<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaalia of the Vast|mh3|343" href="#" target="_blank">Kaalia of the Vast</a> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CLivia+Prima%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Livia Prima</a>
There's been a massive surge in popularity for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a> since her release last year. She currently holds an esteemed ranking as the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#6 most popular commander</a>. The question on the table: Will she breach into the Top 5? And, perhaps just as importantly, if so, when?
However, an obstacle stands in Y'shtola's way. She is an obstacle as old as Wizards of the Coast's support of the format. She's a major tour de force of the format at large. Her name? <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaalia of the Vast" href="#" target="_blank">Kaalia of the Vast</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prizefight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kaalia of the Vast"></div></div>
Ladies, gentlemen, neither, both, and everyone besides, the fight to claim the #5 spot on EDHREC's Most Popular Commanders list is just getting warmed up. Will this bout end up in Y'shtola, the challenger's, favor? Or will a mainstay of foundational Commander bring her to her knees? Let's look at some details.
<h2>The Reigning #5 Commander: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaalia of the Vast" href="#" target="_blank">Kaalia of the Vast</a></h2>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaalia of the Vast" href="#" target="_blank">Kaalia of the Vast</a> has been around since the summer of 2011. At that time, the format was young and had just gained product support from Wizards of the Coast. Kaalia was one of the initial five "face commanders" for the <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon#commander2011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commander 2011 precon products</a>. She led the <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/heavenly-inferno" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heavenly Inferno precon</a>, a relative hodgepodge of cards within the themes of Angels, Demons, and Dragons.
The current reigning #5 commander was the glue that held that deck together; without Kaalia, the deck would be a shambles altogether. Since her release, she's even had a retrain in <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaalia, Zenith Seeker" href="#" target="_blank">Kaalia, Zenith Seeker</a>, though that iteration of the character hasn't had nearly as much success.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kaalia, Zenith Seeker"></div></div>
Nowadays, Kaalia of the Vast commands <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/kaalia-of-the-vast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">32,449 decks on EDHREC</a>, and, as mentioned, is the #5 most popular commander on the site right now.
Unfortunately for the powerhouse, that may soon change.
<h2>The Challenger: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a></h2>
Notably, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a> only came out last summer, with the highly-acclaimed <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/fin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final Fantasy</a> set. Final Fantasy and its four preconstructed Commander decks were a testament to the growth and appeal of Magic: The Gathering on the whole, as well as the Commander format, to boot.
While Y'shtola led the <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/scions-spellcraft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scions &amp; Spellcraft Commander deck</a> representing Final Fantasy XIV, she, too, had an additional iteration in print, albeit in the main set. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola Rhul" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola Rhul</a> is not nearly as popular as Night's Blessed, much like how Zenith Chronicler lacks in that department as well, where Kaalia is concerned.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Y&#039;shtola Rhul"></div></div>
As of the time of writing, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed has <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/yshtola-nights-blessed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">30,214 decks on EDHREC</a>, and is soon to contest the rank of #5 Most Popular Commander on EDHREC.
<h2>Some Insights</h2>
The developers over here at EDHREC have come to an interesting insight. With the current trajectory and trending numbers, it seems that, indeed, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed will overtake Kaalia! In about 28 days, give or take a few, we can expect to see Y'shtola claim the #5 spot on our <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top Commanders</a> page.
Now, that's not a perfect estimation, and predictions have a chance of faltering. After all, it took a good many days for Sephiroth to <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/sephiroth-fabled-soldier-now-the-top-mono-black-commander" target="_blank" rel="noopener">take the mantle as the most popular mono-black commander</a> after I preemptively wrote about that happening. Time is funky, friends. But all that to say, it'll probably happen in about that span of time. When it does, I can't wait to cover any further ascension of the Night's Blessed.
And now, I'd like to open the floor to you, dear readers! I know we've been doting over Y'shtola and waxing poetic about how cool the commander is in various articles lately.
What I want to know from you is, where do you see <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/yshtola-nights-blessed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Y'shtola, Night's Blessed</a> ending up on the Most Popular Commanders list by the end of, say, June? How about the end of December 2026? Place your predictions in the comments below!

Will Y'shtola Break Into the Top 5 Most Popular Commanders?

<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Necrobloom" href="#" target="_blank">The Necrobloom</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/atar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Igor Krstic</a>
Magic: The Gathering's Commander format is going through a lot of metagame changes! There are a few shake-ups where trends are concerned, especially in the top-ranked commanders.
For instance, the topic of this article, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Necrobloom" href="#" target="_blank">The Necrobloom</a>, has recently overtaken the partnered pair of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit" href="#" target="_blank">Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sam, Loyal Attendant" href="#" target="_blank">Sam, Loyal Attendant</a>. This has caused The Necrobloom to become the #1 top-ranked <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/abzan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abzan</a> () commander in the format by popularity. This particular upswing may have some players curious about how it came to be. Fret not, and read on! We'll explain it below.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Necrobloom"></div></div>
<h2>The Necrobloom - A Popular Dredging Field</h2>
At first glance, The Necrobloom clearly acts as an extremely scary commander. It's a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Field of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Field of the Dead</a> and more, and that's just its landfall ability. Its second key feature gives lands in your graveyard dredge 2. That is a potentially overwhelming ability for opponents to contend with on its own. Together with the landfall ability it possesses, The Necrobloom becomes an almost instantaneous threat once it hits the field.
Anecdotally, when Modern Horizons 3 first came out, a friend of mine warned me that if either of two commanders was pitted against him from the set, he'd forfeit instantly. One was <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nadu, Winged Wisdom" href="#" target="_blank">Nadu, Winged Wisdom</a>, an obvious example that thankfully he no longer has to contend with. The other was The Necrobloom.
Many players in my local meta haven't really caught on to how powerful the big, stinky Plant really is. However, it seems likely that soon, it'll catch on like the meat-scented stench of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafflesia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rafflesia</a> to a housefly.
<h2>Concerning Hobbits</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sam, Loyal Attendant"></div></div>
As for the two Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth commanders that are getting left by the wayside in second place, they'll largely be fine. The Necrobloom has 21,308 decks to its name on EDHREC, which is formidable by and large. However, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit" href="#" target="_blank">Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sam, Loyal Attendant" href="#" target="_blank">Sam, Loyal Attendant</a> are actually not far behind it. With 21,211 decks and fewer than 100 decks standing between them and the Plant, they could potentially reclaim their Abzan throne.
<h2>Why That Could Be a Lie</h2>
...Or, of course, the Hobbits might never reclaim their throne. In all seriousness, there are a few factors that could potentially keep Frodo and Sam from getting their spot back from The Necrobloom. For one, the Plant is a newer card. This means that more people are likely brewing it compared to Frodo and Sam.
Furthermore, the Plant is more ubiquitous and versatile in what it can do. Frodo and Sam are kind of locked into Food decks right now. Sure, there are probably a few outliers in EDHREC's databases, but for the most part, this remains true. Meanwhile, The Necrobloom's land-matters theme is so widely utilized in each of its colors that it has a glut of options when building for it.
A third major factor as to why Frodo and Sam are built less today is the Universes Beyond scarcity factor. Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth was a Universes Beyond set. Prior to Final Fantasy, it was the biggest one. However, the tricky issue with Universes Beyond is that, as of right now, it has a licensing issue that creates a pseudo-Reserved List. My own thoughts about the Reserved List aside, this much is clear. So, as a result of this, Frodo and Sam are cards that are harder to obtain due to the scarcity the licensing issues present.
Add to this the fact that they're a partnered pair of cards, and now you have double the trouble.
So, from various perspectives, it's actually less about why The Necrobloom only just now overtook the Hobbits, and more about why the Hobbits were such an obstacle in the first place.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
Overall, this is an interesting case to examine for EDHREC. Over the course of the next month, it's also possible that a few other cards from 2025 will assume the mantle of being the most popular in their color identities. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teval, the Balanced Scale" href="#" target="_blank">Teval, the Balanced Scale</a>, for one, might overcome <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Wise Mothman" href="#" target="_blank">The Wise Mothman</a>, of which I could cite similar reasoning to Frodo and Sam. And <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hearthhull, the Worldseed" href="#" target="_blank">Hearthhull, the Worldseed</a> could soon follow Teval, to many players' surprise, getting past <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Korvold, Fae-Cursed King" href="#" target="_blank">Korvold, Fae-Cursed King</a>.
Is this a trend? Were black-green-plus commanders that much better in 2025? Or are people just now waking up to the idea that Golgari is just a great color core for Commander?
Let's talk about this, dear readers! What do you think about the above questions that I've posed? Sound off in the comments below!

mtgmh3

Will Y'shtola Break Into the Top 5 Most Popular Commanders?

The Necrobloom Is Now the Most Popular Abzan Commander