<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stubborn Denial" href="#" target="_blank">Stubborn Denial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jamesrymanart/?hl=en">James Ryman</a></em></p>
<p>Every single year, more and more cards are added to the game. Some of those cards are brand new, and some are a card's second, third, or maybe even fifteenth printing: looking at you, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Giant Spider" href="#" target="_blank">Giant Spider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Sometimes, however, cards are printed only once for various reasons. Those reasons could be that they're on the <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=name&amp;q=%28game%3Apaper%29+is%3Areserved+prefer%3Abest&amp;utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reserved List</a> or maybe they are part of the "new Reserved List," a.k.a. a Universes Beyond set. Maybe they are just from a newer set, and there hasn't been a reason to reprint them yet.</p>
<p>What I want to know is: which ones are the best? So, to start my quest to find out whether there are actually hot singles in my area, I'm looking at the Top Ten Blue One-Drops with only a single printing, according to data from EDHREC. Not every card type will be on the list, and some colors will lend themselves better to a card type than others, as you might see below.</p>
<h2>Creature</h2>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="K-9, Mark I" href="#" target="_blank">K-9, Mark I</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="K-9, Mark I"></div></div>
<p>One of the best boys starts off the list with K-9. With a decent inclusion rate of just under a percent (<a href="https://edhrec.com/cards/k-9-mark-i">0.98%</a>) as a card, this Robot version of man's best friend is found comfortably at home in the likes of legendary decks like <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> (<a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/jodah-the-unifier">18%</a>) and Dog decks with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sophia, Dogged Detective" href="#" target="_blank">Sophia, Dogged Detective</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (71%). It offers solid protection with ward <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and the ability to make a legendary creature unblockable; for the only creature on the list, the card is quite good.</p>
<h2>Sorceries</h2>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enter the Enigma" href="#" target="_blank">Enter the Enigma</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Enter the Enigma"></div></div>
<p>In a long and prolific list of single blue-pip cards that give evasion and draw you a card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enter the Enigma" href="#" target="_blank">Enter the Enigma</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of them. For the cards in this series, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener">2.47%</a> inclusion rate is far above </span>average. Cards like this might be a dime a dozen, but that doesn't mean certain legends don't want as many as they can get. For example, a card many people have forgotten about is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lyse Hext" href="#" target="_blank">Lyse Hext</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from <em>Final Fantasy</em>. With a whopping <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/lyse-hext">64%</a> inclusion rate, you will want to do nothing but enter enigmas.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Splash Portal" href="#" target="_blank">Splash Portal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Splash Portal"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Splash Portal" href="#" target="_blank">Splash Portal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a downside of not being a protective blink spell due to being sorcery speed. What this card excels at, however, is being a value spell. It shines especially in a deck using Birds, Frogs, Otters, or Rats. This makes perfect sense for the commander it has the most play with, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clement, the Worrywort" href="#" target="_blank">Clement, the Worrywort</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Artful Dodge" href="#" target="_blank">Artful Dodge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Artful Dodge"></div></div>
<p>Did you know that blue loves to make things unblockable? It does it often and always. Even for a card dating back to <em>Dark Ascension</em>, the replayability of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Artful Dodge" href="#" target="_blank">Artful Dodge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows it to keep a solid play rate. A very cool card for blue decks that want to win with commander damage, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan" href="#" target="_blank">Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birthday Escape" href="#" target="_blank">Birthday Escape</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Birthday Escape"></div></div>
<p>I could look up all of the modes, or maybe they are levels for what happens when the ring tempts you. But as Bilbo did during his birthday, if I did, you would leave. We all know why this card would make the list, and it's for the three best words in the game: draw a card. Cheap blue card draw that many, many decks want to add to their 99. It's fitting, however, that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Retired Burglar" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Retired Burglar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> plays this card the most, with almost three-quarters of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/bilbo-retired-burglar">565 decks</a> running this card.</p>
<h2>Instants</h2>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stubborn Denial" href="#" target="_blank">Stubborn Denial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stubborn Denial"></div></div>
<p>Possibly the most underplayed card in the entire format right now. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stubborn Denial" href="#" target="_blank">Stubborn Denial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is sometimes just a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force Spike" href="#" target="_blank">Force Spike</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for noncreature spells. Other times it's the best counterspell a deck has ever seen. The card might be in <a href="https://edhrec.com/cards/stubborn-denial">103,000</a> decks, but to me that is still too low for a card that can take the wind out of the sails of most opponents for only a single <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magic Damper" href="#" target="_blank">Magic Damper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Magic Damper"></div></div>
<p>A bit of a twist on what looks suspiciously like a white spell. I'm genuinely surprised by this card's inclusion rate, all the way up at <a href="https://edhrec.com/cards/magic-damper">1.42%</a>. I see why you want it if you care about keeping a commander alive, but giving hexproof instead of indestructible, combined with the untap, just confuses me.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Octopus Form" href="#" target="_blank">Octopus Form</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Octopus Form"></div></div>
<p>They say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Well, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Octopus Form" href="#" target="_blank">Octopus Form</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a functional reprint of the card above it on this list. It has a slightly higher play rate, possibly because some players favor one IP over another, but more likely because this card has the Lesson subtype.</p>
<h2>Enchantments</h2>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fortune Teller&#039;s Talent" href="#" target="_blank">Fortune Teller&#039;s Talent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fortune Teller&#039;s Talent"></div></div>
<p>Truly the strangest card on this list for so many reasons. First and foremost, being a Class makes it strange at a base level. Second, the mana spent to level it up is more expensive for level 2 at <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-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, whereas level 2 to 3 is only <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-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. Players love cards that do an impression 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>, but having never seen this card in the wild or ever heard any talk about it, I was surprised when it showed up on the list.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unable to Scream" href="#" target="_blank">Unable to Scream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unable to Scream"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unable to Scream" href="#" target="_blank">Unable to Scream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a big player in formats outside of Commander. But it wouldn't be surprising to see this card hit a table across from me. Cards similar to this, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witness Protection" href="#" target="_blank">Witness Protection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ichthyomorphosis" href="#" target="_blank">Ichthyomorphosis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, are never the most impressive, and the slight variations they have depend on their respective limited formats.</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>The first entry in the blue-card section of this series was much more varied <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/whites-best-single-printing-one-drops-one-time-only">than the white one</a>. Surprisingly, only a single counterspell made the list; good job, player base. I would make a prediction for the next entry, black, but I was so wildly incorrect in assuming that this one would be dominated by counter magic that I'm a bit hesitant.</p>
<p>Regardless of what the following list looks like, what was your favorite from this one? Do you want to see another printing for Stubborn Denial? Did any card on this list surprise you? Let me know, and join me for the next entry and the rest of the series.</p>


one drops

Blue's Best Single-Printing One-Drops | One Time Only