Kitchen FinksKitchen Finks | Art by Kev Walker

Hey, everyone! With Lorwyn Eclipsed (ECL) previews underway, I'm featuring mechanics from our first foray into the plane of Lorwyn, starting with last week's article all about evoke.

Today, we're looking into persist, which first appeared in Shadowmoor. -1/-1 counters are an important part of Lorwyn's identity - wither also made its debut on this plane - and the new set features two cards that bring back the persist mechanic. So it's a great time to see which cards with persist have made their way into the most Commander decks.

Let's dive right in!

10. Lesser MasticoreLesser Masticore - 13,939 decks

One of the newer persist cards, Lesser MasticoreLesser Masticore is the first of many, many creatures with this mechanic to figure into infinite combos. You see, when the creature returns from the graveyard, and if you have a way to remove the -1/-1 counter, say, with Vizier of RemediesVizier of Remedies or Renata, Called to the HuntRenata, Called to the Hunt, you can put together all kinds of loops that trigger off things dying and entering the battlefield, and you can easily go off with sacrifice outlets like Altar of DementiaAltar of Dementia and Ashnod's AltarAshnod's Altar.

Celes, Rune KnightCeles, Rune Knight is a recently printed commander that has great synergy with persist cards, as does Gev, Scaled ScorchGev, Scaled Scorch if you do a little work. In fact, browsing Masticore's Top Commander tab reveals a bevvy of options that likely run this little guy because they care about one of the triggers I mentioned above.

Let's make Bartolomé del PresidioBartolomé del Presidio infinitely large or cancel out the persist with the opposite mechanic, undying!

Aside from being a cheap persister to get things going, Masticore conveniently has an ability that lets you dominate the board with infinite mana. It's almost like Modern Horizons cards may have been designed with these silly interactions in mind!

9. Dusk Legion SergeantDusk Legion Sergeant - 17,299 decks

Cards on this list either have persist or (spoiler!) grant persist to other creatures. Sergeant is our first member of the latter club, and is it ever an effective way to protect your team of Vampires.

It's a very narrow card, working only in this specific archetype, but it's a great pickup for decks that just want a ton of Vampires and care about winning with creatures.

8. Putrid GoblinPutrid Goblin - 27,837 decks

Sneezing at a persist creature will probably get it to start an infinite combo — it's really that easy. Putrid GoblinPutrid Goblin is another cheap piece in a bunch of different engines, from Thran VigilThran Vigil to Viscera SeerViscera Seer loops:

Check out Goblin's Commander Spellbook page for the full list. The 2/2 also features in Ethan Coover's best Goblin combos list alongside kindred creatures Scuzzback MaraudersScuzzback Marauders and the next card on the list.

Its dual typing also makes it at home in Wilhelt, the RotcleaverWilhelt, the Rotcleaver Zombie decks, and it being the color black means Celes often makes room for it.

7. Murderous RedcapMurderous Redcap - 28,004 decks

Redcap is more expensive than its putrid kinfolk, but it makes up for that by also contributing a win condition to infinite combos with its enters-the-battlefield (ETB) trigger. You can also use the it to target Redcap itself, making for a tight combo package with another win condition and Gev:

And, because it's an Assassin, it does some good work in Altaïr Ibn-La'AhadAltaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, which is cool enough to point out as I don't get to write about Assassin's Creed cards enough.

Alongside Kitchen FinksKitchen Finks, which finished outside this top 10 but is still a great card, Redcap also made my namesake Nicholas Lucchesi's best hybrid mana cards in Commander list.

6. Cauldron of SoulsCauldron of Souls - 31,006 decks

Without a sacrifice clause restricting Cauldron to one activation, it's a great as a way to protect your creatures from Wrath of GodWrath of God effects, and to get some value out of Gev or from Henzie "Toolbox" TorreHenzie "Toolbox" Torre giving creatures a potentially big discount in exchange for sacrificing them at end of turn.

It also has some more interesting applications, like becoming a Plague WindPlague Wind with Horobi, Death's WailHorobi, Death's Wail, or letting you politick your way out of a pickle by offering your Cauldron activation to opponents.

5. River KelpieRiver Kelpie - 34,716 decks

I like River KelpieRiver Kelpie a lot because I think of it more as an enabler for graveyard stuff in general rather than a persist engine card. Sure, you can combine it with Spark DoubleSpark Double and Ashnod's Altar for a mono-blue infinite combo, but it costs five!

The persist can be more of an insurance plan for when opponents don't like how many cards you're drawing off this when you get going with Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale, Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide, or Marchesa, the Black RoseMarchesa, the Black Rose, among many other options.

Finally, please note that it's also a hate bear in disguise, netting your triggers off opposing shenanigans as well as your own. Kelpie is a cool and versatile card!

4. Woodfall PrimusWoodfall Primus - 34,902 decks

Primus will always have a special place in my heart as one of the first persist cards I went off with, except it was in Cube and not Commander. Machine-gunning your opponents' permanents down is fun in any format!

Henzie take full advantage of Primus' persist, giving it a potentially hefty discount while getting you a sac trigger and a second destroyed permanent at the end of a hasty trampling attack. Trample is also relevant in the Treefolk-centric combo with Treebeard, Gracious HostTreebeard, Gracious Host:

3. Persistent ConstrictorPersistent Constrictor - 37,112 decks

Relatively hot off the presses with its 2024 release with Duskmourn Commander, Constrictor seems to have been tailor-made for The Scorpion GodThe Scorpion God, something Arnaud Gompertz picked up on in his budget build. The Snake also has a ton of synergy with other cards from the plane of Amonkhet, considering -1/-1 counters is a core part of its mechanical identity. Hapatra, Vizier of PoisonsHapatra, Vizier of Poisons, Nest of ScarabsNest of Scarabs, and Obelisk SpiderObelisk Spider all work great with this resilient noodle.

2. Puppeteer CliquePuppeteer Clique - 46,029 decks

Another Cube darling, Clique is both a Faerie and a Wizard, making it great in a range of decks from Inalla, Archmage RitualistInalla, Archmage Ritualist to Alela, Cunning ConquerorAlela, Cunning Conqueror. Of course, persist makes it a supercharged recursion outlet (for your opponents' stuff) and potential win condition in Celes or Gev, as long as graveyards have goodies in them.

I also love how this makes it possible for you to win with your opponents' combos. Please tell me if you've done this!

1. Glen Elendra ArchmageGlen Elendra Archmage - 77,166 decks

To a ton of Magic players, this card is simply "Glen," a fact that speaks to this Faerie's power and ubiquity across multiple formats. Sure, it no longer makes the cut in Modern or Legacy, but I still love it in Cube and it's a pretty formidable insurance policy in Commander.

Like River Kelpie, you can combo off with this alongside Ashnod's Altar and Spark Double, so keep that in mind, but I think you're happy to use this to protect your game plan or disrupt your opponents'.

I Refuse to Die — Not at the Hands of One Such as YouI Refuse to Die — Not at the Hands of One Such as You

Like in the evoke list, persist was an interesting and in some ways broken enough mechanic to reappear at a few points throughout Magic's history. It'll be interesting to see just how many cards feature it in ECL, especially given that wither and new mechanic blight also play around with -1/-1 counters.

Did your favorite persist card miss the list? Let us know!