(Elemental EruptionElemental Eruption || art by Andrea Piparo)

I Scan Through All 2,000+ New Cards From 2024 So You Don't Have To!

Wizards of the Coast has been releasing brand new Magic: The Gathering cards at a breakneck clip for some years now, and when you're drinking from a firehose of cards it's easy to miss some in the process.

I'm here to help point out some cards you may have missed that deserve consideration for one of your Commander decks.

I go about searching for hidden gems by scanning all brand new cards from 2024, and looking at ones that show up in less than 2% of possible decks from the EDHREC deck database.

If a card shows up in more decks, I figure enough people are aware of them that I don't need to point them out here. Here are my Top 10 choices for you!

Shadow of the Second SunShadow of the Second Sun (1% of Decks)

I know Shadow of the Second SunShadow of the Second Sun has the look of a big dumb do-nothing enchantment, and people concerned with hyper-efficiency will scoff at the idea of spending six mana on a spell that doesn't automatically win the game.

But this plays a lot better than you think. It's basically free the turn you cast it, immediately paying you back for any permanent-based sources of mana you used to cast it, and then replacing itself with a freshly drawn card.

And that's just the floor of it: all your permanents untap, so creatures you attacked with are now available to block, anything you tap for an effect is untapped and ready to use again. Plus, if you have effects that happen during your upkeep, you get another round of them right before your end step.

DiresightDiresight (1% of Decks)

In many cases, surveil is a better ability than scrying since the graveyard is so often a resource for Magic decks even outside of dedicated graveyard strategies. Read the BonesRead the Bones is a great Commander card, which means that DiresightDiresight is even better.

At just one colored mana, it slots easily into almost any deck that runs black. I would strongly consider replacing Read the Bones with Diresight, if not find room for both, for many of my decks.

Scene of the CrimeScene of the Crime (1% of Decks)

It's a land, it's an artifact, and not just any artifact, it's a Clue! Scene of the CrimeScene of the Crime does a ton of work for an uncommon land, and slots into a bunch of different strategies.

It helps power up cards with affinity for artifacts such as Thought MonitorThought Monitor, it counts as two card types for something like Baba Lysaga, Night WitchBaba Lysaga, Night Witch or Rendmaw, Creaking NestRendmaw, Creaking Nest, and it puts itself in your graveyard for land recursion shenanigans with cards like Erinis, Gloom StalkerErinis, Gloom Stalker or Lumra, Bellow of the WoodsLumra, Bellow of the Woods.

It can even tap your own creature if you're running cards with the survivor mechanic like Kona, Rescue BeastieKona, Rescue Beastie or Rip, Spawn HunterRip, Spawn Hunter!

Rampaging Yao GuaiRampaging Yao Guai (1% of Decks)

Fallout had a lot of weird cards with weird names, and Rampaging Yao GuaiRampaging Yao Guai definitely falls into that category. But I think this card deserves a second look as an excellent way to keep certain artifact and enchantment heavy strategies in check. Even where X=0 you're blowing up all the Treasures and artifact lands that might be lying around.

Since you're a heavy green deck you've probably got lots of mana ramp available, so X can get pretty big and take care of more and more threats. Note it says "any number" in the ability, so you can leave your own artifacts and enchantments alone, along with those of any opponent you can make a bargain with.

Elemental EruptionElemental Eruption (1% of Decks)

Elemental EruptionElemental Eruption is a very nifty payoff strategy for Commander storm strategies, creating 4/4 flying Dragons for each spell cast this turn. But wait, there's more-- these tokens have prowess too, so if you can cast a flurry of spells before you attack they can swiftly grow to lethal size!

Lazotep QuarryLazotep Quarry (1% of Decks)

As you can probably tell, I'm a huge fan of utility lands, and Lazotep QuarryLazotep Quarry is a great new addition to your deckbuilding kit. It's obviously awesome in a Desert-themed deck, but even if you don't have all that many other Deserts in your deck, it can prove clutch in certain situations.

First, it enters untapped, providing you with colorless mana immediately. Second, it can sacrifice a creature for one mana of any color, helping to feed any reanimation or creature recursion strategy. This can help unlock your commander from something like Witness ProtectionWitness Protection.

And if your deck is chock full of value creatures that give you some effect when it enters the battlefield, you can cash in Lazotep Quarry or another desert to exile it, and make a token copy of it as a 4/4 black Zombie. And there's a ton of decks that like token creatures, with Anointed Procession being an excellent and on-flavor inclusion for many of them.

Consuming CorruptionConsuming Corruption (1% of Decks)

If you're playing a mono-black deck with lots of Swamps -- or Urborg, Tomb of YawgmothUrborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth -- you'll definitely want Consuming CorruptionConsuming Corruption as an efficient instant removal spell for a creature or planeswalker that scales bigger as the game goes on.

Cactus PreserveCactus Preserve (1% of Decks)

Yep, here's another awesome land on the list! Cactus PreserveCactus Preserve is most obviously awesome the higher mana cost your commander is-- if you haven't slotted this into your Ghalta, Primal Hunger deck, what are you waiting for?

But this is also great in multi-color decks where having the right colors is crucial, so if you find yourself running Reflecting Pool to fix your colors, consider adding Cactus Preserve as well!

Envoy of the AncestorsEnvoy of the Ancestors (1% of Decks)

Whether you're running a deck with +1/+1 counter strategies, an Aura-heavy deck, or an Equipment deck, Envoy of the AncestorsEnvoy of the Ancestors's ability to grant your modified creatures lifelink is going to be excellent, especially if you're trying to win a damage race with your opponents.

Giggling SkitterspikeGiggling Skitterspike (1% of Decks)

I have to admit I overlooked the horrifying Giggling SkitterspikeGiggling Skitterspike until I saw it in a creator's deck and read it more carefully. At first glance it seems like a huge mana investment-- four to cast, and five more to activate its monstrosity ability.

But being an indestructible creature makes it a great candidate for power-boosting Auras, which happen to target when you cast them and targeting sets off the Skitterspike's trigger, in addition to attacking or blocking. If your deck has a lot of ways to make your creatures huge, this Toy can be your endgame.

Spinner of SoulsSpinner of Souls (1% of Decks)

I fell in love with Spinner of SoulsSpinner of Souls the minute I saw it during Foundations previews, and it has performed awesomely for me for the short time I've had with it. If your deck is heavy on creature cards, battlefield sweepers like Wrath of God can be terrifying, making you worry about overextending and losing all those cards in one fell swoop.

Spinner of Souls lets you deploy creature cards with more confidence, and isn't a bad creature in its own right as a 4/3 with reach for three mana. It gets even better if you've got ways to sacrifice your own creatures for profit such as Evolutionary LeapEvolutionary Leap or Greater GoodGreater Good.

Incinerator of the GuiltyIncinerator of the Guilty (0% of Decks)

There are so many good Dragons in Magic these days, a new Dragon needs to really pop to get attention, but I think Incinerator of the GuiltyIncinerator of the Guilty deserves a closer look. A 6/6 with flying and trample is solid for six mana, but the combat damage trigger is an excellent way to keep your opponent's battlefield cleared of creatures to attack you back.

If you're playing a Dragon deck you'll probably end up with plenty of higher mana cards to fuel the collect evidence costs, but there are other strategies that can make use of Incinerator too; self-mill, or if you make hefty use of creatures with cycling (hello, The Balrog of MoriaThe Balrog of Moria).

Honorable Mentions

These cards show up more frequently in the EDHREC deck database than my cut-0ff, but I still think they're worth mentioning.

As someone who plays a ton of "this spell cannot be countered" cards in my Brawl decks on Arena, Invert PolarityInvert Polarity has been a very unpleasant surprise on more than one occasion, gaining control of my uncounterable threat.

Auras that make enchanted creature lose all their abilities is a great way to neutralize otherwise powerful commanders, so having one with storm makes Amphibian DownpourAmphibian Downpour a fun and flexible card.

Speaking of flexible, Season of GatheringSeason of Gathering can do a lot of different things, but specifically I like how it can really hammer decks that rely to heavily on artifacts or enchantments.

Silent HallcreeperSilent Hallcreeper suffers from Too Much Text Syndrome, but it's worth the read-- a 1/1 creature that can't be blocked is already a solid deal for two mana, but each time you deal combat damage you get a bonus ability, eventually becoming a copy of the best creature you have on the battlefield.

Claim JumperClaim Jumper seems like an excellent catch-up card to help battle against the land ramp of green decks, attached to a decent 3/3 body with vigilance, all for just three mana. Monstrous VortexMonstrous Vortex is a set-up enchantment that won't likely do much for you the turn you deploy it, but once you start casting creature spells with power 5 or greater you get to discover X, where X is that spells mana value. Discover is incredibly powerful and will often be worth the time it takes to pay off.

Hazel's BrewmasterHazel's Brewmaster is a really cool card to have in a dedicated Food deck, slowly exiling creatures from graveyards and letting your Foods have all activated abilities of creatures exiled by its ability. This is the kind of card that leads to epic plays you'll tell tales about for years.

Big mana decks mean big, epic plays, and Trailtracker ScoutTrailtracker Scout pays you twice, giving you mana for your big plays, and its expend ability brings you back a key permanent from your graveyard. I immediately jammed this into my Raggadragga, Goreguts BossRaggadragga, Goreguts Boss deck and it's done some work.

Inventory ManagementInventory Management is a card I completely missed when Fallout came out, but since it jumped out at me when compiling this list, I'm going to be slotting this into each Aura or Equipment deck I have that can support the Boros colors.

As an instant for just two mana, it makes an excellent combat trick, or a way to move attached permanents when that creature is eating a removal spell.

What Did You Think Of The New Magic Cards From 2024?

Which new cards printed last year do you think are underappreciated by the Commander community? Sound off below!

Read more:

Foundations: Start Me Up!

Foundations: Start Me Up! (Part 2)

Bennie Smith

Bennie's played Magic since 1994 and has been writing about it nearly as long. Commander is his favorite format, but he's been known to put on his competitive hat to play Standard and Pioneer. Recently he's dabbled in Oathbreaker and Pendragon.