Commander Showdown — Vona vs Ayli vs Karlov

Triple Showdown Back in June, I wrote Commander Showdown — Ayli vs Karlov, tackling the two lifegain-based Orzhov commanders, Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim and Karlov of the Ghost Council. Then Ixalan happened, throwing a new black-white lifegain commander into the mix. By now you're probably already familiar with her: it's Vona, Butcher of Magan. Yes, once again, […]

#axis of mortality, #ayli eternal pilgrim, #edh law of inertia, #exile, #karlov of the ghost council, #licia sanguine tribune, #lifegain, #orzhov, #precon effect, #reconnaissance, #repay in kind, #selenia dark angel, #vona butcher of magan Read More »

Historically Speaking — Silly Hats, Zero-Sum Games, and Lifelink!

Thanksgiving has creeped up upon us, stealthily, like a...stealthy thing. And so of course, instead of devolving into what the turkey meant in Mesoamerica (it was called the Chalchiuhtotolin, or jeweled bird, a favored animal of the Mexica trickster god Tezcatlipoca—oh damn there I go ahead willy-nilly) we will dive into a bit of game […]

#basilica screecher, #black, #Conquest, #extort, #lifelink, #orzhov, #vona butcher of magan, #white Read More »

EDH Political Science — Guns, Germs, and STEAL

Update 1/16/2022: Since the original publishing of this article, we have learned that Cortés' arrival in Mexico was probably not interpreted by the Aztecs as the return of the god Quetzlcoatl, as some were taught in school. The 'white gods' myth was likely invented by later generations due to various social and political pressures. We're […]

#axis of mortality, #black, #debtors knell, #evangelize, #new blood, #orzhov, #politics, #smallpox, #strategy, #swords to plowshers, #vona butcher of magan, #white Read More »

Partner Focus — Ravos, Soultender

Ravos, Soultender is an angel-in-training who is clearly too sexy for his shirt. Too Sexy for His Shirt Let's see what Ravos can do. Human Cleric If we like the tribal route, the pair of Ravos and Tymna the Weaver are currently the second favorite "commander" for cleric tribal, which doesn't stray far outside of white and […]

#black, #orzhov, #ravos soultender, #recursion, #tokens, #white Read More »

Commander Showdown — Ayli vs Karlov

The Great Divide If you browse the pages of EDHREC enough, you might notice a gap between the most-played and second-most-played commander in any given color identity. In Gruul, for example, Omnath, Locus of Rage has 1343 decks, while the next highest, Xenagos, God of Revels, has 909. In Azorius, the difference between Brago, King […]

#ayli eternal pilgrim, #black, #karlov of the ghost council, #life drain, #life gain, #lifegain, #orzhov, #white Read More »

Partner Focus — Kraum, Ludevic's Opus

Just for fun, try going into an IKEA, buying a few things at random, then dumping all the parts in one pile and throwing away the instructions. See what you come up with, Ludevic-style. Kraum. Two heads. Three arms. Ten eyes? When it comes to body parts: waste not, want not. For starters, Kraum, Ludevic's Opus is […]

#black, #blue, #izzet, #kraum ludevic's opus, #ludevic necro-alchemist, #orzhov, #partner, #ravos soultender, #red, #stitcher geralf, #white, #zombie Read More »

Partner Focus — Tymna the Weaver

Phyrexian Arena is a popular card. It's in over 23000 decks. That's 31% of all the decks that can play the color black. What if you could do that effect more than once per turn? That would be nifty. If you could do it seven times, then you would be Griselbrand and you would be banned from […]

#black, #dram, #extort, #melee, #myriad, #orzhov, #tymna the weaver, #white Read More »

Underdog's Corner — Selenia, Dark Angel

This article is Round 9 of the Underdog's Corner, a series spotlighting various lesser-used commanders and their place in the format. Each article makes the argument for a single commander that deserves more play, as well as highlighting key cards and synergies. Back in Black It's been too long, but I'm glad to be back! In this […]

#black, #casual, #extort, #life drain, #life gain, #life swap, #orzhov, #selenia dark angel, #underdog, #white Read More »

Intellectual Offering - Queen Marchesa

While the new commanders have started taking off, I don’t feel compelled right yet to make them an offering. With people becoming more and more aware of this wonderful site they’re also becoming better at building around new commanders as they come out. People have nailed the important stuff for Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, with […]

#approach of the second sun, #black, #boros, #boros charm, #conspiracy, #gideon of the trials, #marchesa's decree, #mardu, #oketra the true, #orzhov, #pillowfort, #queen marchesa, #rakdos, #red, #release the gremlins, #white Read More »

Singleton Guild Wheel — Daxos' Enchanted Edition

This article is part 6 of a 10 part series covering the Singleton Guild Wheel Project, a 10 deck project where there is only a single copy of any non-basic land among the 10 decks. Each deck uses the color combination of a different Ravnican guild. The methodology is introduced here and expanded upon each week […]

#combo, #daxos the returned, #enchantments, #orzhov, #prison Read More »