MulldrifterMulldrifter | Art by Eric Fortune

Hey, everyone! Welcome to a new year of most played lists! I ended 2025 by breaking down both the top 10 most played legendary and nonlegendary new Commander cards. I also wrapped up a series of over 30 articles on most played cards from the various color combinations, from monocolor to rainbow (five-color). This year, I'm turning my attention to mechanics! I actually started last year with one of my favorite ones, landfall, so I'm excited to continue down this path.

Given that Lorwyn Eclipsed is right around the corner, today I'm covering one of the most popular mechanics to come out of that plane, evoke! It's such a fun and flexible mechanic, evidenced by how it's returned in all three Modern Horizons sets. It plays so well with blink and ReanimateReanimate effects, and you always feel like you got away with something when you get to rebuy a card you evoked.

The new set's spoilers have already shown us a bunch more Elementals with this sweet ability, so why not see how things stand before Lorwyn returns? Let's dive right in!

10. GriefGrief - 16,938 decks

Good Grief!

It's not surprising that a card that dominated Modern at one point in its history has also been a pain in the neck for Commander players. While nabbing only one player's best card at a multiplayer table may not be the best thing you can do, the color black is replete with discard synergies that get you more bang for your buck.

Commanders like Tinybones, Bauble BurglarTinybones, Bauble Burglar and Tergrid, God of FrightTergrid, God of Fright will happily scoop up any old thing you tear from your opponents' hands, while Rakdos, the MuscleRakdos, the Muscle plays around with a different aspect of the Elemental's text box, the fact that it sacrifices itself after evoking.

It's actually great Grief, especially when you take into account how powerful this can be in 1v1 and alongside blink effects like EphemerateEphemerate and cheap recursion like NecromancyNecromancy.

9. SubtletySubtlety - 24,881 decks

While Grief is a proactive way to use the evoke mechanic, SubtletySubtlety presents a more reactive play pattern by also having flash. This means that, while you're often going to evoke this while tapped out to keep a pesky threat, like an opposing commander, off the board, you can also just play this to eat a smaller creature that foolishly strayed into combat thinking you had no blockers.

Again, that isn't the most busted way to use Subtlety, but the beauty of that evoke is that it presents you with different options.

What kind of deck plays a four-mana tempo card that triples as a surprise blocker and psuedo-Force of WillForce of Will? Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow's Ninjas makes for a good home, because you're spending mana on your turn to activate ninjutsu abilities. That's why the deck values "free" cards like Snuff OutSnuff Out highly.

Helga, Skittish SeerHelga, Skittish Seer also triggers even where you're casting Subtlety for its evoke cost, letting you recoup your investment and generate value in the process.

8. Foundation BreakerFoundation Breaker - 32,660 decks

Foundation BreakerFoundation Breaker is a great split card in decks that care about death. Its main use is to answer artifacts and enchantments for just two mana, or four if you fancy having a 2/2 in play for more than a turn. Once it does this job, however, you can have a lot of fun with it into a board full of breakable, smashable treats.

Helga also likes having this card around, because it triggers her for half the price it says on the tin. Brenard, Ginger SculptorBrenard, Ginger Sculptor is the commander of choice for Benjamin Nicol, who built a Bant Aristocrats deck that has tons of fun with evoke. Horde of NotionsHorde of Notions also continues to be popular, though it should watch its back now that Ashling, the LimitlessAshling, the Limitless has been spoiled. Card is silly with evoke.

7. FuryFury - 37,240 decks

This is about as red as a red card can get! Even if Commander is all about shooting for the moon by casting big spells and assembling contraptions (figurative ones, not the Un-card type), Magic is still largely about playing creatures to the board.

FuryFury comes in and spoils all of that, destroying what's likely to be more than two creatures over the course of a game. Aside from the aforementioned Rakdos, Terra, Herald of HopeTerra, Herald of Hope is also bonkers with Fury because it recurs cards based on power, not mana value. Since Fury has double strike, it would have been too broken to make it bigger!

Taii Wakeen, Perfect ShotTaii Wakeen, Perfect Shot, too, cares about numbers; she can draw you two cards if you happen to wipe two two-toughness creatures off the board.

Finally, The Jolly Balloon ManThe Jolly Balloon Man just wants to have fun regardless of finicky stats; he'll copy Fury and anything else you have lying around.

6. ReveillarkReveillark - 43,508 decks

The first four cards have all come from Modern Horizons sets, so it's nice to finally cover an OG evoker. Returning two small things from the 'yard to play for five or six mana doesn't sound that awesome, but ReveillarkReveillark makes up for the somewhat restrictive cost with combo potential alongside Karmic GuideKarmic Guide and Viscera SeerViscera Seer:

Saffi EriksdotterSaffi Eriksdotter and Altar of DementiaAltar of Dementia work as combo pieces, too, among other options, making the 'Lark an important role player in decks like Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov, Karador, Ghost ChieftainKarador, Ghost Chieftain, and Alesha, Who Smiles at DeathAlesha, Who Smiles at Death.

5. NulldrifterNulldrifter - 46,201 decks

It's not the first of its name (yet), but the wordplay comes thick and fast with NulldrifterNulldrifter, who answers the question possibly only Wizards of the Coast card designers could ask: What happens when an Eldrazi and a beloved evoke card have a baby?

And, because of this abhorrent marriage of card types and mechanics, there are so many ways to squeeze more value out of this than just drawing two cards or having a mini-annihilator in play. At level 1, for example, we could make Nulldrifter cheaper or lean into its creature type with Animar, Soul of ElementsAnimar, Soul of Elements or Ulalek, Fused AtrocityUlalek, Fused Atrocity, respectively.

Helga waves hello again from level 2, alongside Imoti, Celebrant of BountyImoti, Celebrant of Bounty: casting it for three mana but getting seven mana worth of triggers out of it. Eshki, Temur's RoarEshki, Temur's Roar works in a similar way, taking advantage of the fact that your DivinationDivination also has four power.

And finally, level 3 uses every part of the buffalo: Brenard and Niko, Light of HopeNiko, Light of Hope let you also dream about triggering annihilator after you've drawn cards.

4. SolitudeSolitude - 60,740 decks

Terra's favorite evoker (probably) and yet another tool in Helga and Brenard's arsenals (he's eating good!), Solitude deals with any creature barring protection or hexproof and keeps coming back for more thanks to the color white's penchant for blink and other forms of recursion, including sort-of recursion in the form of Elesh Norn, Mother of MachinesElesh Norn, Mother of Machines's PanharmoniconPanharmonicon effect.

This color is packed with ways to abuse evoke, from classic commander Brago, King EternalBrago, King Eternal to cheap threat Phelia, Exuberant ShepherdPhelia, Exuberant Shepherd.

3. ShriekmawShriekmaw - 74,987 decks

Back to another Lorwyn staple, ShriekmawShriekmaw has stood the test of time by virtue of being a clean, cheap way to answer a threat that you can also recur. For a taste of just how much you can mess around with evoke triggers, check out Jesse Barker Plotkin's piece on getting the most out of cards like the Maw, Grief, and Fury with Undying EvilUndying Evil and its ilk.

A whole Modern deck was built around this interaction. It was called Scam, and it was a really good time, unless you were the opponent, who was probably also playing Scam at around that time.

2. EnduranceEndurance - 75,561 decks

Modern Horizons takes down the silver medal with EnduranceEndurance, which may not seem as powerful as the others in its cycle, because it doesn't affect the board when you evoke it. Of course, looks can be deceiving, and experienced Commander players will know that a timely 3/4 with flash can shut off an entire deck that's built around graveyard interactions.

There's also the not-so-secret alternate use case of Endurance: targeting yourself! You can reset your library after a really long game or after putting most of it into the graveyard over the course of a few turns, like you might with Lumra, Bellow of the WoodsLumra, Bellow of the Woods, Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale, or Tayam, Luminous EnigmaTayam, Luminous Enigma.

This kind of sweeping effect on the game is so valuable, and to get it in creature form that is easily recurred makes it an excellent tool to have access to.

1. MulldrifterMulldrifter - 176,057 decks

It's only fair that an evoke creature from Lorwyn is the most played card with the mechanic. Sure, MulldrifterMulldrifter has been around longer and has been printed way more than the Horizons Elementals, but it has staying power because drawing cards is one of the most powerful things you can do in the format, and because it takes a light breeze to blink, reanimate, bounce, replay, or otherwise reuse this.

Not convinced yet? Check out this combo on Commander Spellbook that puts your deck in your hand and nets infinite sacrifice triggers:

Elementals Are Ideas Given FormElementals Are Ideas Given Form

This list was a real battle between the original Lorwyn block with its classic, clean designs and the younger, hungrier, and flashier Modern Horizons homages. I love both types of cards: the trailblazers and the not-so-subtle nods, like Nulldrifter.

How about you? Who came out on top, and which evoke cards are you surprised didn't make the list? Let us know!