Sandstorm EidolonSandstorm Eidolon | Art by Brian Hagan

I have spent the last two months iterating on every variation I can think of on a deck that revolves around a package of cards it never plans to cast. The Eidolons from Dissension seem like terrible cards - four-mana 2/2s with weak activated abilities - but they combine with lootinglooting and rummagingrummaging effects in decks with enough multicolored spells to create a powerful card advantage machine. Combine that with the recent flood of cards that reward discarding cards, and these Eidolons become the core of a deck with speed, interaction, and staying power.

There are tons of multicolored effects that loot or rummage to trade these Eidolons, which effectively act as "free" cards in your hand that keep coming back, with real cards to advance your game plan. Most of these cards touch either blue or red, like Faithful MendingFaithful Mending, Tainted IndulgenceTainted Indulgence, Pursue the PastPursue the Past, and Thrilling DiscoveryThrilling Discovery. In blue and red specifically, these effects are even more concentrated. Izzet CharmIzzet Charm and Prismari CommandPrismari Command offer flexibility in a variety of situations, Traumatic CritiqueTraumatic Critique and Ill-Timed ExplosionIll-Timed Explosion can interact with creatures of many sizes, and Dack FaydenDack Fayden can become a repeatable engine or nab a powerful artifact.

There are also multicolor cards across the color pie that can discard cards for free to generate value. Psychic FrogPsychic Frog and Lotleth TrollLotleth Troll grow huge if you can repeatedly discard the same cards to them. Hardened AcademicHardened Academic gains life while growing when your Eidolons come back to our hand. Even good old Doctor TeethDoctor Teeth is a scary creature when it threatens to eat anything it tangles with or take a huge chunk of life if unblocked.

In the last few years, there have been a ton of cards printed that pay you off for discarding cards. Monument to EnduranceMonument to Endurance, Cool but RudeCool but Rude, Inti, Seneschal of the SunInti, Seneschal of the Sun, and Veronica, Dissident ScribeVeronica, Dissident Scribe all generate card advantage while still dealing damage. Marauding MakoMarauding Mako, Ivora, Insatiable HeirIvora, Insatiable Heir, Scrounging SkyrayScrounging Skyray, and Lady Spider, Maybelle ReillyLady Spider, Maybelle Reilly become enormous threats for only one or two mana. These cards are wicked powerful, and they can be pushed because they come with an inherent tension: discarding cards is bad, and you can't keep discarding cards because soon you'll run out. Every way to return cards to your hand for no mana becomes a way to break the balance of these engines and storm ahead.

Similar Effects

Sandstorm EidolonSandstorm Eidolon and friends reward a deck built to include enough multicolored cards, but there are other similar cards that return to hand from the graveyard when other conditions are met. Dogged DetectiveDogged Detective, Auntie's SnitchAuntie's Snitch, and Chandra's PhoenixChandra's Phoenix all return to hand for free, but each requires either a very specific condition or are less in your control. Veilborn GhoulVeilborn Ghoul and Reach of BranchesReach of Branches are relatively easy to return every turn in decks with a lot of SwampSwamps or ForestForests, respectively, and would be great inclusions in decks with fewer colors that struggle to play enough multicolored spells to enable the Eidolons. Plus, Fear of InfinityFear of Infinity would be great in a deck looking to combine it with enchantments like Tortured ExistenceTortured Existence and Zombie InfestationZombie Infestation. The more that enchantment discard engines like Artist's TalentArtist's Talent and Chakra MeditationChakra Meditation get printed, the stronger this card becomes.

These cards are further down the rabbit hole than I would expect most people to go as upgrades for niche builds of already specific decks, but if you're going into the rabbit hole at all, don't forget to grab these three door prizes. Squee, Goblin NabobSquee, Goblin Nabob and Master of DeathMaster of Death return to your hand for no mana on each of your upkeeps. No hoops to jump through (besides the obvious ones of putting them into your graveyard and wanting them back), no deckbuilding constraints besides colors, these are the best of the best. They're played in tens of thousands of decks because people do understand that this effect is powerful when it's easy.

Krovikan HorrorKrovikan Horror, on the other hand, is played in only 478 decks and might be better. Sure, it needs a creature card to be directly above it in the graveyard, but any deck that wants it will already be discarding creatures all day long. The reward is that it can return to hand every single end step, up to four times per turn cycle.

"Eidolons" in Other Formats

Don't just take my word for it! These effects have found success in more efficient, less forgiving formats than Commander. In Pauper, Aurora EidolonAurora Eidolon and Sandstorm EidolonSandstorm Eidolon combine with Pursue the PastPursue the Past and Thrilling DiscoveryThrilling Discovery to make a grindy card advantage engine. Throw in Sneaky SnackerSneaky Snacker to profit off the rummaging and the classic Tireless TribeTireless Tribe/Inside OutInside Out combo, and this is a deck that can win out of nowhere while also being able to go card for card with some of the big control decks of the format.

On the other extreme of power level, Vintage features a deck built around Bazaar of BaghdadBazaar of Baghdad and free counterspells that looks to disrupt the until turn three or four while attacking with Hollow OneHollow One, VengevineVengevine, and Basking RootwallaBasking Rootwalla. It runs playsets of both Squee, Goblin NabobSquee, Goblin Nabob and Master of DeathMaster of Death to turn Bazaar of Baghdad into a crazy draw engine. Taking lessons from this deck for Commander, obviously Bazaar of Baghdad would be an absurd engine in this strategy, but if you don't proxy, then Magus of the BazaarMagus of the Bazaar works almost as well.

Finally, I've seen niche Premodern decks that try to generate repeated value with playsets of Squee and Krovikan HorrorKrovikan Horror alongside Zombie InfestationZombie Infestation. In a grindy control shell, this plan creates inevitability while synergizing with cards like ForbidForbid or FirestormFirestorm.

Which Commanders Want the Eidolons?

Any commander that draws and discards plenty of cards or rewards doing so can consider putting in a small package of cards that repeatedly return from the graveyard to hand. Because you need to run enough multicolored cards to consistently trigger the Eidolons from the graveyard, they excel in decks with three or more colors. Varina, Lich QueenVarina, Lich Queen, Raffine, Scheming SeerRaffine, Scheming Seer, Celes, Rune KnightCeles, Rune Knight, and Sidar Jabari of ZhalfirSidar Jabari of Zhalfir would all benefit from being able to discard the same cards over and over, even if the primary goal of the deck is still Reanimator or Typal synergies.

Grixis (blue, black, and red) is probably the best three-color combination to be able to run the most of these effects, and there are several popular commanders in which the Eidolon package would fit seamlessly. Norman OsbornNorman Osborn, Kefka, Court MageKefka, Court Mage, and Doctor Doom, King of LatveriaDoctor Doom, King of Latveria all love this strategy.

Boros (white and red) also has a couple of commanders that would be interested in Aurora EidolonAurora Eidolon and Sandstorm EidolonSandstorm Eidolon. Quintorius, Field HistorianQuintorius, Field Historian and Quintorius, History ChaserQuintorius, History Chaser both want cards to leave your graveyard, and what better way to do that than by discarding and returning cards every turn? Boros is full of powerful, flexible multicolored cards, like Boros CharmBoros Charm and Rip ApartRip Apart, and it even has an additional payoff for leaning into them in General Ferrous RokiricGeneral Ferrous Rokiric. Any one of these legends could slot in this package to add grindy resiliency.

Then there's the all-in approach. Niv-Mizzet, SupremeNiv-Mizzet, Supreme, the least played of all seven Niv-Mizzets, gets to play all five Eidolons, multicolored powerhouses of all colors, and the most ambitious mana base you've ever seen.

Finally, Rydia, Summoner of MistRydia, Summoner of Mist can curve into Raffine, Scheming SeerRaffine, Scheming Seer, and Insidious RootsInsidious Roots and Kishla SkimmerKishla Skimmer can combine with Hardened AcademicHardened Academic! Certain cards are allowed to be pushed because they're outside of the colors most likely to abuse them, but in this deck you can upend that balance by cramming everything together.

My Eidolon Decks

I'm including two deck lists here that I've put together around the Eidolons package, both of them heavily built around discard synergies. This package can easily slot into a deck with another parallel plan, too, but these are good illustrations of what fits together and plays nice. Norman OsbornNorman Osborn focuses on playing cheap, efficient threats and interaction and relying on Eidolons and friends to keep pace in terms of card advantage. It has quickly become my favorite deck to play. Niv-Mizzet, SupremeNiv-Mizzet, Supreme tries to maximize the Eidolons by playing a full twenty-four multicolored cards alongside engines that care about them leaving the graveyard repeatedly.