TiamatTiamat | Art by Chris Rahn

Hey, everyone! After spending two weeks on Innistrad covering Crimson Vow and Midnight Hunt, you might understand if this beleaguered list writer said no to yet another adventure packed with strange creatures and sketchy humanoids. But then, you would not know that list writer well, because he is absolutely excited to brandish his keyboard at Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and bring you another list of most played Commander cards as a result. Let's get right to it!

10. Mantle of the AncientsMantle of the Ancients - 112,162 decks

Artifacts and enchantments are harder than creatures to get off the board, but they're also tougher to recur, making this something of a luxury addition to aura theme decks. A card that can ReplenishReplenish your lost augments is therefore pretty good, especially when it can also threaten to kill an opponent out of nowhere with its second ability. Mantle also gives you outs to assemble infinite combos from your graveyard, so check out this article by Ethan Coover on some of the best aura combo options in the game.

9. Circle of Dreams DruidCircle of Dreams Druid - 138,747 decks

Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle on a dork is pretty insane, though you are investing a significant amount of mana for this type of creature and hoping its single point of toughness won't spell its doom. It's very good in Elf decks like Lathril, Blade of the ElvesLathril, Blade of the Elves or Marwyn, the NurturerMarwyn, the Nurturer, while also putting in a big shift in heavy- go-wide decks like Shroofus SproutsireShroofus Sproutsire. And, as with any permanent that makes multiple mana pips, you can go infinite, commonly with Staff of DominationStaff of Domination:

8. Teleportation CircleTeleportation Circle - 151,819 decks

In decks focused around the blink mechanic, you're really going to want a critical mass of two types of cards: enablers that get stuff to blink and payoffs with powerful enters abilities. Circle is one of a handful of enablers alongside Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet, Thassa, Deep-DwellingThassa, Deep-Dwelling, SoulherderSoulherder, and more that necessitate an investment up front but that give you free triggers every turn.

They may not threaten to win the game on the spot as often as Eldrazi DisplacerEldrazi Displacer and other enablers that you can activate yourself instead of waiting to trigger at the end of your turn. But they get you through grindy games by generating continuous value. Circle can still go infinite; it just does so over the course of many turns:

7. Old GnawboneOld Gnawbone - 159,195 decks

How much mana ramp is too much mana ramp? For Dragon typal decks led by the likes of The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon, Miirym, Sentinel WyrmMiirym, Sentinel Wyrm, and TiamatTiamat, this 7/7 is well within reasonable bounds, given her impressive play rate.

The fact that she makes Treasures, too, imbues her with relevancy in decks that can't get enough of the stuff, from Korvold, Fae-Cursed KingKorvold, Fae-Cursed King sacrifice builds to more aggressive Jolene, the Plunder QueenJolene, the Plunder Queen piles.

6. XornXorn - 162,906 decks

If you're running a Treasure theme deck, then making your existing generators more efficient is a great way to enable your game plan, though nothing is wrong with running a seven-drop that drops seven tokens on your board in one go. Xorn's fairly unique ability — shared or approximated by Jolene and Academy ManufactorAcademy Manufactor — is an absolute staple in the archetype's most popular commanders, like Mr. House, President and CEOMr. House, President and CEO, Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw, and Prosper, Tome-BoundProsper, Tome-Bound.

It even gives you outs to draw your whole deck alongside Prosper and Professional Face-BreakerProfessional Face-Breaker, another archetype mainstay:

5. Grim HirelingGrim Hireling - 163,963 decks

Here's the sketchy character I was talking about! I judged the book by its cover, though: Hireling is a dependable companion on the board, accruing you value in the form of Treasures before sacrificing itself to protect you from an opposing threat. While you could, theoretically, run this in an aggressive deck without a ton of Treasure generators and use it as a bit of mana ramp plus insurance, I think you still want to give this the best shot at being an awesome hire right off the bat. So, like the last two items on this list, Hireling is well-suited to a deck built around tokens.

4. Wizard ClassWizard Class - 209,777 decks

Class is in session! This enchantment subtype has had a pretty strong showing in Commander since its debut, putting two cards into the top 10 of Bloomburrow and now (or earlier, because we're working our way backward) this. It's pretty simple: they tend to be cheap, and they're like harder-to-kill planeswalkers that tend to have very powerful static effects alongside a handy trigger or two.

They also tend to make certain archetypes or typal strategies stronger, as Caretaker's TalentCaretaker's Talent does for tokens and Innkeeper's does for counters. You don't have to play this in a Wizard deck, but it sure does complement one of that deck's likely game plans or subthemes. This puts you up a card before turning any creature into a big threat after you just do what your deck is built to do if you're running this: draw lots of cards!

3. Treasure VaultTreasure Vault - 271,834 decks

It enters untapped and, while it doesn't produce colored mana by itself, it can certainly help you get a ton of pips when you activate its second ability. This is great in many different types of decks. Treasure and sacrifice decks like Vihaan, GoldwakerVihaan, Goldwaker or Imskir Iron-EaterImskir Iron-Eater appreciate having a ton of material to work with. Rendmaw, Creaking NestRendmaw, Creaking Nest triggers right when you play this artifact land. Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy doubles mana produced by Treasures, giving you the opportunity to turn this into a potent mana generator. The Vault is such a flexible card that offers many interesting ways to unlock its potential.

2. Unexpected WindfallUnexpected Windfall - 387,532 decks

This is a great card to copy, because you only need to discard a card once as part of the original spell's additional cost. Subsequent copies just go on the stack, netting you two cards and two Treasure each time. That interaction makes this so powerful in decks like Fire Lord AzulaFire Lord Azula and Alania, Divergent StormAlania, Divergent Storm. Even when you're not trying to abuse the Comprehensive Rules, this gives you so much material to work with that you can just run this in spellslinger or artifact/Treasure decks and not worry about it too much. If your deck touches , the discard even becomes another bit of upside for reanimation shenanigans!

1. Deadly DisputeDeadly Dispute - 645,311 decks

What I wrote about Windfall giving you material is basically true here as well. For just two mana, you get two cards back plus a handy Treasure token. But the part about the additional cost being upside applies much more in this case, because you actively want this in sacrifice theme decks, which tend to run creatures with abilities that trigger when they die. Glue cards like this are so indisputably crucial for sac decks, because I think they need more moving pieces to work well than, say, the blink archetype I discussed earlier. Blink decks need enablers and payoffs. These decks need enablers like this and payoffs like Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIERSephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER and Blood ArtistBlood Artist, plus cards that you actively want to sacrifice or that generate fodder for that purpose. This is kind of all three rolled into one!

Get Carried AwayGet Carried Away

It's hard not to when I've been on such a fantastic streak of great Commander sets. What's your favorite card from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms that didn't make the cut? Let us know!