Starting TownStarting Town | Art by Hristo D. Chukov

Happy holidays, everyone! As 2025 wraps up, it's time to sit back, look at cEDH, and see how the format has changed.

This was a year full of powerful spells, ubiquitous lands, and competitive shakeups. Universes Beyond had full-set releases that permeated Standard and Modern, debuting new designs that bled over into cEDH. Meanwhile, in-house set designs took a bit of backseat this year, but still gave cEDH interesting and playable cards thanks to a modular spell and a competitive planeswalker.

So, which cards made a name for themselves as the best cEDH picks from 2025? Let's take a look.

#10 - Tezzeret, Cruel CaptainTezzeret, Cruel Captain

Kicking off our list is our only (nonland) colorless card of the year and also one of the few planeswalkers seeing serious competitive play. Let's take a look at Tezzeret, Cruel Captain.

For , Tezzeret is a legendary planeswalker that starts off with four loyalty counters. Additionally, Tezzeret has a triggered ability which places a loyalty counter on it whenever an artifact you control enters. As we'll see, that's the only way to put loyalty counters on it.

As for loyalty abilities, the first one costs nothing to use and untaps one target artifact or creature. If the target is an artifact creature, put a +1/+1 counter on it. The second loyalty ability costs three loyalty and searches your library for a for an artifact with mana value one or less and puts it into your hand.

Lastly, Tezzeret's third loyalty ability costs seven loyalty to use and grants an emblem with "At the beginning of combat on your turn, put three +1/+1 counters on target artifact you control. If it's not a creature, it becomes a 0/0 Robot artifact creature."

Tezzeret sees play all thanks to those first two abilities. At , Tezzeret is pretty slow to cast, but it can pretty reliably return the value on his mana investment immediately. Either use Tezzeret's first ability to untap the Sol RingSol Ring or Mana VaultMana Vault that you used to cast it, or use his tutor ability to search up a mana rock capable of offsetting his cost.

Beyond mana rocks, Tezzeret is also an all-star when it comes to making some of the format's best engines even better; just use it to grow an Esper SentinelEsper Sentinel or untap The One RingThe One Ring.

#9 - Will of the JeskaiWill of the Jeskai

Next up on our list is Will of the Jeskai, which debuted in Tarkir: Dragonstorm's Commander precons. It presents its caster with a whole lot of valuable choices.

For , Will of the Jeskai lets you pick one of two modes. Alternatively, if you control your commander, you can pick both. The first mode lets each player choose to discard their hand, and each player who does draws five cards.

The second mode grants all instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard flashback until end of turn, and their flashback costs are each equal to their mana cost. Put these two together (if you control your commander), and Will of the Jeskai essentially ignores the discard downside associated with its wheel effect.

Why worry about discarding a handful of instants and sorceries when those cards have flashback anyways?

#8 - Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning

Fresh off of Avatar: The Last Airbender's print run is Redirect Lightning, an up-and-coming staple of non-blue interaction packages.

For and either of two additional costs - pay five life or pay - Redirect Lightning is a Lesson instant that allows you to change the target of target spell or ability with a single target.

In essence, Redirect Lightning is basically another red spell that counters counterspells, while also retaining the flexible use case of redirecting removal spells or messing with single-target abilities. That first effect - countering counterspells - is what has earned Redirect Lightning its space in the competitive world, as all it takes is one extra red mana to help secure a win.

#7 - Tataru TaruTataru Taru

Here at number seven is the first of several picks from Magic's Final Fantasy crossover, and that's white's newest mana engine: Tataru Taru.

For , Tataru Taru is a legendary 0/3 Dwarf Advisor that, when it enters, lets you draw a card and lets target opponent choose to draw a card. Why would they choose not to? Well, Tataru Taru's second triggered ability creates a tapped Treasure token whenever an opponent draws a card outside of their turn. This ability can only trigger once each turn.

On its face, Tataru Taru is a lot like a Talisman that replaces itself when it enters. Tataru Taru usually triggers about one-to-two times per turn cycle, keeping pace with many of the format's two-mana mana rocks.

In slower games, however, it's not unheard of for that number to jump to two-to-three, at which point Tataru Taru can take over games.

#6 - Norman OsbornNorman Osborn

While it might not be the first legendary creature on the list, our sixth pick is certainly the first true cEDH commander we've talked about so far: Norman Osborn, a Grixis value engine that's quickly earned a name for itself.

For , Norman Osborn is a legendary 1/1 Human Scientist Villain creature that can't be blocked and connives whenever it deals combat damage to a player. (When a creature connives, draw a card, then discard a card. If the discarded card was a nonland card, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.) Lastly, you can transform Norman Osborn into The Green Goblin by paying at any time you could cast a sorcery.

On the reverse side, The Green Goblin is a legendary Goblin Human Villain creature for . That's right, you can cast The Green Goblin as the backside - you don't need to first cast Norman Osborn (although you can). The Green Goblin has flying, menace, and reduces the cost of spells you cast from your graveyard by . Lastly, each card in your graveyard has mayhem, and the mayhem cost is equal to its mana cost. (A card with mayhem can be cast from its owner's graveyard provided that it has been discard this turn.)

Competitive commander is full of cards that abuse the graveyard. Yawgmoth's WillYawgmoth's Will and Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach are popular closers, just to name a few. Similarly, the format's full of powerful effects that love to discard cards: Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune, Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond, etc.

The Green Goblin takes all of these already powerful cards and makes them absolutely broken.

#5 - Kefka, Court MageKefka, Court Mage

Our next pick is another popular transforming Grixis commander that, coincidentally, loves to discard cards - although this time it'll have the whole table doing it.

For , Kefka, Court Mage is a 4/5 legendary Human Wizard creature that, when it enters or attacks, causes each player to discard a card. Then you draw a card for each card type among cards discarded this way. Additionally, as an activated ability you can pay any time you could cast a sorcery in order to make each opponent sacrifice a permanent of their choice and to transform Kefka.

When transformed, Kefka becomes Kefka, Ruler of Ruin, a 5/7 legendary Avatar Wizard creature with flying and "Whenever an opponent loses life during your turn, you draw that many cards."

Unlike Norman Osborn, which asks you to build a deck around discarding cards, Kefka here is an engine and a payoff all on its own. The game plan is a bit slower ( is a real investment), but in exchange you get a threat in the command zone that asks for minimal synergy pieces.

Fill your deck with normal Grixis goodstuff, throw in a copy of Waste NotWaste Not to make the most of your Kefka triggers, and sit back as your commander destroys your opponents' hands.

#4 - Wan Shi Tong, LibrarianWan Shi Tong, Librarian

This pick is a new legendary creature that - like Tataru Taru before it - has made a name for itself not as a commander but as a staple value engine across the format. Here's Wan Shi Tong, Librarian.

For , Wan Shi Tong, Librarian is a 1/1 legendary Bird Spirit creature with flash, flying, vigilance, and "Whenever an opponent searches their library, put a +1/+1 counter on Wan Shi Tong and draw a card." Additionally, when Wan Shi Tong enters, put X +1/+1 counters on it, then draw half X cards, rounded down.

At its core, Wan Shi Tong is a blue version of Archivist of OghmaArchivist of Oghma that, instead of gaining life, grows with each trigger. Life is certainly a valuable resource - helping to pay for NecropotenceNecropotence and Ad NauseamAd Nauseam particularly - but the ability to grow such that it can't die to an Orcish BowmastersOrcish Bowmasters is certainly worthwhile as well. Outside of that change, however, what really gives Wan Shi Tong the leg-up over Archivist of Oghma is that enters trigger.

In infinite mana decks, Wan Shi Tong is an outlet that allows players to draw their whole decks at instant speed. Outside of those decks, it still represents an instantaneous source of card draw regardless of where you are in the game - either paying in response to an early fetch or paying when resources are plentiful.

#3 - Starting TownStarting Town

Moving into the top three, how better to start off the best of the best than with our only land, Starting Town.

Starting Town enters tapped unless it's your first, second, or third turn of the game. It has ": Add ," and ", Pay 1 life: Add one mana of any color."

Lands that add any color while also entering untapped have always been popular in cEDH; Command TowerCommand Tower, Mana ConfluenceMana Confluence, and City of BrassCity of Brass are all already staples. Similarly, that latter two of those three already show that the one life commitment to adding that colored mana isn't something that'll kick a land out of the competitive arena.

As for Starting Town's enters restriction, cEDH is a game that's frequently decided in the first three turns, so entering tapped on turns four-plus is hardly a concern. All this to say, most decks in cEDH play Starting Town now, and it's hard to imagine that changing any time soon.

#2 - Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier

Our penultimate pick is a powerful legendary creature from Final Fantasy that has both solidified itself as a commander as well as a potent engine popular in the mainboard of plenty of deck lists. Who else could it be but Vivi?

For , Vivi Ornitier is a 0/3 legendary Wizard creature with ": Add X mana in any combination of and/or to your mana pool, where X is Vivi Ornitier's power. Activate this ability only during your turn and only once each turn." Additionally, Vivi has the triggered ability "Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi and it deals 1 damage to each opponent."

Vivi makes an absurd amount of mana while simultaneously eroding the life totals of all opponents, thanks to the simple trigger condition of playing cEDH's most popular card type: noncreature spells. As a commander, Vivi is a build-around that snowballs cheap spells into massive payoffs, eventually winning the game through the likes of CuriosityCuriosity to generate insurmountable value and/or Quicksilver ElementalQuicksilver Elemental to make infinite mana.

As a mainboard include, Vivi is one of Izzet's best mana engines, leapfrogging its controller ahead of even the greediest green players.

#1 - The Cabbage MerchantThe Cabbage Merchant

Here we are folks, the most powerful and important cEDH card of 2025. It's The Cabbage Merchant!

While it may have had the least time to prove itself, being legal only since Avatar's debut in mid-November, The Cabbage Merchant has already shaken up the format and cemented a role as green's best mana engine (discounting Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle).

For , The Cabbage Merchant is a 2/2 legendary Human Citizen creature with two triggered abilities. First, whenever an opponent casts a noncreature spell, create a Food token. Second, whenever a creature deals combat damage to you, sacrifice a Food token. So, what to do with all the Food? Well, The Cabbage Merchant also has the activated ability "Tap two untapped Foods you control: Add one mana of any color."

With three opponents, it's pretty reliable that a handful of noncreature spells will be cast with each turn cycle. Just ask any cEDH player how powerful Mystic RemoraMystic Remora is. With that in mind, take not that The Cabbage Merchant doesn't require you to sacrifice Food in order to provide mana with them. As long as you control The Cabbage Merchant, every two noncreature spells cast by your opponents effectively grant you an Arcane SignetArcane Signet.

Sure, you may lose some in combat, but creatures attacking isn't a terribly prevalent threat in cEDH. Sit back, watch your opponents play the game, then use your Food tokens to cast a bevy of spells thanks to your massive mana advantage.

Wrap Up

2025 was a great year for cEDH. Between the new commanders, engines spread out across colors, and powerful replacements for previously playable cards, this year made real contributions to the format.

Here's to hopping we get more great cards in 2026!