Revisiting the Top Ten Commanders from Strixhaven

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lorehold, the Historian" href="#" target="_blank">Lorehold, the Historian</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/jsraphael?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joshua Raphael</a></em></p>
<p>Do you like playing big, splashy spells - the sort of game-ending upsets that could make a casual Commander player blush? Well then, do I have a commander for you - a creature that puts the words "Elder Dragon" back in Elder Dragon Highlander.</p>
<p>So, what is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lorehold, the Historian" href="#" target="_blank">Lorehold, the Historian</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and what can it do in cEDH? Let's take a look.</p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lorehold, the Historian" href="#" target="_blank">Lorehold, the Historian</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" 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 class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Lorehold is legendary 5/5 Elder Dragon creature with flying and haste that grants all instant and sorcery cards in your hand miracle <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. Additionally, at the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lorehold, the Historian"></div></div>
<p>So, first, a refresher on the <a href="https://mtg.wiki/page/Miracle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">miracle mechanic</a>. Miracle is an alternative cost, with the rules of the ability allowing you to cast the card with miracle for that special cost when you draw it if it's the first card you've drawn this turn. It doesn't matter <em>when</em> you draw it, and miracle bypasses normal timing restrictions. This means that you can cast a sorcery for its miracle cost on an opponent's upkeep if you drew it then and there, an important distinction that's going to matter for this deck a whole lot.</p>
<p>Moving back to Lorehold, this card does both of the things that any real miracle-powering engine needs to do: not only does it provide you with plenty of miracle spells to cast (in this case, literally granting the ability), but it also provides a guaranteed opportunity for the miracle cost to trigger on each and every turn.</p>
<p>All Lorehold asks is, can you make it to <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" 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 class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, and, once you do, what miraculous bombs are you going to cast?</p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lorehold, the Historian" href="#" target="_blank">Lorehold, the Historian</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<h3>Top Deck Setup</h3>
<p>First up, additional support.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scroll Rack"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Library of Leng"></div></div>
<p>Lorehold does an excellent job of allowing you to cast miracles when you draw them, and it gives you plenty of opportunities to draw cards, but - on its own - Lorehold can't guarantee that the cards you'll be drawing each turn are going to be meaningful. These three cards, meanwhile, all provide much more control over the card's you'll be drawing.</p>
<p>Both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scroll Rack" href="#" target="_blank">Scroll Rack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are staples of the many sixty-card constructed decks which have been built around the miracles mechanic over the years, and they'll each be performing a very similar role here. Sensei's Divining Top, for the low price of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, allows you to rearrange the top three cards of your library, providing both foresight and control over the order in which you draw cards.</p>
<p>Scroll Rack, meanwhile, allows you to take any cards already in your hand and put them back on top of your deck, setting up future miracles later down the line.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Library of Leng" href="#" target="_blank">Library of Leng</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, meanwhile, is a card wholly unique to Lorehold. 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>, this artifact lets you take any cards you discard and place them back on top of your deck. Thanks to this ability being a replacement effect, this means that Lorehold's triggered ability can be replaced with "put a card on top of your deck, then draw a card," which is awfully close to the same power of Scroll Rack.</p>
<h3>Splashy Spells</h3>
<p>These are the kind of mana values that would make an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ad Nauseam" href="#" target="_blank">Ad Nauseam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> player squirm.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Approach of the Second Sun"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rise of the Eldrazi"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soulfire Eruption"></div></div>
<p>When you have the option to cast 12-drops for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, why would you play anything else? These cards don't necessarily win the game the turn you cast them (save for your second go-around with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Approach of the Second Sun" href="#" target="_blank">Approach of the Second Sun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), but when you're able to cast them turn after turn for such a steep discount, they do readily add up to the kind of insurmountable value that will outclass the rest of the table.</p>
<h2>How Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lorehold, the Historian" href="#" target="_blank">Lorehold, the Historian</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Win?</h2>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Approach of the Second Sun" href="#" target="_blank">Approach of the Second Sun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Approach of the Second Sun"></div></div>
<p>This is the deck's main win condition that comes straight out of the miracle synergies: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Approach of the Second Sun" href="#" target="_blank">Approach of the Second Sun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Simply cast it once as a miracle, wait a few turns as you dig through your Lorehold rummage triggers, then cast it as a miracle again. That's a whole lot better than paying the <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-6" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> twice.</p>
<p>Plus, it can be paired with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scroll Rack" href="#" target="_blank">Scroll Rack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to speed up the game plan by at least a turn.</p>
<h3>Mono-Red Breach</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Underworld Breach"></div></div>
<p>Next up is a classic of any-and-every red deck, <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>, which can be paired with either <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <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> to churn through your deck, or <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> and any mana-neutral (or mana-positive) rock to similarly mill through your deck.</p>
<p>The Wheel package risks drawing your opponents into interaction (since they draw off of each Wheel), while the Grinding Station line provides for tighter margins as each instance of mill only churns through three cards.</p>
<p>Either way, you'll wind up in a position to close out the game by eventually finding the requisite cards to cast our next combo.</p>
<h3>Dualcaster Combo</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dualcaster Mage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Twinflame"></div></div>
<p>Another classic of red decks (particularly low-color red lists), the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dualcaster Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Dualcaster Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> combo works as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cast any <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Twinflame" href="#" target="_blank">Twinflame</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-esque card, targeting any creature. Suitable replacements for Twinflame include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heat Shimmer" href="#" target="_blank">Heat Shimmer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Molten Duplication" href="#" target="_blank">Molten Duplication</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as these instants/sorceries cards create temporary copies of a creature with haste.</li>
<li>Before Twinflame resolves, cast Dualcaster Mage. Once the Dualcaster resolves, have its enters trigger target the Twinflame, creating a copy of it.</li>
<li>Have the Twinflame copy target the newly-resolved Dualcaster Mage, then let the Twinflame resolve. Once it does, you'll get a new Dualcaster Mage copy with its own enters trigger. Have the enters trigger target the still-unresolved original Twinflame.</li>
<li>Rinse and repeat.</li>
</ol>
<p>All in all, this will end up with an arbitrarily large number of cloned Dualcaster Mages in play with haste, allowing you to close out the game through good ol' fashioned combat damage.</p>
<h2><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lorehold, the Historian" href="#" target="_blank">Lorehold, the Historian</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> cEDH Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Lorehold cEDH" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Lorehold, the Historian
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Deflecting Swat
*1 Desperate Ritual
*1 Enlightened Tutor
*1 Lavaball Trap
*1 Pyretic Ritual
*1 Pyroblast
*1 Pyrokinesis
*1 Red Elemental Blast
*1 Redirect Lightning
*1 Silence
*1 Swords to Plowshares
*1 Tibalt&#039;s Trickery
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Anzrag&#039;s Rampage
*1 Apex of Power
*1 Approach of the Second Sun
*1 Austere Command
*1 Brass&#039;s Bounty
*1 Calamity of Cinders
*1 Call Forth the Tempest
*1 Dance with Calamity
*1 Gamble
*1 Heat Shimmer
*1 Hit the Mother Lode
*1 Jeska&#039;s Will
*1 Molten Duplication
*1 Reforge the Soul
*1 Rise of the Eldrazi
*1 Rite of Flame
*1 Rousing Refrain
*1 Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation
*1 Soulfire Eruption
*1 Surge to Victory
*1 Twinflame
*1 Wheel of Fortune
*1 Wheel of Misfortune
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Basalt Monolith
*1 Chrome Mox
*1 Grim Monolith
*1 Grinding Station
*1 Library of Leng
*1 Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Mox Amber
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Mox Opal
*1 Scroll Rack
*1 Sensei&#039;s Divining Top
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Talisman of Conviction
*1 The One Ring
*1 Unwinding Clock
*1 Vexing Bauble
*1 Voltaic Key
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 &quot;Name Sticker&quot; Goblin
*1 Archivist of Oghma
*1 Drannith Magistrate
*1 Dualcaster Mage
*1 Esper Sentinel
*1 Goblin Engineer
*1 Grand Abolisher
*1 Hexing Squelcher
*1 Imperial Recruiter
*1 Ranger-Captain of Eos
*1 Recruiter of the Guard
*1 Simian Spirit Guide
*1 Tataru Taru
*1 Voice of Victory
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Smothering Tithe
*1 Underworld Breach
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Cavern of Souls
*1 City of Brass
*1 City of Traitors
*1 Command Tower
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
*1 Flooded Strand
*1 Mana Confluence
*1 Marsh Flats
*3 Mountain
*1 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
*2 Plains
*1 Plateau
*1 Sacred Foundry
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Spectator Seating
*1 Starting Town
*1 Sunbaked Canyon
*1 Urza&#039;s Saga
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>Despite not making a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-worth of mana every turn, Lorehold easily takes the cake for casting some of the highest mana-value spells in all of cEDH. If that sounds like an experiment worth testing, then give this deck a try!</p>


lorehold

Revisiting the Top Ten Commanders from Strixhaven

A cEDH Miracle, With Lorehold, the Historian

Miracles Every Turn With Lorehold, the Historian in Commander

Branching Out – Can You Build Boros Without Going Aggro?

Strixhaven Set Review - Lorehold and Red