<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.ryanpancoast.com/">Ryan Pancoast</a></em></p>
<h2>Entering Valhalla</h2>
<p>In this week of <em>Commander Makeover</em>, where we take older commanders and add recent cards to their decks, I've decided to skip around a bit. I'm doing this because this series felt like it was becoming "Kindred Makeover," and that's not the point of the series. Anyway, today, we're taking on an infamous five-color commander from only a few years ago.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jodah, the Unifier"></div></div>
<p>There's surprisingly a number of ways to take <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Artifact creatures, a creature type with lots of legendary options (like <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/dragons">Dragons</a>), backgrounds. Even a version where every creature except Jodah has some form of partner. The point is that, as long as we've got a hefty number of legendary creatures, anything can be possible.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Arkenstone" href="#" target="_blank">The Arkenstone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Mind Stone" href="#" target="_blank">The Mind Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Arkenstone"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Mind Stone"></div></div>
<p>While we're technically weeks, if not months, off from their respective sets coming out, I'd figure I'd cover these two anyway. The Arkenstone allows us to grab a legendary creature, then becomes a minor anthem with an end step trigger letting us draw a card. More often than not, I could see this being played strictly for the tutor effect. The rest of the card is just icing on the cake.</p>
<p>As for The Mind Stone, a <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/blink">Blink</a> variant of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will definitely want this. Of course, if your name is Thanos, and you want to collect all the Infinity Stones, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Soul Stone" href="#" target="_blank">The Soul Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is right up your alley, too. That being said, The Mind Stone provides a niche effect, so running it will depend on our 99. Otherwise, it'll be interesting to see what <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/hob">The Hobbit</a> </em>brings to the table.</p>
<p>As for <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/msh"><em>Marvel Super Heroes</em></a>, there are so many new cards for Jodah I'm not going to even bother covering them all (that's an article by itself), so pick and choose your favorites!</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quandrix, the Proof" href="#" target="_blank">Quandrix, the Proof</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Quandrix, the Proof"></div></div>
<p>Potentially, the value we can get from this while our commander's out is absurd. Cascade on top of pseudo-cascade is nothing to sneeze at.</p>
<p>However, where Quandrix begins to falter is, in order to keep cascading, we'll need to pack more instants and sorceries to maintain that value train. Not only that, but they'll need to be at a high enough mana value to even make the cascade worth it.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tam, Mindful First-Year" href="#" target="_blank">Tam, Mindful First-Year</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tam, Mindful First-Year"></div></div>
<p>Her card is a strange one here, but it becomes clear why she's found a home in quite a few <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> decks. Having the ability to grant hexproof (at least to an extent) to our creatures is not too shabby.</p>
<p>Even Tam's tap ability ensures that the creature you target will be protected. That said, she's no <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heroic Intervention" href="#" target="_blank">Heroic Intervention</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so she will not save us from a board wipe. Still effective against targeted removal, though.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Seriema" href="#" target="_blank">The Seriema</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Seriema"></div></div>
<p>This card has a lot going for it. It tutors when it enters, and, when we station it to full, we get to protect our board. However, the catch is that The Seriema will only protect our other tapped creatures, so we're incentivized to swing out completely.</p>
<p>Good thing we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s buff to boost our combat confidence. Combined with the above card in the previous section, and we're mostly shields up. Note that The Seriema itself does not have indestructible, so it's liable to be blown up.</p>
<p>Anyway, who's ready for an entourage of <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/fin"><em>Final Fantasy</em></a> cards?</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Serah Farron" href="#" target="_blank">Serah Farron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Serah Farron"></div></div>
<p>She's frail, but make no mistake: Those abilities are really something. Serah will be incredibly easy to transform, and making our first legendary creature each turn easier to cast will matter.</p>
<p>Once she flips, she'll only be slightly harder to remove, but she'll grant an anthem on top of the cost reduction, making her a versatile card to run.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venat, Heart of Hydaelyn" href="#" target="_blank">Venat, Heart of Hydaelyn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Venat, Heart of Hydaelyn"></div></div>
<p>Like Serah above, Venat provides a lot of value. The double white will be annoying, let alone paying a whopping seven mana to blow up something. However, for what we're getting, it's worth it. The front half alone is good, giving us a card each turn (even better with flash).</p>
<p>The back half is expensive to get to, but we get the draw (albeit during a different phase), and the ability to protect an attacker with both a buff and temporary indestructible.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning, Army of One" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning, Army of One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lightning, Army of One"></div></div>
<p>While her sister, Serah, provides value and buffs, Lightning is on the front lines, devastating creatures and opponents in her wake with a plethora of keywords that make her a deadly attacker. That, on top of her main ability makes Lightning a terrifying threat.</p>
<p>Under <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s influence, she gets even more lethal. Her trigger is basically guaranteed, and any other creature swung at that opponent will receive a beating. Especially our own, considering that Lightning will hit first, triggering the ability, then regular combat damage applies, only doubled.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clive&#039;s Hideaway" href="#" target="_blank">Clive&#039;s Hideaway</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Clive&#039;s Hideaway"></div></div>
<p>I'll admit I was down on this card, but honestly? It's quite good here. It's easy to meet the requirements for casting the hideaway card. The Hideaway also takes up a land slot, which can impact colored sources, but not considerable enough to keep this off the chart.</p>
<p>On top of that, it's also a Town, so if our commander has a <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/towns">Town</a> subtheme, then this will be worthwhile still. It just has a very niche home, but, thankfully, here is one of them.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blitzball" href="#" target="_blank">Blitzball</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blitzball"></div></div>
<p>Don't let that common rarity fool you. I had included this in a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Squall, SeeD Mercenary" href="#" target="_blank">Squall, SeeD Mercenary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck (it used only <em>Final Fantasy</em> cards), and it did work. That criterion for the activated ability is easier to achieve than people think, because it counts any legendary creature that deals combat damage to an opponent, not just our own.</p>
<p>Recur it repeatedly, and that's a value train. The mana production is, like an earlier card, icing on the cake.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadpool, Trading Card" href="#" target="_blank">Deadpool, Trading Card</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deadpool, Trading Card"></div></div>
<p>With that set out of the way, we have ourselves an interim. Deadpool has a very unique ability, and the best part is that it gets around almost every form of protection. Also, if the owner of the Deadpool'd creature sacrifices it, everyone but said owner gets a card.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it can just be destroyed or exiled, and no one gets the draw. Regardless, it's still a worthwhile card. Perhaps with all of the legendary creatures coming out in the <em>Marvel</em> sets, maybe we get a reskin of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to give them a home?</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Havi, the All-Father" href="#" target="_blank">Havi, the All-Father</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Havi, the All-Father"></div></div>
<p>Turns out we have another parade of cards from one set. This time, it's <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/acr"><em>Assassin's Creed</em></a>! It's a much maligned set with lots of cool stuff, like Odin here. He'll very likely have indestructible much of the time, and the recursion ability makes his card a good consideration.</p>
<p>Also, Havi counts himself, so it's easy to get back a legendary utility piece. Writing this section, however, is also when I learned that he's a "Dreadmaw" creature (6/6 that costs six mana). Not that it matters much, but it's a neat little thing.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Basim Ibn Ishaq" href="#" target="_blank">Basim Ibn Ishaq</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Basim Ibn Ishaq"></div></div>
<p>He's cheap to cast, so it'd be useless to drop him for our commander's pseudo-cascade, but he's also got some nifty uses.</p>
<p>For each historic spell (legendary, artifact, and/or Saga) we cast, we get a card, and Basim can't be blocked, so he will get bigger with each hit. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes that buff largely useless, but an unblockable creature that hits like a truck will certainly scare some people.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Desynchronization" href="#" target="_blank">Desynchronization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Desynchronization"></div></div>
<p>Have you ever wanted to play <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but want to stay within Bracket 2? Or maybe you find Rift unfair? This card is for you! I've gushed about this card and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Spear of Leonidas" href="#" target="_blank">The Spear of Leonidas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in my <em>Beyond the Multiverse </em>series a fair few times, and it makes sense.</p>
<p>In this deck, Desynchronization is effectively a one-sided Cyclonic Rift with 100% less of the guilt, and for two mana cheaper. What's not to love?</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Excalibur, Sword of Eden" href="#" target="_blank">Excalibur, Sword of Eden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Excalibur, Sword of Eden"></div></div>
<p>A <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck with an <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/equipment">Equipment</a> subtheme will gain mileage with this card. Giving our commander double strike equipped with this will outright kill people. Not to mention, it's going to be very cheap to cast, and two mana to equip is nothing.</p>
<p>Besides Jodah, I'm sure there are some other creatures worth equipping this with. Maybe we want to make <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning, Army of One" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning, Army of One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> look a lot more murder-y.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass" href="#" target="_blank">Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass"></div></div>
<p>A specific case of <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> while also providing blue mana is not too shabby, especially when we save on a whole blue mana. Artifact variants will certainly enjoy this card.</p>
<p>That said, the best part is that we can see the top card, so we'll know what's coming when we cast a legendary spell while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is out.</p>
<h2>Inducted Into the Hall of Legends</h2>
<p>Like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> before him, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is flexible enough to host a myriad of different game plans. It's just the case of which one(s) appeals to you, the deckbuilder, the most.</p>
<p>In any case, tune in next time when we return to our <em>Precon</em> <em>Remastered</em> series with a new entry.</p>


Giving Jodah, the Unifier a Commander Makeover

<p>We didn't <em>plan </em>to have a Jodah Day here at EDHREC, it just kind of happened that way.</p>
<p>You probably noticed not one, but two other Jodah-related articles today, and those other Jodahrticles are excellent write-ups that take Jodah seriously and aren't a big goof. We could not go three-for-three on that front, unfortunately.</p>
<p>If you're a Jodahmaniac, you're eating good today. Consider the articles by Julia and Owain to be a dual main course (if there's two main courses, there is no main course - that's a reference maybe three of you will get), and this article is the dessert that sounded good when you ordered it, but now that it's on the table you're wondering why you make these masochistic dining decisions.</p>
<p>This is a Jodah deck that I cannot in good conscience recommend for you to play against friends/opponents who haven't watched the late 90s television hit <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretender_(TV_series)">The Pretender</a>. </em></p>
<h2>Jodah, the Pretender</h2>
<div id="attachment_188076" style="width: 376px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-188076" class="wp-image-188076" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735.jpg" alt="" width="366" height="350" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735.jpg 708w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735-300x287.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-188076" class="wp-caption-text"><strong><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Jodah, the Pretender</span></strong></p></div>
<p>You may have heard of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. He's the 17th-most popular commander across the entirety of EDHREC, he's credited with more than 30,000 decks, and he's second only to The Ur-Dragon as the most popular five-color commander. If you head over to the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/legends">"Legends Matter"</a> theme page, you'll see Jodah comfortably at No. 1, with around twice the number of decks with that theme tag as the next highest, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezio Auditore da Firenze" href="#" target="_blank">Ezio Auditore da Firenze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>But the Jodah of <em>this </em>deck isn't really that Jodah. Today, we're pronouncing "Jodah" as "Jarod."</p>
<h2>What is The Pretender?</h2>
<p><em>The Pretender </em>was a show that ran from 1996 to 2000. There were a couple of made-for-TV movies which extended the continuity. Basically, there was a guy named Jarod who was classified as a "Pretender," a kind of genius who could almost instantly learn everything about any profession.</p>
<p>"Are you a doctor?" the old woman asks. "I am today," answered Jarod.</p>
<p>When Jarod was a kid, he was stolen away by a shadowy organization called "The Centre" (yes, with the British English spelling for some reason, despite being based in Delaware), but he escaped, and loped around the country spending every episode in a new job.</p>
<p>It was very dumb. I loved it very much.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Pretender (1996) Opening" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uWJ6GjLVLHo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>At this point you may be wondering why, if I wanted to stay on-theme, I didn't build this deck around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mairsil, the Pretender" href="#" target="_blank">Mairsil, the Pretender</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It's got "Pretender" right there in the name. I don't have what some might call a <em>good </em>explanation for that, but rather a vibes-based one. Jarod was a good guy, and Mairsil is not a good guy. Jodah, for the most part, is a good guy. End of rebuttal.</p>
<p>If anything, Mairsil is a Mr. Lyle.</p>
<div id="attachment_188086" style="width: 690px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20.webp"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-188086" class="wp-image-188086 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20.webp" alt="" width="680" height="416" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20.webp 680w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20-300x184.webp 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-188086" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>This is Mr. Lyle. Look how evil he is.</strong></span></p></div>
<h2>Key Cards for Jodah, the Pretender</h2>
<p>Jarod was able to assume the role of any profession. Jodah, with the help of 29 Background enchantments, can do the same. Sometimes multiple times in a turn.</p>
<p>Backgrounds are legendary, and Jodah says that when we cast a legendary spell, we pseudo-cascade into another one of lesser mana value. So if each of our turns is an episode of the TV show, we might see Jodah become an Agent of the Iron Throne to save an innocent person, then next episode see him become a Guild Artisan to save an innocent person. Jarod saved a lot of innocent people, it was kind of his thing.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hardy Outlander"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Haunted One"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inspiring Leader"></div></div>
<p>That other ability of Jodah's, the legendary creature buff, isn't quite as relevant. Jarod on the show wasn't exactly known to assist other Pretenders. He was more of a lone wolf, if you will.</p>
<p>The other thing Jarod was really good at was using tools. He'd be able to pick up a welder, or a guitar, or the controls of a backhoe, and just go ham like he'd been doing it his whole life. So as you'll see, we've got an assortment of legendary tools for Jodah to use. Most of them are good.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bilbo&#039;s Ring"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bitterthorn, Nissa&#039;s Animus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blackblade Reforged"></div></div>
<p>Since Jarod was such a rascally chameleon, we want to somehow exemplify that in our card choices. At the same time, you might be wondering how we make use of the Backgrounds that require a certain creature type to really function. To solve both problems, we've got some changeling chicanery.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Springleaf Parade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Amoeboid Changeling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Maskwood Nexus"></div></div>
<p>In the TV show, Jarod didn't get his ability to blend in via the influence of a weird, amorphous blue blob with a face, but maybe it happened off-screen.</p>
<p>One other recurring bit in <em>The Pretender </em>was Jarod's fascination with "common" artifacts of the modern era. Remember, Jarod grew up in The Centre, isolated from the outside world. So, throughout the course of the show, he'd become enamored with stuff like ice cream and Silly Putty. Listen, it worked in the show, okay?</p>
<p>To represent that, we've got a few items that we as Commander players take for granted, but someone who was locked in a Commanderless, fringe-science, illegal holding facility might find them just delightful.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sol Ring"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arcane Signet"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Path to Exile"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Farseek"></div></div>
<h2>How Does Jodah, the Pretender Escape The Centre?</h2>
<p>Technically, if we want to stay true to canon, we have to win games by creating a big explosion we're not sure if Jarod/Jodah survives, since that's how the main series ends. Then there were the movies after that, reliant on the fact that yes, he <em>did </em>survive, but I mean who's got time to watch a bunch of movies?</p>
<p>In a Commander game of <em>Magic: The Gathering, </em>Jarod would probably win via some convoluted combo only he could recognize and assemble, but I'm not a Pretender. I'm just a guy. A guy with a dream, and an overactive sense of nostalgia for the late 90s.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caduceus, Staff of Hermes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Spear of Bashenga"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Andúril, Flame of the West"></div></div>
<p>Jodah will win some games via attacking with all his tools. Surprisingly, in goldfishing this list on <a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/24226807">Archidekt</a>, it wasn't that bad. It actually, you know, functioned. I set out to make a deck firmly in the Bracket 1 territory, but dare I say it might actually be able to hang with Bracket 2 adversaries?</p>
<p>There's a reason why Jodah, the Unifier is so popular. That reason is this: the card is nuts. I can cram 29 Backgrounds into a list, some of which straight-up don't do a damn thing on their own, and the deck still works, kinda. That's how good Jodah is.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Acolyte of Bahamut"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Criminal Past"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dungeon Delver"></div></div>
<p>Sure, most deck techs you read on EDHREC probably don't include a "you know, this deck is actually not <em>terrible</em>" passage, but there's a reason I don't write that many deck techs.</p>
<h2>The Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Jodah, the Pretender" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Jodah, the Unifier
[/Commander]
[Enchantment]
*1 Acolyte of Bahamut
*1 Agent of the Iron Throne
*1 Agent of the Shadow Thieves
*1 Candlekeep Sage
*1 Clan Crafter
*1 Cloakwood Hermit
*1 Criminal Past
*1 Cultist of the Absolute
*1 Dragon Cultist
*1 Dungeon Delver
*1 Far Traveler
*1 Feywild Visitor
*1 Flaming Fist
*1 Flowering of the White Tree
*1 Folk Hero
*1 Guild Artisan
*1 Hardy Outlander
*1 Haunted One
*1 Inspiring Leader
*1 Leyline of the Guildpact
*1 Master Chef
*1 Noble Heritage
*1 Passionate Archaeologist
*1 Popular Entertainer
*1 Raised by Giants
*1 Scion of Halaster
*1 Shameless Charlatan
*1 Springleaf Parade
*1 Starfield of Nyx
*1 Street Urchin
*1 Sword Coast Sailor
*1 Tavern Brawler
*1 Veteran Soldier
[/Enchantment]
[Artifact]
*1 Andúril, Flame of the West
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Bilbo&#039;s Ring
*1 Bitterthorn, Nissa&#039;s Animus
*1 Blackblade Reforged
*1 Caduceus, Staff of Hermes
*1 Chromatic Lantern
*1 Conformer Shuriken
*1 Drach&#039;Nyen
*1 Excalibur, Sword of Eden
*1 Hammer of Nazahn
*1 Maskwood Nexus
*1 Mithril Coat
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The Spear of Bashenga
[/Artifact]
[Creature]
*1 Absorbing Man
*1 Amoeboid Changeling
*1 Anikthea, Hand of Erebos
*1 Eutropia the Twice-Favored
*1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
*1 Reki, the History of Kamigawa
*1 Sanctum Weaver
*1 Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
*1 Wildsear, Scouring Maw
*1 Zur the Enchanter
[/Creature]
[Instant]
*1 Crib Swap
*1 Path to Exile
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*1 Dance of the Manse
*1 Farseek
*1 Urza&#039;s Ruinous Blast
[/Sorcery]
[Lands]
*1 Brushland
*1 Canopy Vista
*1 Cascading Cataracts
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Fabled Passage
*8 Forest
*5 Island
*3 Mountain
*8 Plains
*1 Plaza of Heroes
*3 Swamp
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Thank you for allowing me to indulge in this walk back into the 90s. If you're a <em>Magic </em>player of a certain age, it's likely you remember <em>The Pretender. </em>And, you probably remember it being a lot better than it actually was.</p>
<p>I'd love to hear a few things from you, in the comments: 1) do you play Bracket 1? and 2) do you want to read more Bracket 1 deck techs?</p>
<p>Let me know; I'm, as Dr. William Raines used to say, all ears.</p>


https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Untitled-July-09-2026-at-22.23.59.png

Building Jodah, the Unifier As Bracket 1 Backgrounds

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brainstorm|FCA|28" href="#" target="_blank">Brainstorm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihiko_Yoshida">Akihiko Yoshida</a></em></p>
<p>As Commander has become the default format for the majority of <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> players, and as we shift into a world where there's as many (if not more) <em>Universes Beyond</em> sets each year as those within, we face an unusual problem with <em>Magic</em> design: <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> is printing way too many legendary creature cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heroes&#039; Podium"></div></div>
<p>Anyone who's been a <em>Magic </em>player for more than a few months of the last few years will be all too familiar with the absolute glut of content coming out of the printers at the moment. Even the most entrenched and card-hungry <em>Magic </em>players can get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of releases we're now subjected to.</p>
<p>With more sets means more cards and, recently, way more commanders.</p>
<h2>The Numbers Don't Lie</h2>
<p>Take a look at <a href="https://tappedout.net/mtg-forum/general/too-many-legendary-creatures/">this thread</a> from the Tapped Out forums on the rising number of legends in Standard-legal sets. This was from April 2022, before the influx of <em>Universes Beyond</em> had really kicked off (The <em>Warhammer 40,000 </em>Commander precons would release later that year). Already the trend was very visible, with single sets having double the legends printed of those present in entire <em>blocks</em> of <em>Magic: The Gathering </em>past.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza&#039;s Ruinous Blast"></div></div>
<p>There were definitely outliers. The original <em>Kamigawa</em> block, for example, had legendary cards in the high 90s across its three sets. This though, of course, was a set specifically built around a legendary creature theme. Not dissimilar to the recently rotated out <em>Dominaria United</em> set, itself, saw over 40 legends in a single set that was once again built around legendary spells as a theme.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rith, Liberated Primeval"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ertai Resurrected"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sheoldred, the Apocalypse"></div></div>
<p>This was a trend that wasn't overly welcome to long-term players who aren't a big fan of change, but it was a trend that made sense.</p>
<p>Commander is now the premiere <em>Magic</em> format, and as the original forum poster observes, the introduction of Commander precons tied with each Standard release saw a big influx of legends per set to accommodate players whose main purchasing incentive for new sets was to pick a shiny new legend to lead their Commander deck.</p>
<h2>Here Come the Brands</h2>
<p>Earlier this year, the first ever Standard-legal <em>Universes Beyond</em> set released in <em>Final Fantasy</em>. It marked the most recent of many U-turns in <em>Wizards</em>' policy on how UB sets would be printed.</p>
<p>From Secret Lair exclusives with in-universe reprints to Commander-only products to straight to Modern sets to now being legal in every format there is save for hyper specific ones, like Pre-modern.</p>
<p>Now, let me just clarify that I'm not here to talk about the qualities of <em>Universes Beyond</em> sets in anything but a mechanical sense. Personally, I'm really not a fan of this new era of Fornite colab <em>MTG</em>. If you are a fan then I'm very happy for you and I'm glad you're getting to play with cool stuff that makes you happy.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vivi Ornitier"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloud, Midgar Mercenary"></div></div>
<p>But with UB sets now legal in effectively every format in the game, there's some mechanical problems inherent to their design that are worth talking about. The one we're focusing on today being the hyper inflation of legendary creatures in new set card pools.</p>
<p><em>Final Fantasy </em>is far and away the most legend-dense main set we've ever seen, with a whopping 99 legendary creatures in its main set according to <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=name&amp;q=%28type%3Acreature+type%3Alegendary%29+%28game%3Apaper%29+set%3Afin">Scryfall</a>. Not to mention that the set itself also brings with it another 101 legendary creatures via its Commander product and the <em>Through the Ages </em>bonus sheet (which, in fairness, are just reprints). Either way that's an unprecedented total of 200 different legendary creatures among the set.</p>
<h3>Character Dense = Legend Dense</h3>
<p>Whilst printing more legendary creatures has been something <em>Wizards</em> clearly and intentionally focused on in the last few years' worth of sets, doing the same in <em>Universes Beyond</em> sets isn't much of choice. When you're adapting something like <em>Final Fantasy</em> into a <em>Magic</em> set, there's a hell of a lot of characters to fit into one set of cards. The franchise has been around for decades and every entry in the series has its die-hard fanbase.</p>
<p>And with a lot of these tie-ins you'll face a similar problem. One of the big selling points of <em>Universes Beyond</em> sets to those they target is owning their favorite characters on <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> cards. A lot of the upcoming and potential settings won't have much in the way source material that isn't named characters. It's why we've already been spoiled about fifteen different versions of <em>Spider-Man</em> in the upcoming set.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Guy in the Chair"></div></div>
<p>Outside of the webslinger and his many named villains and sidekicks, what other creature cards can you really make? Generic goon #5? Dude who steals an old lady's purse? Or as we've already seen spoiled, the incredibly exciting "<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guy in the Chair" href="#" target="_blank">Guy in the Chair</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>"</p>
<h2>Okay, So Why is That a Problem?</h2>
<p>But who cares, right? So we've got a lot of legendary creatures coming out in newer sets. What actual effect does that have on gameplay? You might not think it would do much, but unfortunately there are problems that arise in <em>Magic</em> design when the legend count is too high.</p>
<p>Let's delve into them:</p>
<h2>A glut of Useless Legends</h2>
<p>First of all, when you get a lot of named characters in a set, you have a lot of legendary creature designs to go around, and realistically, not every legend is going to get the same amount of love. If every <em>Final Fantasy</em> legendary creature was as broken as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vivi Ornitier" href="#" target="_blank">Vivi</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the set might have broken every format in existence. There are just some characters that'll have pretty mundane abilities.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Basri, Tomorrow&#039;s Champion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Syr Armont, the Redeemer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="G&#039;raha Tia"></div></div>
<p>And we've seen a huge influx of these in <em>Magic</em> sets in general. Legends that only see about five people building them as a commander and don't see play outside of draft environments. They don't exist as legendary creatures because the designers thought they were super powerful chase cards but simply because they are named characters.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sokka, Wolf Cove&#039;s Protector"></div></div>
<p>Take a look at this <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sokka, Wolf Cove&#039;s Protector" href="#" target="_blank">Sokka</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> card from the upcoming <em>Avatar</em> set. Who is this for? What purpose is there for this card being legendary? Who wants to play with this other than as a meme?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Byrke, Long Ear of the Law"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bria, Riptide Rogue"></div></div>
<p>I'm not sure where this card is from as the set symbol doesn't seem to belong to the main <em>Avatar</em> product line, so I'll cede that it's likely from some kind of teaching product, like a welcome deck. But take a look at the legends from the <em>Bloomburrow </em>starter decks above. At least they seemed to actually warrant their legendary status. This is just a card with someone's name on it.</p>
<h2>Legends Don't Matter, But...</h2>
<p>Whilst <em>Final Fantasy </em>was the most legend-filled set of all time, weirdly, it wasn't a set that actually cared about legends all that much. There were some cards that specifically called out legendary cards in their rules text, but from what I can tell, there were only about six of them.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Venat, Heart of Hydaelyn"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Serah Farron"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Clive&#039;s Hideaway"></div></div>
<p>That's out of about 300 cards in the set itself, and the above examples are all rare. I wouldn't call that a "legends matter" set. Compare it to UB sibling <em>The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, </em>which had a good selection of cards at all rarities that cared about players leaning into a predominantly legendary creature base, and it was a set that had slightly fewer legendary creatures overall.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gandalf the White"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ringsight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nasty End"></div></div>
<p>But you can sympathize with <em>Magic's</em> designers here. You can't just have every single UB set be a legends matter set. Instead, we end up with a few token legends matter cards in the pool and predominantly a load of legendary creatures that are only legends because they're named in their source property.</p>
<h2>..."Legends Matter" Even More</h2>
<p>But I do think this will lead to a problem for Commander deckbuilders. When this many legendary creatures are in each set's card pool, more and more generic abilities and card archetypes end up being given a legendary frame.</p>
<p>Anyone who's been on the receiving end of a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck knows that legends-focused strategies can be intensely strong in Commander, a format where the main drawback of a creature being legendary doesn't actually exist due to it being singleton anyway.</p>
<p>Legendary as a supertype is supposed to be a balancer. You get a card that punches above its weight, but you can only have one copy at a time. In Commander, they just punch above their weight. But you also have access to a nice big pool of cards that generically reward you for having your creatures be legendary.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heroes&#039; Podium"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plaza of Heroes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Relic of Legends"></div></div>
<p>So my question is: if there's soon to be a legendary version of every card in the game, why shouldn't you just play the legendary ones and reap the rewards of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heroes&#039; Podium" href="#" target="_blank">Heroes&#039; Podium</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Legends" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Legends</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? Why not just replace a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hinterland Sanctifier" href="#" target="_blank">Hinterland Sanctifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aunt May" href="#" target="_blank">Aunt May</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>?</p>
<h2>Effect on 60-Card Formats</h2>
<p>Bear in mind that this is just Commander and the effects it'll have on <em>Magic</em>'s biggest formats. We've not even spoken about the 60-card formats, like the aforementioned Standard. What effects will an overwhelming number of legendary cards have on a format that can play up to four of each?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Barktooth Warbeard"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jerrard of the Closed Fist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skoa, Embermage"></div></div>
<p>Weird things are happening to my beloved format of Pauper, a place where legendary creatures were effectively nonexistent save for some truly awful old cards and one more modern example from <em>Modern Horizons 3</em>. In a format where legends aren't played, the king of removal is a two-mana black instant whose downside might as well not be printed on the card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cast Down" href="#" target="_blank">Cast Down</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cast Down"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spider-Man, Web-Slinger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spider-Man, Brooklyn Visionary"></div></div>
<p>But with <em>Spider-Man</em>, we're starting to see legendary creatures rear their heads even there. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spider-Man, Web-Slinger" href="#" target="_blank">Spider-Man, Web-Slinger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> could be Pauper-playable for aggro decks that might want to replay a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thraben Inspector" href="#" target="_blank">Thraben Inspector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for the extra Clue. Does this set a precedent for sets to come? Is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cast Down" href="#" target="_blank">Cast Down</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> about to become a whole lot worse just because <em>Wizards</em> needed more room to cram more named characters in?</p>
<h3>More UB Legends Means Less <em>Magic</em> Legends</h3>
<p>For those with an attachment to <em>Magic</em>'s original worlds, we're also going to see less named, in-universe characters feature in the spotlight as well. The most recent set, <em>Edge of Eternities, </em>despite being a brand new setting we're to introduce ourselves to, saw a far lower number of legendary creatures. There were just 15 in total.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/rosewater.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-162978" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/rosewater-300x79.png" alt="A screenshot from Mark Rosewater's blog in which he confirms that in universe sets will get less legends to accommodate the increased numbers from Universes Beyond sets. " width="300" height="79" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/rosewater-300x79.png 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/rosewater.png 619w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p>
<p>And this wasn't a mistake. <em>Wizards</em> is aware that the overwhelming increase in legendary creatures could be bad for <em>Magic</em> as a whole. As a result, they've effectively trimmed the amount that are allowed to be released with in-universe sets. As confirmed by Mark Rosewater, this is an exercise in bringing the total legends per year count down.</p>
<p>If you're a fan of getting new legends per set, then I hope you like whatever brand <em>Magic</em> decides to cross over with! Because that'll be the vast majority of the options you have to pick from.</p>
<p>It's good to know that <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> has some of the issues here on their radar, but it hurts to see that <em>Magic's</em> original IP is once again the one that'll have to suffer for UB's overreach.</p>
<h2>A Legendary Future</h2>
<p>As we've seen from the massive success of <em>Universes Beyond</em> product, this problem isn't going anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of UB sets per year continues to rise. With that, we can only hope that <em>Wizards</em> shows restraint in their design decisions. Otherwise, the general power level of new cards may be on the rise once again, and <em>Magic</em> as we know it may be on course to become even more unrecognizable than ever before.</p>
<p></p>
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legendary matters

Giving Jodah, the Unifier a Commander Makeover

Building Jodah, the Unifier As Bracket 1 Backgrounds

There's Way Too Many Legendary Creatures in Recent Magic Sets

Building Two Legendary Matters Commander Decks