<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sneak Attack|2xm|145" href="#" target="_blank">Sneak Attack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.tylerjacobsonart.com/">Tyler Jacobson</a></em></p>
<p>When I started <em>Magic</em>, I avoided attacking, like a lot of players. The more I played the more comfortable I became with finding good attacks. Then I played even longer and circled back around to what this article is about: I think attacking might be the hardest thing to optimize, build around efficiently, and protect against in Commander.</p>
<h2>The History of Combat</h2>
<p>I will focus on talking about the history of how combat evolved, unbiased and unblemished. We'll eventually break down the nuance and implications of these changes later on.</p>
<p>Combat in <em>Magic</em> is broken up into four distinct eras where a new ruling changed how we play the game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Power Fist"></div></div>
<h3>1993-1999</h3>
<p>In <em>Alpha</em>, combat didn't have its own step. There was a step called, "Main," where "You may do several things during the main phase. In no particular order:"</p>
<ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;">
<li>"You may put any one land from your hand into play. Mana from this land may be used during the current turn."</li>
<li>"You may make one attack against your rival with any or all of your creatures in play except those that came into play this turn. Newly summoned creatures cannot be used until the next turn."</li>
<li>"You may cast any spells in your hand, provided you have enough mana. You can cast spells before and after taking other actions."</li>
</ol>
<p>You can read more about the <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/original-magic-rulebook-2004-12-25"><em>Alpha</em> rules here</a>. So, there wasn't a distinction between Main Phase and the Combat Step. This changes in 1999.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deflecting Palm"></div></div>
<h3>1999-2009</h3>
<p>There were a lot of changes at the beginning of this era, but it mainly ironed out the formal structure of turns. The stack was introduced, the term interrupt was obsolete, and triggered abilities were a formal term.</p>
<p>Most importantly for this article, the Combat Step was its own step. They morphed Main into two Main Phases with Combat slotted in the middle. Effects that happened during Main—according to a card—now triggered in the first Main Phase.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Epic Confrontation"></div></div>
<h3>2010-2024</h3>
<p>This is the big one! The changes in this era were guided by the following concept: "We opened up everything about how we make <em>Magic </em>cards to scrutiny in an attempt to make... the game as a whole, more accessible."</p>
<p><a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/rules-changes-2009-06-10">The changes to Magic in 2010</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mulligans were simultaneous</li>
<li>Terminology was ironed out, like the difference between "cast" and "play"</li>
<li>Mana Pools would empty between phases as well as the end of the turn</li>
<li>Mana burn was eliminated</li>
<li>The owner of a token goes from being based on the person who created it to the person whose battlefield the card is on</li>
<li>Lifelink and Deathtouch were reimagined as static abilities</li>
<li>Combat damage no longer used the stack</li>
</ul>
<p>For the purposes on this article, we'll focus on Combat. The way damage worked before was if a player assigned lethal to a creature, a round of priority would happen to attempt to save a creature from dying.</p>
<p>This was eliminated. Static abilities or instant speed interaction needed to happen before the damage step.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Savage Punch"></div></div>
<h3>2024-Now</h3>
<p>I think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0SBOps-1Iw&amp;t=46s">Tolarian Community College</a> has a great video about this change, explaining it more clearly than <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/foundations-update-bulletin">the article</a>. I'll attempt to articulate as best I can the change.</p>
<p>Previously, attackers would assign the order of damage. Lethal damage had to be assigned to one creature to spill over any damage to the one next in order.</p>
<p>Now, "[they've] removed a complex concept known as "combat damage assignment order" from the game. This means that now, in the Combat damage step, an attacking creature's controller can divide that creature's combat damage as they choose among all the creatures blocking it."</p>
<p>So, you don't need to assign damage in any order or amount, and in terms of lethality. You just assign damage in the damage step any way you want.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aggravated Assault"></div></div>
<h2>What Does It Mean?</h2>
<p>What I've noticed about these changes is that in the past, attackers had very little advantage and the rules have changed to try to favor them more, balance things.</p>
<p>Even in 2024, I think the goal of the changes has likely been to streamline gameplay more than make it more fair, but ultimately attacking didn't have much support.</p>
<p>Maybe you don't agree with this? Let's hear a little more about the weaknesses of attacking from someone else.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Knight Watch"></div></div>
<h2>Gavin Verhey And Combat</h2>
<p>Before we can dissect the core of my argument about attacking, I want to point to someone who has kicked off my thinking on this: Gavin Verhey.</p>
<p>In an article titled, "<a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/cutting-through-combat-2016-07-21">Cutting through Combat</a>" from July of 2016, Verhey said, "Being the defender in a big combat inherently gives you an advantage." This is both just the tip of the iceberg and the looming wide depth of its base—at least for me the longer I dug into it.</p>
<p>I'm going to sort of interpret a bit more about Gavin's analysis:</p>
<ul>
<li>The person who attacks, the attacker, has to reveal some of their intentions and desire first before the blocker makes a decision. With the way the stack and many other elements of <em>Magic</em> work, reacting to something is always better than doing something first. It gives you more opportunity for an opponent to overextend resources and information and take advantage of that.</li>
<li>The defender gets to decide first what they're willing to take and give up. They get the <em>option</em> of damage or lost resources, which an attacker doesn't get to decide after the fact. And because of how the stack works, the blocker always gets to make the final say—if they have an answer—to blocking decisions.</li>
<li>And the last, most fundamental, thing Verhey mentions is blockers can tag team together to kill a powerful attacker, but an attacker can't tag team a powerful blocker.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Single Combat"></div></div>
<p>In synthesizing a lot of these things, I sort of understood why so many players are scared of attacking. It's hard to attack with advantage and <em>Magic</em> is all about doing the optimal and efficient thing to gain the most amount of advantage over your opponent.</p>
<p>Why do we even bother with attacking at all? Attacking is how we win Commander most of the time and typically the most common card type in a deck is a creature (or a permanent or spell that makes permanents that can go to combat).</p>
<p>It sounds so antithetical to how bad combat can be. Part of combat, from what I've seen, is in trying to <em>make</em> attacking good, when typically it's not.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pathbreaker Ibex" href="#" target="_blank">Pathbreaker Ibex</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moonshaker Cavalry" href="#" target="_blank">Moonshaker Cavalry</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akroma&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Akroma&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all cards that completely close out a game by the overwhelming power of attacking.</p>
<p>However, these cards make most of the typical weaknesses in attacking—or the strengths of being a blocker—not matter. They often eliminate players' ability to mitigate damage.</p>
<p>We play cards to make attacking good, but on its own it's not better than blocking. However, similar to the cards mentioned above, there are ways to make attacking good.</p>
<p>How do I substantiate my initial claim that this strategy is hard to build around, optimize, and play efficiently?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lethal Throwdown"></div></div>
<h2>Strategies That Laud Combat</h2>
<p>When I think about all the things you can do in Commander—or <em>Magic</em> in general—Combat is one of the most efficient strategies to meaningfully reduce chunks in life totals.</p>
<p>Creatures can hit for six, seven, or even 11. Quick bursts of damage add up, and that is typically the window in which Combat is least impeded, most powerful. No blockers or bad blockers are the best time to eke out advantage.</p>
<p>In Commander, there are 120 points of damage you have to get over, assuming there isn't an Exquisite Blood or a Lifegain strategy at the table. Pressuring one player with damage or bad blocks leaves you open to three other players to punish you.</p>
<p>Time isn't on your side either. Other decks, like less combat-heavy decks are slowly gaining their own advantage. Combo, Burn, and Aristocrat players aren't combat focused and likely will try to bide their time for explosive turns. These explosive turns might make your incremental amount of damage mean very little. It's the Aggro to stabilization point.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Viashino Sandstalker"></div></div>
<h3>Voltron</h3>
<p>I know you're all thinking about the archetype that is very heavily Combat focused: Voltron. Decks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloud, Midgar Mercenary" href="#" target="_blank">Cloud, Midgar Mercenary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tifa Lockhart" href="#" target="_blank">Tifa Lockhart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are very exceptional at combat. Commander damage is only 21, so only having to deal 63 damage is more viable.</p>
<p>However, how does this archetype stack up in preference and efficiency of winning? On <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/themes">EDHREC's Tag</a> page, the first Voltron strategy is in 12th position in terms of popularity. It is under Equipment decks with 66,190 decks at the writing of this article.</p>
<p>Now, about its efficiency. I don't have a statistic that succinctly gives an answer on the effectiveness of the Voltron strategy per se, but I do have anecdotal evidence. I've very rarely in Bracket 4, seen a Voltron deck sink a win.</p>
<p>They're very good at eliminating a player, but usually that's as far as they can get. Getting ganged up on as a Voltron player means death.</p>
<p>Usually you're all in on one silver bullet that is very vulnerable to removal. Combat, factoring in summoning sickness and the nature of removal as you change phases, can make these strategies stall out. The interaction points are too wide.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Battle Cry Goblin|j25|127"></div></div>
<p>I've found that it doesn't stack up to decks that win on turn five. How many combat strategies are even cEDH viable? CEDH being the pinnacle of how efficiently a player can win in Commander.</p>
<h3>Combat Centric Decks</h3>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire Lord Azula" href="#" target="_blank">Fire Lord Azula</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gwenom, Remorseless" href="#" target="_blank">Gwenom, Remorseless</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are slightly lower, less meta cEDH decks, but are very powerful. They struggle with the same weaknesses of combat. A <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snap" href="#" target="_blank">Snap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as you change phases is enough to turn off a whole turn with Gwenom or Azula.</p>
<p>And these are decks that don't even care about combat per se, but use Combat as a way to win the game another way. This feels like an indication of the weaknesses of building around combat.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cait, Cage Brawler"></div></div>
<p>I can't ignore the old MVP: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winota, Joiner of Forces" href="#" target="_blank">Winota, Joiner of Forces</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Winota is a cEDH viable enough deck using combat to win. A lot of Stax is involved too but with combos like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rionya, Fire Dancer" href="#" target="_blank">Rionya, Fire Dancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Combat Celebrant" href="#" target="_blank">Combat Celebrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for infinite combat phases and infinite creature tokens with haste, it does win.</p>
<p>However, currently in <a href="https://edhtop16.com/">EDHTop16</a>, Winota has an 18.54% conversion rate with 21 top cuts in the last 6 months. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus" href="#" target="_blank">Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>/<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a conversion rate of 23.85% and has 352 top cuts. I don't know if Winota is holding her own against the true meta of modern cEDH.</p>
<p>Winota might be the best deck to win through combat in Commander, but combat loses to combo at high level Commander. Are there any good enough benefits to attacking?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Close Encounter"></div></div>
<h2>Is Attacking The Worst Game Action in Commander?</h2>
<p>Yeah, maybe it seems crazy to suggest this. When thinking about all the game actions you can do: play a land, cast a spell/activate an ability, draw a card, attack, and block, they sort of have an hierarchy. Draw a card and play a land are at the top of the best things you can do.</p>
<p>Drawing cards allows you to take game actions and the more you draw the more options you get. Playing lands gives you the fuel to do that. Lands are the most protected permanent type and they're typically hard or at least controversial to remove from play.</p>
<p>Casting spells is how to implement the best things in the game. It's how you make attackers, counter spells, and generally interact with the game at all. It's how you win. Without casting spells, your cards in hand and lands you've played mean nothing.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Comeuppance|mar|1"></div></div>
<p>Then comes the only optional portion of the game: attacking and blocking. You can absolutely win a game of Commander without attacking or blocking once. I doubt you could do it without drawing a card, playing a land, or casting a spell.</p>
<p>Something being optional doesn't inherently mean it's bad, but it does mean it's superfluous. Optimization usually gets rid of the superfluous though. It brings into question if optional-ness here <em>is</em> bad. We've also mentioned that between attacking and blocking, attackers are at a disadvantage. So attacking...is it the worst?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elvish Fury"></div></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>I want to synthesize all the loose threads in this article. Historically, the history of combat has favored the blocker. Along with what Gavin Verhey has said, we can understand that the position in a combat interaction has an advantage; blockers typically having that advantage. Attacking might be the least necessary aspect of playing <em>Magic</em> to win, versus card draw and playing lands.</p>
<p>And in the world of the most powerful decks in Commander, cEDH has shown us how combat focused strategies—whether through damage or combo in the combat step—don't do well.</p>
<p>Attack triggers are reusable but at the cost of having to survive all the pitfalls and interaction points of combat. It's why Voltron struggles to win. Targeted removal just gets there.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jacob Frye"></div></div>
<p>With all of this combined, it makes me wonder if attacking might be the worst possible game action you can do in Commander. Not necessarily for all situations or against all decks, should it be something you avoid, but there are conceivably no worse game actions you can take. Those are my thoughts. What are yours? I'm <a href="https://linktr.ee/strixhavendropout">@strixhavendropout</a> on everything.</p>


The History of Combat and Why Attacking in Commander Sucks

Wizards of the Coast Commander Brackets Update for October 2025

Commander Bracket System Updates and Unbans - April 2025

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Max Speed" href="#" target="_blank">Max Speed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> token | art by <a href="https://linktr.ee/josiahcameron">Josiah "Jo" Cameron</a></h6>
<p>Starting off 2025 with more than a couple bangs, Wizards of the Coast is releasing one of their most ambitious sets yet. <em>Aetherdrft</em>, set code DFT, continues <em>Magic's</em> trend of dressing everyone up in the same goofy clothes and hats all bought from the same store.</p>
<p>But this time the setting truly matches the outfits as the goggles and suits are all needed for the multiplanar death race known as the Avishkar Grand Prix!</p>
<p>This death race (its only a death race if you die) sees us travel across Avishkar (Formerly Kaladesh) Amonkhet and Muraganda, a first for a set not about a war.</p>
<p>Racing across these planes are ten teams, each representing the 2-color pairs we all know and love.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wind-Scarred Crag"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swiftwater Cliffs"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rugged Highlands"></div></div>
<p>Now, because we're going through soo many locals as well as a Ravnica-sized set worth of factions, we're going to be introduced to more than a couple mechanics this time around.</p>
<p>So lets strap in and take a look at all of the special abilities we'll be seeing.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vnwxt, Verbose Host"></div></div>
<h2>START YOUR ENGINES!!!!</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Starting Column"></div></div>
<p>No good race has ever involved drives going anything less than Max speed! Which means we need to start our collective engines if we want to win this race.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Samut, the Driving Force|DFT|367"></div></div>
<p>Start your engines! is similar to the day-night mechanic from Innistrad, but don't worry, it won't involve every player needing to keep track of something soo tedious.</p>
<p>So to start (your engines) you play a card with Start your engines! and you pull out a reminder card to help you keep track of your speed.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Start Your Engines!"></div></div>
<p>You start at speed 1 no matter what and you increase in speed when an opponent loses life on your turn. Increasing your speed only happens once on your turn with a Maximum speed of 4.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Far Fortune, End Boss"></div></div>
<p>So lets analyze this. We automatically start at speed 1 as soon as a Start your engines! card enters (the battlefield).</p>
<p>We have a maximum speed of four and we can only increase our speed once a turn no matter how much damage we do.</p>
<p>The ability cannot be responded to, so once that card lands it's looking for the next time your foes change their life totals.</p>
<p>With that in mind, we can see the fastest we can reach max speed (more on that latter) is in three turns if we cause life lose the turn we start counting.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Impact Tremors"></div></div>
<h2>"I SAID START"</h2>
<p>We can cause life loss any number of ways, most often through combat damage cards with evasion or trample will almost always guarantee a speed boost.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Access Tunnel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hazoret, Godseeker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bestow Greatness"></div></div>
<p>Cards with triggered abilities on attack work just as well, but will still only increase your speed once regardless if the attack connects or not.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sanguine Syphoner"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="General Kreat, the Boltbringer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Far Fortune, End Boss"></div></div>
<p>Cards that punish your opponents for taking actions on your turn work twice as well now. Pay a ward coast or take my combat damage, the boost god cares not!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Razorkin Needlehead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Harsh Mentor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hearthborn Battler"></div></div>
<p>The fact that Start your engines! is not a respond-able ability means that your opps who were leaving their fetchland cracking for your turn will net you a free speed.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Muraganda Raceway"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Avishkar Raceway"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Amonkhet Raceway"></div></div>
<p>There has yet to be a card that effects your speed, so nothing short of "set your speed to 0" will stop your climb to Max speed. Speaking of...</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zahur, Glory&#039;s Past"></div></div>
<p>It would be wild if this guy won huh?</p>
<h2>Max speed</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Racers&#039; Scoreboard"></div></div>
<p>Max speed gives you some pay off for breaking the Speedforce! Max speed abilities are active only if you are at speed 4 and nothing before.</p>
<p>This is not a triggered nor activated ability unless it's tied to one. You get to speed 4 and boom, you just get access to these abilities, much like Ascend from the original Ixalan.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Radiant Destiny"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gastal Raider"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arch of Orazca"></div></div>
<p>Max speed abilities come in a couple different sizes from activated abilities or passive ones that are usually attached to a card that gives some sort of value up front, and then much better value later on.</p>
<p>While some cards are also just only good if you have the speed to unlock them, leaving you as a player with a ton of options to weigh if having to wait no less than three turns is worth it for these abilities.</p>
<p>The best part, however, is that you will always be at speed 4 once you reach it, even if there is no Max speed or Start your engines! card on the field, so you can stop counting once you reach it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mendicant Core, Guidelight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Burnout Bashtronaut"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Perilous Snare"></div></div>
<p>Exhaust</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Redshift, Rocketeer Chief"></div></div>
<p>"I AM SPEED" - this guy, probably</p>
<h2>Exhaust</h2>
<p>You see that red button? Don't press it, NEVER PRESS THE RED BUTT- oh, jeez, ok, well... now we're <em>exhausted</em>!</p>
<p>Much like in the movies, once you hit that red button, your car/space ship actives its booster engines and moves soo fast that things break off.</p>
<p>Things change and can never go back to normal... until you get a new car of course! This is the vibe for the new Exhaust mechanic from <em>Aetherdrift</em>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rocketeer Boostbuggy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rangers&#039; Aetherhive"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skyserpent Seeker"></div></div>
<p>You activate an Exhaust ability just like any other activated ability in the game. You pay the cost, put the ability on the stack or whatever, resolve it and boom you're done.</p>
<p>Like <strong>Done Done</strong>; because now you can never use that ability again for the rest of the game with that card. Exhaust activates once and as long as that card stays on the battlefield, you won't get access to it ever again.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elvish Refueler"></div></div>
<p>Unless?</p>
<p>This mechanic reminds me a lot of exert, a returning sub mechanic from <em>Amonkhet</em> where you basically keep a creature tapped for an additional turn in trade for a powerful ability. The only difference is that this lasts the whole game, not just the turn.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Basri, Tomorrow&#039;s Champion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Draconautics Engineer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boommobile"></div></div>
<p>The best way fans have stated as a way to get around this is to more or less flicker, bounce or in some way get the exhausted card off of the field for a second and then back into play.</p>
<p>Once you do that, since the card is now a new object, aka its not technically the same card that was once there, you are free to use its Exhaust ability again!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Displacer Kitten"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ephemerate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Into the Flood Maw"></div></div>
<p>Typical <em>Magic</em> players, the moment they try to give us just one limitation on a card everyone just wants to break through it.</p>
<p>Yet that is just the name of the game, and honestly I'm pretty sure Wizards knew that going into this.</p>
<p>All in all exhausted cards are a decent trick to try and make work, and even through the 'fake' limitation might have been broken through immediately, we still get to experience what looks like a character's ultimate move that leaves them winded afterward.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Winter, Cursed Rider"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sita Varma, Masked Racer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boommobile"></div></div>
<p>It will be fun to learn about more exhaust cards and it's interesting to see that there's a place for them to be pretty powerful since you're only going to use the ability once in most Standard cases. Unless you're specifically building a deck around the flicker mechanic.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Loot, the Pathfinder"></div></div>
<p>At least he can only use this once right?...right?</p>
<h2>Vehicles and Mounts, Mounts and Vehicles</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kolodin, Triumph Caster"></div></div>
<p>This card is peak actually</p>
<p>Vehicles and Mounts are back from <em>Kaladesh</em> (the set) and <em>Outlaws of Thunder Junction</em> respectively and they have never been more iconic than here in <em>Aetherdrift</em>.</p>
<p>The crews in this race need some way to get around and they are bringing all of their custom transportation options to this Grand Prix.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lagorin, Soul of Alacria"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thunderous Velocipede"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Last Ride"></div></div>
<p>With Vehicles, you'll notice that it has the same stats as a creature, a power and toughness and all that. Yet once it reaches the battlefield, it's just an artifact, heck, even when it was a card in your hand it was just an artifact.</p>
<p>These artifacts typically have abilities, many a call back to creatures from <em>Magic's</em> past, that they've stuck onto the side of these cars and ships.</p>
<p>In order to turn these cards into creatures however you just need to crew them, which you do by tapping any number of creatures, add their combined power, and compare it to the crew cost written on the card.</p>
<p>If you have equal to or more power, the artifact becomes an artifact creature and now that power and toughness actually means something.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Valor&#039;s Flagship"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unidentified Hovership"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skysovereign, Consul Flagship"></div></div>
<p>You can activate the crew ability at any time and on any turn, which has some wide reaching effects from instant blockers that get to dodge early turn sorcery speed removal.</p>
<p>Or simply just needing something to tap (and later untap on your turn) your creatures to. So Kona and Rip, Spawn hunter will both absolutely love this set as will King Macar.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kona, Rescue Beastie"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rip, Spawn Hunter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="King Macar, the Gold-Cursed"></div></div>
<p>Vehicles follow all of the same rules as creatures when they become them, so be sure not to turn your mana-producing Vehicle into a creature on first cast and then expect to be able to tap for mana. Summoning sickness, stun counters, health hitting zero, etc. all will suddenly lead to a bad misplay.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cultivator&#039;s Caravan"></div></div>
<p>It is also very worth noting that if a Vehicle gets to copy a creature, say with an ability to untap itself if you place a -1/-1 counter on itself, untap it.</p>
<p>You would be able to add infinite -1/-1 counters to the Vehicle because its power and toughness only matter when it is a creature. So combo off to your heart's content.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Imposter Mech"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Devoted Druid"></div></div>
<p>"Take that, Green"</p>
<p>Saddle and Mounts work very similarly to vehicles but were made after all the 'flaws' with vehicles were well documented.</p>
<p>Meaning they have stripped down the fun rather significantly. No tapping at instant speed and only on your turns is a bit of a bummer however there is one thing that Mounts have over vehicles and that is the fact that they are always a creature from the start.</p>
<p>Now there is no pesky crew cost when you want to swing out with your Mount!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lagorin, Soul of Alacria"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gloryheath Lynx"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gilded Ghoda"></div></div>
<p>The only thing the Mount wants to do is to rustle up some someone to saddle it so that it can attack with enhanced attack, usually in the form of an automatic "on attack" trigger. These triggers don't care what the card was saddled by, just that it was saddled.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bulwark Ox"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloudspire Captain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Autarch Mammoth"></div></div>
<p>Nothing bad happens to the neither the saddler nor the crew-er regardless of what happens to their Mounts and vehicles if they are destroyed. Perhaps they all come with really cool airbags?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="District Mascot"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloudspire Coordinator"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brightfield Glider"></div></div>
<p>You wouldn't hurt these lil guys would you?</p>
<h2>Cycling</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Agonasaur Rex"></div></div>
<p>"Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"</p>
<p>The final mechanic in the set is cycling, which is a returning mechanic that will probably become evergreen at some point!</p>
<p>This is an activated ability on a card in your hand and only your hand. You pay the cost of the cycle and then you discard the card and draw a card from the top of you deck. It's that simple!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curator of Mysteries"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hekma Sentinels"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shadow of the Grave"></div></div>
<p>Part of the cost to cycle is to discard the card, so your opponent cannot respond to your activation by making you get rid of that card before you discard it somehow, they can only do something before you draw the card itself.</p>
<p>There are also many cards in magic that trigger when you discard or even specifically cycle a card which we will certainly see some of the cards in this set.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archfiend of Ifnir"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shadowstorm Vizier"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shark Typhoon"></div></div>
<p>You might even find some cycling cards have triggered abilities that activate when you cycle the very card, usually giving a lesser version of the card's regular casted ability.</p>
<p>This gives you added value to picking the right time and place to Cycle instead of cast that only the greatest of <em>Magic</em> players know how to Maximize, which is why it's one of their most beloved mechanics!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dirge of Dread"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stir the Sands"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nimble Obstructionist"></div></div>
<p>With that we have reached the end of the main mechanics in the set. Honestly, it's refreshing to see some returning mechanics that could use more design love, especially Mount and Saddle.</p>
<p>Adding a new side mission to the game of reaching, or attempting to prevent, maximum speed is always a novel concept and this time I don't think it will lead to nearly the same eye-rolling frustration that Initiative or Day and Night brings.</p>
<p>What are your favorite <em>Aetherdrift</em> mechanics? And how did you fare in the Avishkar death race?</p>


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