Lord of AtlantisLord of Atlantis | Art by Melissa Benson
Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Sokka, Tenacious TacticianSokka, Tenacious Tactician is the only commander that can give Allies two different abilities?)
Lords go all the way back to Alpha, which featured three cards that cared about creatures of the same type: Goblin KingGoblin King for Goblins, Lord of AtlantisLord of Atlantis for Merfolk, and Zombie MasterZombie Master for Zombies. Of the three, two bore the name "Lord" in their type line in the original Alpha printing: Lord of Atlantis and Zombie Master. For Lord of Atlantis, it had the Lord "type" because its Alpha type line read "Summon Lord of Atlantis."
Why the full title? I don't know, why does Alpha Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise say "Summon Mana Birds"? There were some choices made in the early versions of this game, to put it mildly. What's even more puzzling than just restating the name of a card in its type line, however, was the choice to have Zombie Master simply have the creature type "Lord."
Early game choices aside, the Lord moniker stuck in the same way that the cards did. From that point on, creatures that made creatures of the same type better were known as Lords, and we played them. A lot.
Which, in much more recent times, has made a deck type possible that wasn't even thinkable back in the days of Goblin King: Changeling Typal.
Original Lorwyn block brought us changeling, a keyword that gives a creature every creature type within the game of Magic, from Goblin to Time Lord (although Lord itself is no longer a legal creature type). Those creatures of all types spawned a deck where you can play 20 changelings, and then play 20 more Lords.
The result? 8/8's with islandwalk, mountainwalk, menace, flying, and haste that can also tap for green.
And even better news? With Lorwyn Eclipsed on the horizon, we're sure to get more changelings. So let's see what the best Lords are to pump them all up, shall we?
Top 10 Lords
Criteria: Creatures that mention a specific creature type more than once, or that give more than one boon to said creature type, while not mentioning that type in the negative (get outta here, Clavileño, First of the BlessedClavileño, First of the Blessed!), as part of the creature's name, or because they're making tokens.
Only one entry per creature type. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.
10. Rats: Piper of the SwarmPiper of the Swarm
(42.7K Inclusions, 1.10% of 3.90M Decks)
Menace for two mana is an underrated keyword, but that gets dismissed almost out of hand when you start seeing repeated Control MagicControl Magic effects. Yeah, it's unlikely that you're going to get a changeling from an opponent, although a Lord certainly isn't out of the question.
Even if it's neither, though, you're probably still pretty happy to sac a few tokens and changelings to have the biggest threat at the table be on your side, right?
9. Dinosaurs: Otepec HuntmasterOtepec Huntmaster
(45.7K Inclusions, 1.19% of 3.84M Decks)
Cost reductions are one of the best things you can get when it comes to a Lord, and haste isn't so bad either. That said, there is a glaring issue with Otepec HuntmasterOtepec Huntmaster specifically, and it's that a version exists that has the more relevant cost reduction ability for half the mana. Kinjalli's CallerKinjalli's Caller, then, is stealing more than a bit of our Huntmaster's thunder.
Like most Dinosaur decks, however, both are good enough that it's likely our changeling brew just plays both and never looks back. Especially if we end up with an expensive changeling commander like Morophon, the BoundlessMorophon, the Boundless. More on that later.
8. Birds: Traveling ChocoboTraveling Chocobo
(46.7K Inclusions, 2.84% of 1.64M Decks)
From ramp to card draw, then, Traveling ChocoboTraveling Chocobo allows you to play "Birds" from the top of your library, in addition to lands, and also doubles up on enters triggers for both as well.
While it must be stated that these high inclusion numbers come more from the land half of the equation than the Bird half, there's no question that in a changeling deck, both can be abused.
Even better, if you have an effect that creates an enters trigger for a changeling via another creature type, because the changeling is also a Bird, you get to double it. So lean into that Dragon TempestDragon Tempest, Wayward ServantWayward Servant, and Kyler, Sigardian EmissaryKyler, Sigardian Emissary, because these "Birds" are about to feel very real.
7. Vampires: Captivating VampireCaptivating Vampire
(51.9K Inclusions, 1.33% of 3.89M Decks)
Do you know what's better than paying four mana and sacrificing three creatures to gain control of a creature? Paying no mana and tapping five creatures to gain control of a creature. Throw a Muscle SliverMuscle Sliver into the equation to boot, and we're more than happy to be playing Captivating VampireCaptivating Vampire.
We might even be putting it into the category of best card in the deck, although that's probably a bit premature here at number seven on our list.
6. Goblins: Goblin WarchiefGoblin Warchief
(55.4K Inclusions, 1.45% of 3.82M Decks)
From our changeling perspective, it's pretty easy to ask why this is here, given that we already talked about Otepec HuntmasterOtepec Huntmaster. What's lost in that perspective, however, is just how good Goblins are in comparison to Dinosaurs, especially in 60-card formats.
Still, for our purposes, we'll probably be skipping on this one, given that there are lots of two-mana cost reducers.
5. Dragons: Sarkhan, Soul AflameSarkhan, Soul Aflame
(Helms 1,737 Decks, Rank #1,040; 58.1K Inclusions, 3.24% of 1.79M Decks)
Oh hey, it's Goblin WarchiefGoblin Warchief, but worse! Tell you what, I'm getting tired of repeating myself, so let's just look at all the better options when it comes to cost reducers:
Top 10 Creature Type Cost Reducer Creatures
- Dragonspeaker ShamanDragonspeaker Shaman
- Dragonlord's ServantDragonlord's Servant
- Morophon, the BoundlessMorophon, the Boundless
- Sarkhan, Soul AflameSarkhan, Soul Aflame
- Goblin WarchiefGoblin Warchief
- The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon
- Undead WarchiefUndead Warchief
- Otepec HuntmasterOtepec Huntmaster
- Starnheim AspirantStarnheim Aspirant
- Stonybrook BanneretStonybrook Banneret
For Sarkhan's cost, you have several other options that could get you two mana off of your changelings. Even better are the two-mana options that get you a one-mana discount, as that will get the whole ball rolling faster.
Combine all that with the fact that copying a changeling isn't as likely to be as impactful as copying a Dragon, unless things have gotten really out of hand, and I'm not sure that Sarkhan is a good option for the 99.
We already talked a bit about Morophon, which would undoubtedly be better in the command zone than Sarkhan, but I would also put The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon on that list at this point, as well.
4. Angels: Lyra DawnbringerLyra Dawnbringer
(Helms 1,340 Decks, Rank #1,213; 67.7K Inclusions, 1.90% of 3.57M Decks)
Five mana is a bit much for +1/+1 and lifelink. That said, Lyra DawnbringerLyra Dawnbringer being a 5/5 flying first striker does go a long way toward making up for that heavy cost. I'm not sure it's quite far enough, however; this very well may end up an edge of the 99 card.
3. Zombies: Death BaronDeath Baron
(78.1K Inclusions, 2.01% of 3.87M Decks)
I know what you're thinking, but no, changelings won't get +2/+2 from Death BaronDeath Baron. If they were two separate abilities (on two separate lines), then that would work, but with them both being in the same line, it doesn't work. That said, if you make Death BaronDeath Baron into a changeling and it becomes a Skeleton as a result, that will make it into a 3/3, which is both neat and kind of underwhelming.
All in all, the Baron will do fine. Deathtouch is amazing on defense, and creates a lot of aggro opportunities on offense. Combined with an AnthemAnthem for our changelings, we're always going to be happy to see this guy.
2. Dwarves: Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw
(Helms 15,197 Decks, Rank #80; 81.2K Inclusions, 2.12% of 3.82M Decks)
Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw is a known cEDH commander, which probably says something about how good we feel her abilities are. The Treasures alone would be good enough for inclusion, but searching for any "Dragon" or artifact out of our deck and putting it onto the battlefield?
Yeah, this is a windmill slam, and was always going to be.
1. Elves: Elvish ArchdruidElvish Archdruid
(115K Inclusions, 3.24% of 3.54M Decks)
I'm less enthused about Elvish ArchdruidElvish Archdruid, but that's more just a return to reality from the heights of Magda, rather than any kind of indictment. Three mana to make our "Elves" bigger is a bit pricey, but the amount of mana this Archdruid will make more than makes up for it.
Just one other Elf makes him on rate, and anything above that makes him an absolute powerhouse. Yes, please!
Honorable Mentions
The exact balance of Lords to changelings is going to be a chore, but I can tell you that the six Lords we feel good about now aren't going to be enough to fill out a deck. So let's continue down the list, shall we?
Top 25 Lords
11. Pirates: Coercive RecruiterCoercive Recruiter (41.4K)
12. Cats: Feline SovereignFeline Sovereign (39.7)
13. Slivers: Cloudshredder SliverCloudshredder Sliver (39.7K)
14. Merfolk: Master of the Pearl TridentMaster of the Pearl Trident (36.6K)
15. Humans: Coppercoat VanguardCoppercoat Vanguard (35.9K)
16. Phyrexians: Phyrexian CensorPhyrexian Censor (33.4K)
17. Faeries: Scion of OonaScion of Oona (33.3K)
18. Saprolings: Nemata, Primeval WardenNemata, Primeval Warden (30.5)
19. Wizards: Kuja, Genome SorcererKuja, Genome Sorcerer (28.6K)
20. Assassins: Ramses, Assassin LordRamses, Assassin Lord (24.8K)
21. Spiders: Shelob, Child of UngoliantShelob, Child of Ungoliant (24.1K)
22. Demons: Herald of SlaaneshHerald of Slaanesh (23.7K)
23. Spirits: Katilda, Dawnhart MartyrKatilda, Dawnhart Martyr (23.5K)
24. Elementals: Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil (22.3)
25. Knights: Valiant KnightValiant Knight (21.2K)
Right off the bat, I like Coercive RecruiterCoercive Recruiter more than either of our other two Lords that can steal creatures. Feline SovereignFeline Sovereign's removal ability also seems huge in combination with another Anthem.
Those that have played against Cloudshredder SliverCloudshredder Sliver in Sliver decks know that it's enormously effective not only from an aggro standpoint, but also in creating a world where you can lay down "Slivers" that tap for mana and then immediately tap them to play down even more. Coppercoat VanguardCoppercoat Vanguard provides more power at an efficient two mana, and ward to boot (with Scion of OonaScion of Oona doing a decent impression as well)!
Phyrexian CensorPhyrexian Censor is one of the most effective Hatebears out there when you don't have any Phyrexians on your team, but when you do, it's on another level. Ramses, Assassin LordRamses, Assassin Lord solves the old multiplayer aggro problem by letting you focus on just one opponent.
Finally, Herald of SlaaneshHerald of Slaanesh is the best cost reducer money can buy, bar none.
That brings us up to 14 Lords, which is probably about six shy of where we want to be. Honestly, though? Those last six are going to be almost entirely determined by what kind of changeling deck you're building, so let's take a look at some of those options.
They fall into two distinct categories that may sound familiar: Lords and changelings.
The Lords
The quintessential Dragon commander strikes again, only this time, your free reduction isn't only about six-mana spells. Instead, you can cast Universal AutomatonUniversal Automaton for free, and all of your other changelings at a discount.
The First SliverThe First Sliver might be even better. Having all of your changelings cascade is going to get out of hand fast, not to mention your capability to put together a combo deck of only one- or two-mana cards that you can now "search" for with all this cascading. Pretty neat!
The Changelings
Morophon, the BoundlessMorophon, the Boundless was obviously on everyone's mind the moment we started talking about this. Nevertheless, there's a couple of cool decks here.
First, the powerful option is to just load up on every cost reducer, make Morophon cheap as all get-out, and then have Morophon's cost reduction make all of your changelings free. Combine that with a couple Lords who let you return creatures to your hand, like Hibernation SliverHibernation Sliver, then a couple Lords with relevant ETBs like Wayward ServantWayward Servant, and you've got a Bracket 4 brew that will be loads of fun to play.
Rukarumel, BiologistRukarumel, Biologist isn't to be discounted, however, as she can make all of your Lords a single creature type, letting you focus a bit on one of the more common creature types that have ridiculous Lords, or Lords that let you play a creature type from the top of your library, or whatever other nonsense you can find.
Nuts and Bolts
There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.
What Do You Think?
And finally, what's your favorite Lord? Is there another that you're hoping to see out of Lorwyn Eclipsed? One we didn't talk about today that you think would work well in a changelings deck, specifically?
Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the table that made all the other tables get bigger when we brought it in. Weird.
DougY
Doug has been an avid Magic player since Fallen Empires, when his older brother traded him some epic blue Homarids for all of his Islands. As for Commander, he's been playing since 2010, when he started off by making a two-player oriented G/R Land Destruction deck. Nailed it. In his spare time when he's not playing Magic, writing about Magic or doing his day job, he runs a YouTube channel or two, keeps up a College Football Computer Poll, and is attempting to gif every scene of the Star Wars prequels.
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