Breach" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Breach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (more on that in a bit), there's plenty of reasons to use the graveyard.</p>
<h2>#2 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeska&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Jeska&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jeska&#039;s Will"></div></div>
<p>Next up is the second hallmark of red card advantage: impulse draw, brought to you by Jeska's Will.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Jeska's Will is a sorcery with two modes: you can either exile the top three cards of your library, with the option of casting those cards until end of turn, or you can add an amount of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> equal to the number of cards in target opponent's hand.</p>
<p>However, if you control a commander as you cast Jeska's Will, you can choose both modes.</p>
<p>First, just a brief reiteration - red is the color of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh" href="#" target="_blank">Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. When playing red, you probably have a cheap Commander, which means you'll probably choose both modes more often that not. Now that's a lot of value.</p>
<p>On their own, each mode of Jeska's Will is already potent across the course of the game. Jeska's Will usually adds between five and seven red mana, putting it close to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cabal Ritual" href="#" target="_blank">Cabal Ritual</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in terms of net-mana gain.</p>
<p>On the impulse draw front, don't underestimate the rate of three cards for three mana. It's not the best, but it's incredibly good considering the powerful flexibility this thing offers.</p>
<h2>#1 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Breach" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Breach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Underworld Breach"></div></div>
<p>Alrighty folks, here we are, the win condition to end all win conditions: Underworld Breach.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Underworld Breach is an enchantment with, among other things, a trigger to sacrifice it at the beginning of the end step. While it's around, however, cards in your graveyard have escape, and the escape cost is equal to that card's mana cost plus exile three cards from your graveyard.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yawgmoth&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Yawgmoth&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a broken card, and that spell doesn't let you recast the same spell multiple times (cards put into your graveyard while Yawgmoth's Will is in effect are exiled instead). Underworld Breach costs one mana fewer and, despite requiring that you have some cards to pitch to the escape cost, allows you to continuously feed your graveyard while the effect is active.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brain Freeze" href="#" target="_blank">Brain Freeze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grinding Station" href="#" target="_blank">Grinding Station</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wheel of Fortune" href="#" target="_blank">Wheel of Fortune</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; the list of cards that can accidentally wind up giving you an infinite combo with Underworld Breach is pretty absurdly long.</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>Red is the color of speed. Cheap spells, bursts of mana, flexible win conditions, and all sorts of wild card draw. When you see red in a cEDH pod, keep an eye out; it might not have the flash enablers of blue, or its counterspells, but it has its own ways to fight the stack battles and steal a turn from out of nowhere.</p>
<h3>More cEDH:</h3>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="xzJGYacD0a"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/whats-the-difference-between-commander-brackets-4-and-5/">What's the Difference Between Commander Brackets 4 and 5?</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="&#8220;What&#039;s the Difference Between Commander Brackets 4 and 5?&#8221; &#8212; EDHREC" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/whats-the-difference-between-commander-brackets-4-and-5/embed/#?secret=UaM88A4MTl#?secret=xzJGYacD0a" data-secret="xzJGYacD0a" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="WBWlG8lbzi"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/what-if-thassas-oracle-were-banned/">What if Thassa's Oracle Were Banned?</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="&#8220;What if Thassa&#039;s Oracle Were Banned?&#8221; &#8212; EDHREC" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/what-if-thassas-oracle-were-banned/embed/#?secret=Q01X9TO2tm#?secret=WBWlG8lbzi" data-secret="WBWlG8lbzi" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="yUM931p3fq"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-top-five-black-cards-for-cedh/">The Top Five Black Cards for cEDH</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="&#8220;The Top Five Black Cards for cEDH&#8221; &#8212; EDHREC" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-top-five-black-cards-for-cedh/embed/#?secret=K99NF2itxx#?secret=yUM931p3fq" data-secret="yUM931p3fq" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>


impulse draw

The Exile Theme: Five Years Later

The Top Five Red Cards for cEDH

Top 10 Outpost Sieges, Revisited

The Other Ability - Pia Nalaar, Consul of Madness

Too-Specific Top 10 - Full Impulse