<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artofmtg.com/artist/magali-villeneuve/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Magali Villeneuve</a></em></p>
<p>It's finally happened; Kenrith has been dethroned! <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a legendary creature from the <em>Final Fantasy</em> precons, has overtaken <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith, the Returned King" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith, the Returned King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s spot as the 10th most popular commander.</p>
<p>But how did this happen, and what's so special about this new card on the list? Read on, and we'll elaborate!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed"></div></div>
<h2>What's Going On?</h2>
<p>Before last night, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith, the Returned King" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith, the Returned King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was the 10th most popular commander in the entire format, according to <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EDHREC</a>. However, this esteemed position has since been overtaken by none other than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Y'shtola is currently the only legendary creature from 2025 to reach our Top 10. With only two weeks remaining in December, it's highly unlikely that any other legend printed in 2025 will reach that height.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kenrith, the Returned King"></div></div>
<h2>Y'shtola, and Her Surge in Popularity</h2>
<p>But what does this all mean, and why Y'shtola of all legends?</p>
<p>The answer could be practically anything, honestly. For one, Y'shtola's iconic art, illustrated by the incomparable Magali Villeneuve, has captivated many <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> and <em>Final Fantasy</em> fans alike. Villeneuve's iconic illustration style, in recent years, has allowed her work to skyrocket her in terms of popularity among <em>Magic</em> art connoisseurs.</p>
<p>Pairing Villeneuve's style with the iconic <em>FFXIV</em> character <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola Rhul" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola Rhul</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was clearly a recipe for aesthetic success.</p>
<h2>Looks Aren't Everything</h2>
<p>Y'shtola's art has now become extremely intertwined with the <em>Final Fantasy</em> set and franchise. However, it's not the only reason that this legendary Cat Warlock is so popular in the command zone.</p>
<p>Mechanically, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is an absolute home run of a commander. <em>Final Fantasy</em>'s main set had a very devoted noncreature spell theme to it, and this card, the face of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/scions-spellcraft" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Scions &amp; Spellcraft</em> precon</a>, suited that theme perfectly. This, in turn, lent itself well to running Y'shtola as not only a ubiquitous Spellslinger in Esper decks (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" 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 class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>), but also a great thematic commander for <em>Final Fantasy XIV</em>-centric builds.</p>
<p>Not to mention, the Cat Warlock is also an <em>extremely</em> potent card overall.</p>
<p>Those are some of the major factors that pulled Y'shtola, Night's Blessed into the Top 10. But what about the factors that pushed Kenrith, the Returned King <em>out</em>?</p>
<h2>Age <em>After</em> Beauty, Apparently</h2>
<p>From the estimates that I've noticed as to why some trending commanders surge in popularity more than others, a lot of it has to do with zeitgeist. Zeitgeist, as defined by the latest version of the online <em>Merriam-Webster Dictionary</em>, is "the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era." In other terms, the zeitgeist is also referred to as the "spirit of the times."</p>
<p>Kenrith, a commander from 2019's <em>Throne of Eldraine</em>, captured the zeitgeist of, well, 2019. He was an extremely popular commander then, and don't get me wrong, he is still remarkably in vogue for certain niches of the community.</p>
<p>However, all this to say, it's 2025, and the end of it at that. Six years of <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> is only just a larger slice than one-quarter of the game's life so far. 2026 marks the 33rd year of the game, with 2019 being only 26 years in.</p>
<p>So, by such a token, let's look at the not-so-arbitrary tail-end of 2028, <em>Magic</em>'s 35th year. That year, Kenrith won't even be in the most recent fifth of the cards newly printed. By contrast, Y'shtola will only be about three years old, a relative baby even then.</p>
<h2>There's Always a Caveat</h2>
<p>However, all of this hubbub over how cool this <em>Final Fantasy</em> commander is doesn't change the fact that her ascent is <em>really quite fresh</em>. Any day now, Kenrith might regrow in popularity. This may allow him to potentially overtake that #10 rank among the Top Commanders on the site. That said, by then, Y'shtola might be out of range to be usurped in turn. We estimate that it's entirely plausible that she might even make it as a 5th-ranked commander on the list.</p>
<p>That will obviously take some time, but it's a distinct possibility.</p>
<h2>Other <em>Final Fantasy</em> Giants</h2>
<p>Amid all this talk of Y'shtola, Night's Blessed's popularity, we don't want to overshadow the other great cards from the release that are in the Top 100. At Rank #20 is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vivi Ornitier" href="#" target="_blank">Vivi Ornitier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a fantastic and potent commander from <em>Final Fantasy IX</em>. As of December 16th, Vivi had a formidable 22,709 decks at players' disposal.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are continuously vying for superiority in the 60s of the list. Right now, Sephiroth is winning that conflict, proving that multicolor identities aren't all there is to format popularity.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vivi Ornitier"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER"></div></div>
<p>It's not clear whether any of these legendary creatures will ever reach Y'shtola's level of appeal. Truth be told, they missed the mark on being the spirit of the times, albeit just barely.</p>
<p>So now, let's hear from you, dear readers! How many of you reading this have an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander deck? Do you like playing with that commander? If so, why? Sound off in the comments below!</p>


Y'shtola, Night's Blessed Is Now 10th Most Popular Commander

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Namor the Sub-Mariner" href="#" target="_blank">Namor the Sub-Mariner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Illustrated by <a href="https://www.rallisart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Rallis</a></em></p>
<p>Whenever a legendary creature is revealed in <em>Magic</em> previews, even ahead of its set's preview season, there will always be someone hoping to build it in Commander. Let's face facts: There's always someone who wants to be ahead of the curve. Trendsetters exist, plain and simple.</p>
<p>But what happens when a set like <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/msh" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Marvel Super Heroes</em></a> gets previews? The property is clearly popular among comic book fans of many walks of life (except maybe for DC Comics diehards, but we won't get into that here). But are the legendary creatures <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/marvel-super-heroes-a-first-look-at-the-new-set" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previewed on December 9th</a> exciting enough to build around?</p>
<p>According to our data, one shone above the rest in the past 24 hours, so let's dive into that analysis!</p>
<h2>Spoiler Alert: It Ain't <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Namor the Sub-Mariner" href="#" target="_blank">Namor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>While cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Namor the Sub-Mariner" href="#" target="_blank">Namor the Sub-Mariner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are, in fact, behind the most prolific <em>Marvel Super Heroes</em> legend previewed yesterday, the numbers are actually not close at all.</p>
<p>Right now, <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruce Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Bruce Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, also known as The Incredible Hulk, leads 82 Commander decks databased by EDHREC. Namor, as well as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doctor Doom" href="#" target="_blank">Doctor Doom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, both lead 19 decks. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baron Helmut Zemo" href="#" target="_blank">Baron Helmut Zemo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> leads 18 decks, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Super-Skrull" href="#" target="_blank">Super-Skrull</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> commands a measly nine decks.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Namor the Sub-Mariner"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doctor Doom"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Baron Helmut Zemo"></div></div>
<h2>The Breakdown of <em>Marvel Super Heroes</em> Commanders</h2>
<p>Why is this? There are a variety of reasons that the lower four of the top five decks are doing so poorly. There are also several reasons that Bruce Banner is doing so well:</p>
<ul>
<li>Doctor Doom costs a <em>lot</em> of mana to cast. Right now, mana value three is the new mana value four in terms of ideal maximum mana value for a commander. As a consequence of this upswing in speed, a mana value of six often has no place in the command zone.</li>
<li>Namor has to deal with a ton of competition in the Merfolk typal department. Granted, this fact may be affected (or eclipsed) by how much we see from <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/ecl" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Lorwyn Eclipsed</em></a>. He's decent and could work very nicely in any Merfolk pile's 99. However, as a monocolor legend, other legendary creatures with more colors at their disposal can often offer better resources for Merfolk themes.</li>
<li>Zemo is going to have stiff competition as well. Other mono-black commanders often recur cards, and they don’t exile to do it, especially with less of a devotion theme. Even at an easy mana value of three, players will inevitably prefer commanders like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toshiro Umezawa" href="#" target="_blank">Toshiro Umezawa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaervek, the Punisher" href="#" target="_blank">Kaervek, the Punisher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (a card with a potentially ironic epithet considering the source material we're talking about). Even at a higher mana value, some players might even prefer <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chainer, Dementia Master" href="#" target="_blank">Chainer, Dementia Master</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Heck, even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed" href="#" target="_blank">Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is more conservative of resources if their playgroup is more chill with certain practices.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Toshiro Umezawa"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kenrith, the Returned King"></div></div>
<ul>
<li>Super-Skrull has to contend with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith, the Returned King" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith, the Returned King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, who is infinitely easier to cast and already has precedent as a massively popular commander. Currently, Kenrith is fighting tooth and nail to stay at the very bottom of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top 10 Most Popular Commanders on EDHREC</a> (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed" href="#" target="_blank">Y&#039;shtola, Night&#039;s Blessed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is close to outpacing him, however, and we will report on that when she does). For whatever it's worth, both Kenrith and Super-Skrull can kill while on an infinite mana bender. However, since Kenrith only costs one white pip and the rest in generic mana, Kenrith does it way more easily.</li>
</ul>
<h2>We Have a Hulk</h2>
<p>As for why Bruce Banner and The Incredible Hulk break this trend of semi-mediocre commanders so handily, one need only watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Xnuym1wqY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WeeklyMTG stream from yesterday</a>.</p>
<p>In it, Blake Rasmussen, Rachel Weeks, and Gabriel Luna go on pretty extensively about the ways you can combo off with the Hulk. These include the use of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pyrohemia" href="#" target="_blank">Pyrohemia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caltrops" href="#" target="_blank">Caltrops</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to engage in either infinite or near-infinite combat steps with the Hulk.</p>
<p>In related news, the uncommon <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caltrops" href="#" target="_blank">Caltrops</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> spiked (if you'll pardon the wordplay) yesterday to almost $11. The foil iteration of Caltrops from <em>Seventh Edition</em> also skyrocketed to $108. This was almost certainly due to the stream's discussion of the card.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caltrops"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pyrohemia"></div></div>
<p>Does this mean anything for a card that comes out in June? It may be too early to tell, honestly. But frankly, my takeaway is that, even if Wizards of the Coast is unable to acknowledge the secondary market, they should play a bit less loose with cards that can soar like Caltrops now has.</p>
<p>Regardless of the spikes, Bruce Banner is clearly a hit with some Commander players. We'll have to see how well that sticks before June, but either way, the card is good.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bruce Banner"></div></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>And now, let's open the floor to you, dear readers! Why do you think Bruce Banner is the top <em>Marvel Super Heroes</em> commander at this time? Also, given that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Captain America, Super-Soldier" href="#" target="_blank">Captain America, Super-Soldier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> currently has <em>no</em> decks built around him, why do you think that is? Sound off with your speculations in the comments below!</p>


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Y'shtola, Night's Blessed Is Now 10th Most Popular Commander

Analyzing Marvel Super Heroes' First Trending Commanders