Grave PactGrave Pact | Art by Puddnhead

It's Wednesday, which means by now you've been hard at work for days in the salt mines of the 2026 EDHREC Salt Score polls.

The whole endeavor is entirely for fun, and the results aren't meant to be used to make any meaningful decisions in deckbuilding or playstyle.

Or, that's what I would say. I'd say it because it's true, but it's way more entertaining to base our entire personalities around hating on a particular Magic: The Gathering card. For me, that card is Mesmeric OrbMesmeric Orb.

I hate that card. Like, a lot. And there's a person in my local playgroup who has delighted in casting that devil ball against me for more than a decade now.

There was one particular instance, the first time I ever saw it, that sticks out in my memory: I was on a Thopter Tokens deck led by Sharuum the Hegemon, and yeah I had the Sword of the MeekSword of the Meek + Thopter FoundryThopter Foundry combo in there but this story's not about me. Plus it was on-theme, and there should be a special dispensation allowing infinite combos if they're thematically appropriate.

Anyway, I had a cloud of Thopters in play as well as a few ways to buff them, like Tempered SteelTempered Steel. I had enough damage on board to take out two of the three players and had to make a choice on who I would leave alive. Who, among these three monsters, will be the easiest to deal with on the following turn?

I opted to stay the execution of the mill guy. The Mesmeric Orb guy. No way he could finish off milling me on his turn, I still had around 25 cards in my library, and he was topdecking. He couldn't do it with TraumatizeTraumatize. He couldn't do it with Hedron CrabHedron Crab or Glimpse the UnthinkableGlimpse the Unthinkable, and he couldn't do it with Fractured SanityFractured Sanity because that card didn't exist yet.

So I attacked with my token army after casting a bunch of spells. I probably had around 30 tapped permanents. You can see where this is going.

Mill guy topdecks Mesmeric Orb. Slams it down on the table. Laughs. He laughs. 

This happened roughly eight years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. So when people ask me what my saltiest card is, the answer isn't StasisStasis. It's not The Tabernacle at Pendrell ValeThe Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, because I have yet to be convinced that card even exists in real life. It's not ArmageddonArmageddon or Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rift or whatever is the villain du jour, because that's like naming Law & Order as your favorite TV show. Like, all of them.

It's Mesmeric Orb.

This is salt. This is why we do these polls. To elicit these stories.

And thanks to the finest Commander writers there are, we've got a ton of stories to go through today. These writers bared their souls and relived the most agonizing time of their Magic lives for our amusement. If you see them in the world, be sure to thank them.

Which Cards Are the Saltiest for EDHREC Writers?

Mike Carrozza

Mike said, "I really wanted to avoid mass land destruction or obvious picks like Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rift, so I landed on TPBTPB — not just because it'll NarsetNarset lock you, and not only because it's only ever in wheel decks like NekusarNekusar, but because NOBODY CAN PLAN THEIR NEXT TURN ADEQUATELY!

Excuse me, but there's so much to keep track of already, and it's super important to make sure that you know what you're up to so you don't eat up more of the game clock.

The game's progressed to a point where you can sneeze and four different permanents key off of it, then each other, resulting in stacks the size of Limited decks.

Add to that pile needing a few minutes to get acquainted with a new hand for each player on their turns — no, no, no, no, no. I refuse!"

Levi Perry

Levi said, "Commander is a game of choices. Every decision matters and has a butterfly effect on the rest of the game, until someone plays Warp WorldWarp World because it will be 'funny.'

Shuffling up and resolving five Warp Worlds with no wincon isn't a game action, it's a waste of our time."

Owain Roberts

Owain went with Merieke Ri BeritMerieke Ri Berit: "She's a commander that tends to be left alone and takes over the game. Not to mention how difficult it is to deal with her board state when established. I have similar opinions of Ms. BumbleflowerMs. Bumbleflower.

If I see either in a game, I'll throw threat assessment out the window and proceed to eliminate those players. I wouldn't care if I lose if I achieve that moral victory."

Cooper Gottfried

Cooper went with Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss: "The first game of Commander I ever played was against a buddy of mine. He thought it would be a great idea to pit his optimized Krenko deck against my fresh-out-of-the-box precon.

Needless to say, I got dusted. He had 100 Goblins on the field before I could say 'Magic: The Gathering' ten times fast."

DougY

Doug went with Rhystic StudyRhystic Study, and kept it brief: "Annoyance should not be a game mechanic, period."

Jeremy Rowe

Jeremy said, "I've written about it before, but life gain strategies in general frustrate me. They make the game take longer and affect people's threat assessment. For example, attacks are commonly determined by life total, so, when a player is disproportionately high, there's a tendency to try to even things out.

This often leads to players feeling targeted or feeling like they're being punished for doing a core function of their deck. Game length might not seem like that big of an issue, but it's draining on time and energy, and strains technology during streams.

Additionally, since Soul WardenSoul Warden triggers on everyone's creatures, everyone has to track the trigger and factor it into decision-making.

Between the threat assessment issue, the resentment from targeting, and the frustration from tracking, Soul Warden has been directly responsible for several players not only complaining to me via DMs after the match but ultimately leaving my Skull Symbol LFG server. I'd rather play against Mystic RemoraMystic Remora."

Landon Crispens

Landon said, "Rhystic StudyRhystic Study is the saltiest card you can play. There's a reason why players keep bringing it up as a potential ban.

Rhystic Study forces an unnecessary mana tax on players for just playing a game. If players ignore paying the one-mana tax, then Rhystic Study's controller draws tons of cards and can easily pull away with the game. It's a deliberate one-sided massive draw engine that has no business being in a Commander deck."

Cas Hinds

Cas went with Winter OrbWinter Orb: "I don't have an anecdote per se, but this card is miserable.

I've played against it multiple times and the games were remarkably unmemorable because no one really got to play Magic. I think both were Urza decks and both ultimately lost and got hated out of the game. So it was miserable AND didn't win you the game. Smfh."

Nick Benstead

Nick said, "My wife built a Tergrid, God of FrightTergrid, God of Fright deck once, and we decided to play a game of Two-Headed Giant with two unsuspecting victims from our LGS.

By the time Tergrid hit the board, she was playing with everyone's cards, including mine. Sure, we won, but it was more like she won with our cards. I was a good sport, but I never want to see that deck ever again."

John Sherwood

John said, "Lots of commanders warp the game, but few commanders hold a game hostage like Sarulf, Realm EaterSarulf, Realm Eater.

I like an uphill battle now and then. Overcoming adversity is satisfying, and there's no shame in losing to a challenging matchup.

My one Sarulf experience was different. I don't remember who won, and I don't care because it was miserable.

The Sarulf player's participation could only be described as aimless sabotage: wrath, rinse, and repeat. Sadly, my post-game comments to the Sarulf player were blunt enough that we haven't spoken since.

As regrettable as that may be, it doesn't change my stance on the card. It's a red flag in the command zone, and I'll never play against that deck again."

Josh Nelson

Josh said, "For context, I have more experience as an Aristocrats player in Commander than any other one archetype. So, Yasharn, Implacable EarthYasharn, Implacable Earth is my biggest weakness made manifest.

Every single time I have played against a deck led by Yasharn, or any game where that horrid pig is cast, I have had to do so with an Aristocrats deck. Therefore, I have had, every single time, to prioritize removing it as the primary line of play.

As a result, the game plan is diluted by this, often leading to my loss. To make matters even worse, Yasharn can easily mitigate its commander tax by searching up the basics needed to pay for said tax, meaning I'll have to go about this cycle of removal all over again, and again… and again."

Nicholas Lucchesi

Nick went with Zacama, Primal CalamityZacama, Primal Calamity: "At a MagicCon, I had to play against this card three times in a day and a half, including two players in a single pod having it as their commander.

If these were regular pickup games, it would have been funny, but these were in two different Sealed Commander events and it ruined both of them. This card took over the game and warped the limited card pools to the point that I swore off seeing that card for the rest of the weekend.

If someone were to pull it out, I would have asked them to switch decks. All this card fills me with is thoughts of those 36 hours."

Arnaud Gompertz

Arnaud went with Grave PactGrave Pact: "Objectively, this might not be the worst of the salt cards, but somehow, SOMEHOW, it always appears at the worst moment for me.

When I'm playing Voltron, or any other kind of go-tall deck.

When I'm ready to swoop in for the win. When an opponent has almost no board state, but still manages to loop sacrifices with the same bloody recursive creature three or four times.

I have slotted enchantment removal for the sole purpose of removing that bloody thing if it ever was to hit the board. It's a nuisance, it's a pain, I hate it.

With this out, you might as well say, 'Well, it's been a good game so far, have fun playing with yourself. Unless someone has a miraculous removal spell...? No? Figures.'

A well-timed board wipe is fair. Ongoing ones are a pain in the popotin."

Ciel Collins

Ciel said, "Three games in a row, a friend has played her Inalla, Archmage RitualistInalla, Archmage Ritualist deck, and three games in a row, she has entered The Juggling Zone.

She plays Aether ChannelerAether Channeler, Inalla trigger, make a copy. The token Aether Channeler bounces the nontoken Aether Channeler to her hand and the nontoken bounces one of my creatures.

She then does this for the rest of the game, slowly playing out other threats while I remain permataxed by whatever my biggest creature available is. The repetitiveness, the monotony, the game-grinding slowness, arrrrrrgh."

Alejandro Fuentes

Alejandro went with Imprisoned in the MoonImprisoned in the Moon: "Look, I know I should be running more artifact/enchantment removal, but it so rarely feels worthwhile to run more than three ways to remove enchantments in a deck, and sometimes I just don't draw them, so I get stuck with the moon as my commander.

Is it my own fault? Yeah.

Do I deserve it? Probably.

Maybe it's unfair to make a very ubiquitous removal piece my saltiest card, but man, it just sucks to have your commander completely removed from action. I think the saltiest part, though, is having your opponents tell you it's fair because 'now you have a mana rock!'"

Alejandro also confessed to dishing out some salt of his own: "When I sat down with my best buddy to have a discussion about the saltiest card he'd ever played, we didn't come up with much. He's a really chill dude!

However, he did have a few choice words to say about a particular deck of mine, EDH Turbo Hammer.

Some time ago, I realized that Ardenn, Intrepid ArchaeologistArdenn, Intrepid Archaeologist can deal an insane amount of damage very quickly with Colossus HammerColossus Hammer, and I took it upon myself to build the fastest, most brutal deck I possibly could. The result was a deck that tutors on turn one, spits out Colossus Hammer on turn two, and kills only a few moments later.

Now it's the deck I turn to when my friend's been winning a bit too much, because it might as well be a free victory. The thing goes so fast that my opponent doesn't even get to play their deck, because they're just struggling to get some kind of blocker.

It's my answer for when I'm getting too salty, and it's become our personal boogeyman. On the plus side, though, it's an excellent benchmark to playtest against!"

Bennie Smith

Bennie said, "At its core, Commander is a creature-focused format. While there are exceptions, you generally have a creature as your commander, and your goal is to have your commander on the battlefield doing cool stuff.

Having cards like Grave PactGrave Pact in your deck pushes your play patterns into sacrificing creatures to force all of your opponents to sacrifice creatures until they have none on the battlefield, and no incentive to play any more creatures.

Since you are also sacrificing your own creatures to achieve this state, games slow to a crawl. So not only is it miserable to play against, but you've got to sit around while the Grave Pact player figures out how to eventually win.

What a fun way to spend your precious time!

Thankfully, most people I play against these days understand what an ugly card this is and choose not to play Grave Pact cards, even in their own sacrifice deck."

Kara Blinebry

Kara said, "Ghalta, Stampede TyrantGhalta, Stampede Tyrant is one of those cards that can completely invalidate everything that happened in the game before it resolved.

My play group's Pantlaza, Sun-FavoredPantlaza, Sun-Favored player has Ghalta in their deck, and the scenario is always the same: the other three players have spent resources holding Pantlaza down for five or six turns, and then bang!

The moment the blue players' shields go down, Ghalta comes out, cheats in four to six otherwise uncastable creatures, and the game is over.

What really gets me about these scenarios is that Ghalta is a means of failing upward. Your deck's mana curve is too high (hence why all those creatures were in your hand and not on the battlefield on turn six), you didn't accomplish anything all game, and now you're the biggest threat. I'd rather lose to Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle on turn two."

"No amount of salt will save youNo amount of salt will save you."

And there you have it.

When we sit down to play Commander, we don't expect to see cards that seem tailormade to upset us and only us specifically, but sometimes it does happen. And that's one thing to keep in mind as we vote for salty cards this week: is it the card, or the context?

All these stories are propelled by the card mentioned therein, but none of it happened in a vacuum. Instead, what was once a normal game of Commander became a game of Commander with a Grave Pact. That's the key. That's from where salt derives. The cards that mutate (not cards with mutate, which are also salty to anyone who enjoys trying to figure out Magic rules) the game around them are the ones most deserving of high Salt Scores.

There's a big difference between seeing a Grave Pact resolved and dressing down its caster with the kind of vitriol that'd get you banned from an EDHREC comment section, and seeing a Grave Pact and saying "you miserable bastard, I can't believe you did this" with a smile among friends.

Remember that as you vote, but also remember that this is for fun.

Now it's your turn: let's hear your salty anecdotes, hopefully vitriol-free. I want to hear the stories that turn a normally sodium-deficient card into a Stasis-level headache.

The 2026 EDHREC Salt Score polls remain open for your votes! Get in there!