CultivateCultivate | Art by Anthony Palumbo

Hello everyone! I’m Levi from The Thought Vessel, and lately I’ve been brewing some Commander decks using cards I had lying around in my collection. As I’ve been going through my collection, I’ve noticed cards that were basically auto-includes in my decks that I don’t play anymore. A lot of these cards are ones that I owned multiple copies of, and this is by no means an exhaustive list of cards that simply became victims of time and power creep. Today, we’re going over the cards I have sent to the retirement home, as I can’t justify adding them to my decks anymore.

Before we get into the list, I do feel like there are a few things that need to be clarified, because I’m about to talk about some cards that are still very popular. First, I don’t believe that any of these cards are inherently bad. These cards are popular amongst Commander players for a reason. Through my own personal experience and the release of new cards, they simply aren’t making the cut for my decks anymore.

Secondly, I don’t think these cards are necessarily to blame as much as the format itself. Most of the cards on this list had a great run, but they’ve either been replaced by cards that do something similar for less mana, have a bigger impact, or both. Sometimes, the reason is entirely out of any one card’s control. Commander has changed, and the cards we play have changed with it.

On the Hot Seat: CultivateCultivate

With Cultivate, this feels like an issue with the format itself rather than the effectiveness of the card. Cultivate is still a perfectly good ramp spell, but the way we build Commander decks has changed. As the format has gotten faster, I’ve found myself putting more emphasis on having my ramp spells work on curve with the rest of the deck. If my commander costs four mana, I’d much rather have a two-mana ramp spell that lets me cast it on turn three than spend three mana on Cultivate and potentially delay my commander until the following turn. Looking at the top twenty most popular commanders on EDHREC, thirteen of them have a mana value of four or less. That doesn’t include commanders like The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon or Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov, whose eminence abilities allow them to provide value without ever being cast.

With a higher-mana-value commander like Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide, for example, I’ve found four-mana ramp like Explosive VegetationExplosive Vegetation or Skyshroud ClaimSkyshroud Claim that put multiple lands directly onto the battlefield to be more valuable than Cultivate’s one land, since we have to ramp more aggressively. Because of the curve issues, Cultivate has gone from an automatic include to a card I need a specific reason to play. But, in decks that can play multiple lands per turn like Loot, Exuberant ExplorerLoot, Exuberant Explorer, that extra land in hand gets a lot better. 

#10. Vanquisher's BannerVanquisher's Banner

Starting our actual list, we have a typal deck staple, Vanquisher’s Banner. Upon entering, we choose a creature type. Creatures of that type get +1/+1, and every time we cast a creature of that type, we draw a card. Early on, this was a great anthem effect to play while also being a card draw engine. The speed of the format has drastically increased over the years, and if I’m playing a typal deck, I don’t want to effectively take a turn off by spending five mana on an artifact that doesn’t do anything when it enters. It’s even worse if we’re playing creatures in our deck that are outside of the creature type for whatever reason, as it won’t trigger at all. Taking an entire turn off, like turn four or five in Commander, in this day and age can really be costly. 

#9. Archmage's CharmArchmage's Charm

Typically, I am a fan of utility spells like Archmage’s Charm. Being able to draw cards, counter a spell, or steal a Sol RingSol Ring was a great value, and it could help in so many ways. The issue with Archmage’s Charm is that while it’s a good card for a lot of different things, it’s not great at any one thing. We’ve gotten a lot of efficient card draw spells and engines in the past few years, as well as cheap counterspells, so we don’t have to hold up three mana. Not only do we have to hold up three mana, but we have to hold up three blue mana specifically. Outside of a mono-blue deck, this can be a tough ask depending on our land drops.

#8. Acidic SlimeAcidic Slime

Having a 2/2 deathtoucher that destroyed an artifact, enchantment, or land when it entered the battlefield was good enough. With cards like CankerbloomCankerbloom and Druid of PurificationDruid of Purification being printed, we’ve gotten better and cheaper options for those removal spots that can be played either earlier to stop a threat as the game is beginning or for cheaper on a later turn to free up extra mana to cast other spells. Unless I’m playing a deck that cares about Oozes or deathtouch, I’m keeping this one in the binder.

#7. CloneClone

It’s always an eerie feeling whenever the cards an archetype is named after are outclassed, but alas, Clone has fallen out of favor. Modern card design focusing on Commander has either made clones cheaper like Flesh DuplicateFlesh Duplicate, allowed them to avoid the legend rule like Auton SoldierAuton Soldier, or both, with Irma, Part-Time MutantIrma, Part-Time Mutant. With a versatile and deep pool of clones to choose from, there really hasn’t been much of a reason to sleeve it up.

#6. Soul of the HarvestSoul of the Harvest

When I originally looked for creature-based card advantage, Soul of the Harvest was a blue-chip option. A 6/6 body with trample that could also be used as an attacker, Soul of the Harvest was also handy in Blink decks since it cared about creatures entering the battlefield as opposed to being cast. The printing of both Beast WhispererBeast Whisperer and Guardian ProjectGuardian Project at four mana is what really did this card in. Having each of those cards in green to use makes four mana the new standard for that effect. When we include the bigger-budget cards like The Great HengeThe Great Henge, Soul of the HarvestSoul of the Harvest gets buried.

#5. HarrowHarrow

On paper, Harrow is a solid ramp card. We sacrifice one land and get two into play untapped at instant speed. I have had games in which I have used a Harrow to get lands with the colors needed to counter a spell and catch an opponent off-guard. With that said, it takes exactly one game of getting your Harrow countered, where sacrificing the land is part of the cost, to decide to remove it from every single deck. Wizards of the Coast has also helped fix this issue of having sacrificing as part of the cost with Entish RestorationEntish Restoration sacrificing the land on resolution. While the lands come in tapped, it’s much safer and occasionally finds a third land.

#4. Austere CommandAustere Command

In recent history, Magic players have been blessed with an abundance of board wipes that are either low mana value or one-sided. Damning VerdictDamning Verdict is practically one-sided in a +1/+1 Counters deck, Single CombatSingle Combat is fantastic for Voltron decks, and By Invitation OnlyBy Invitation Only is amazing in Token decks. When these cards didn’t exist, Austere CommandAustere Command was a board wipe that could stack the deck in a player’s favor. At six mana, I now have to ask whether the flexibility of Austere Command is worth giving up the efficiency of a cheaper board wipe or the finality of something like FarewellFarewell.

#3. Privileged PositionPrivileged Position

Another victim of the speed of the game, Privileged PositionPrivileged Position is a card that simply doesn’t do enough on its own. Giving all other permanents hexproof is great in a slower-paced game where the turn expectation is longer. In faster Bracket 3 and sometimes Bracket 2 games, we’re almost better served adding more card advantage so we can replace anything that gets removed. There is also the issue that if a player isn’t able to remove something stopping them from playing, they may have to resort to player removal, which we may not be prepared for.

#2. DecimateDecimate

In decks that had both red and green, Decimate was amazing. Being able to destroy an artifact, creature, enchantment, and a land at the same time could really change the tone of the game. Any Commander player reading this knows what I’m about to say next. Commander games aren’t perfect, and they aren’t predictable. There are many games in which players aren’t playing enchantments or artifacts. Without a valid target for all four card types, Decimate can’t be played. The selection of a land to be destroyed also draws a lot of aggro from the target player, since destroying lands in Commander is a bit taboo.

Beyond the targets, having a four-mana sorcery in my removal suite is not something that has proven to be effective in the modern Commander era. Even at one more mana, I would rather play Windgrace's JudgmentWindgrace's Judgment at instant speed, removing one nonland permanent from each player. It’s more spread out across players and can double up on card types.

#1. Sheoldred, Whispering OneSheoldred, Whispering One

I loved this card early in my playing career. I own multiple copies of this card. But with bigger and better threats being printed, I’ve found Sheoldred’s effects a bit too slow for seven mana. Seven mana is around the curve of some high-power creatures and extra-turn spells. Creatures are also very susceptible to removal. Virtue of PersistenceVirtue of Persistence has the same reanimation effect but is on an enchantment, which is harder to remove. It also comes with a removal spell that can be used in the early game. If I’m spending seven mana on a creature, we’re looking at Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror, Hullbreaker HorrorHullbreaker Horror, or even Toxrill, the CorrosiveToxrill, the Corrosive. At seven mana, I want a big impact immediately. While there are exceptions, like with a Phyrexian typal deck, I think we just have better options at the top of the mana curve.

Wrapping Up

The world of Commander is speeding up and changing. While card design is in part to blame, the average Commander player is also getting smarter. Precons are starting stronger than they used to, and players have access to several podcasts, websites, and other resources that didn’t exist a decade ago. We’ve come a long way, but at the end of the day, we still get to choose how we interact with this game. This is something we play for fun, self-expression, and an excuse to hang out with our friends.

While the pull of optimization will always be there, we get to call the shots on what we want to play. If we like Sheoldred, Whispering OneSheoldred, Whispering One, that is the only reason we really need to add it to our deck. There are other places in Commander where we can pick our battles. While these are cards that I have retired, this list is going to look different for everyone, and that is okay. In the quest to optimize, remember that you are the one who will be playing your deck, and you should look for cards that you enjoy. Until next time, happy brewing.