(Wall of Fortune | Art by Tom Babbey)

All That Glitters Isn't Gold

Commander is, in theory, a format with 100-card decks, one of which is a legendary creature designated as the commander. In practice, it is a format of 100 cards, plus dice for rolling or representing counters, coins for flipping, sleeves to protect your cards or obscure the back of double-faced cards, and tokens (either a wide variety and number of specific tokens, or a healthy supply of Infinitokens).

I was struck by the urge to build a deck that contained and used exactly 100 rectangular pieces of cardboard, with no additional game pieces or accoutrements. Such a deck might play a little faster, feel less fiddly, or be easier to transport, but mostly I just wanted to see how different things look in a world without accessories.

This being the "Magic Data Science" column, I of course went to the data!

First, I attempted to identify every card that required or implied the existence of a non-card game piece:

• Any card referring to tokens: Treasure, Clue, Powerstone, Creature, copy, or otherwise
• Any card referring to counters: +1/+1, -1/-1, loyalty, ability, shield, or any of the myriad hyper-specific counters
• Any card referring to dice or coins
• Any card requiring you to make a note or secretly choose
• Any card referring to dungeons/venture, initiative, day/night, the monarch, etc
• I also excluded any double-faced cards, in a maximalist effort to eliminate any need for supplies other than just cards
• Finally, I excluded any Un/acorn cards and digital-only cards, because, obviously

All together, this comes to about 6,128 excluded cards. Out of the 25,000ish unique cards in existence, that's actually a smaller proportion than I would have guessed!

The next, most obvious step for me was to look at which commanders run the fewest accessory cards, and which run the most.

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Least-Accessorized Commanders

Among commanders with a reasonable number of EDHREC decks to their name, these are the ones who run the lowest proportion of "accessory" cards, and the highest proportion of lone rectangle cards.

commander	1 rectangle	accessory
6.8% accessories	Sol Ring Command Tower Arcane Signet Sway of Illusion Azorius Signet Distorting Lens Scuttlemutt Shifting Sky Orzhov Signet Blind Seer Arcane Sanctum Dimir Signet Tidal Visionary Stormscape Familiar Wash Out Warped Devotion Counterspell	Smothering Tithe Propaganda Ashiok, Nightmare Muse Mystic Remora Generous Gift Hengegate Pathway Stormfront Riders Wandering Archaic Swan Song Venser, the Sojourner Brightclimb Pathway Clearwater Pathway Call for Unity Shadrix Silverquill Soulherder Midnight Clock Dauthi Voidwalker
7.3% accessories	Rancor Command Tower Shield of the Oversoul Ethereal Armor Armadillo Cloak Spirit Mantle Sol Ring Ancestral Mask Unflinching Courage Winds of Rath Enchantress's Presence Sythis, Harvest's Hand Mesa Enchantress All That Glitters Bear Umbra Satyr Enchanter Sram, Senior Edificer	Setessan Champion Beast Within Sigil of the Empty Throne Generous Gift Mayael's Aria Siona, Captain of the Pyleas Starfield Mystic Calix, Destiny's Hand Branchloft Pathway Smothering Tithe Sticky Fingers Hero of Iroas Cragcrown Pathway Needleverge Pathway Archon of Sun's Grace Mana Crypt Rhythm of the Wild
7.4% accessories	Gemhide Sliver Command Tower Manaweft Sliver Sliver Hivelord Cloudshredder Sliver Harmonic Sliver Crystalline Sliver Sliver Legion Quick Sliver Sol Ring The First Sliver Necrotic Sliver Heart Sliver Sentinel Sliver Shifting Sliver Galerider Sliver Bonescythe Sliver	Sliver Hive Brood Sliver Sliver Queen Virulent Sliver Door of Destinies Tempered Sliver Fungus Sliver Smothering Tithe Biomancer's Familiar Mana Crypt Swan Song Hive Stirrings Mystic Remora Beast Within Rhythm of the Wild Frenetic Sliver Maskwood Nexus
7.7% accessories	Blue Elemental Blast Douse Hydroblast Sway of Illusion Flash Flood Sol Ring Willbreaker Hibernation Wash Out Llawan, Cephalid Empress Distorting Lens Dismiss into Dream Shifting Sky Scuttlemutt Well-Laid Plans Tidal Visionary Heartstone	Master of Waves Mind Harness Midnight Clock Pongify Mystic Remora Guile Propaganda Rapid Hybridization Curse of the Swine Talrand, Sky Summoner Sword of Body and Mind Swan Song Sword of Truth and Justice Sea Gate Restoration Baral, Chief of Compliance Mana Crypt Narset, Parter of Veils
7.8% accessories	Sol Ring Telepathy Glasses of Urza Seer's Vision Megrim Command Tower Arcane Signet Dimir Signet Geth's Grimoire Counterspell Zur's Weirding Gitaxian Probe Peek Syphon Mind Sunken Hollow Recoil Perplex	Waste Not Tergrid, God of Fright Narset, Parter of Veils Propaganda Tourach, Dread Cantor Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage The Haunt of Hightower Quest for the Nihil Stone Mystic Remora Bloodchief Ascension Ashiok, Dream Render Clearwater Pathway Dauthi Voidwalker Swan Song Banshee of the Dread Choir Bone Miser Mana Crypt
8.0% accessories	Command Tower Gemhide Sliver Cloudshredder Sliver Manaweft Sliver Harmonic Sliver Sol Ring Sliver Hivelord Sentinel Sliver Quick Sliver Exotic Orchard Crystalline Sliver Sliver Legion Venom Sliver Arcane Signet Striking Sliver Heart Sliver Bonescythe Sliver	Sliver Hive Virulent Sliver Brood Sliver Tempered Sliver Sliver Queen Profane Tutor Door of Destinies Fungus Sliver Mana Crypt Rhythm of the Wild Ancestral Vision Mystic Remora Forbidden Orchard Swan Song Smothering Tithe Beast Within Vivid Grove
8.2% accessories	Gemhide Sliver Harmonic Sliver Cloudshredder Sliver Command Tower Sinew Sliver Two-Headed Sliver Manaweft Sliver Sol Ring Necrotic Sliver Homing Sliver Arcane Signet Quick Sliver Sentinel Sliver Fury Sliver Sliver Hivelord Winged Sliver Predatory Sliver	Virulent Sliver Sliver Hive Fungus Sliver Brood Sliver Tempered Sliver Sliver Queen Enduring Sliver Hive Stirrings Maskwood Nexus Door of Destinies Sliversmith Beast Within Rhythm of the Wild Search for Tomorrow Coalition Relic Vampiric Sliver Smothering Tithe
8.2% accessories	Gemhide Sliver Command Tower Manaweft Sliver Harmonic Sliver Cloudshredder Sliver Sentinel Sliver Predatory Sliver Sol Ring Venom Sliver Quick Sliver Crystalline Sliver Arcane Signet Bonescythe Sliver Sinew Sliver Megantic Sliver Two-Headed Sliver Spiteful Sliver	Virulent Sliver Sliver Hive Brood Sliver Fungus Sliver Tempered Sliver Hive Stirrings Sliver Queen Door of Destinies Beast Within Rhythm of the Wild Smothering Tithe Vampiric Sliver Enduring Sliver Maskwood Nexus Skyclave Relic Frenetic Sliver Vivid Grove
8.4% accessories	Sol Ring Sage's Reverie Battle Mastery Command Tower Ethereal Armor Steel of the Godhead All That Glitters Eldrazi Conscription Azorius Signet Open the Armory Arcane Signet Auramancer's Guise Sovereigns of Lost Alara Winds of Rath Heliod's Pilgrim Prairie Stream Righteous Authority	Corrupted Conscience Archon of Sun's Grace Ajani's Chosen Smothering Tithe Hengegate Pathway Propaganda Starfield Mystic Sigil of the Empty Throne Hero of Iroas Generous Gift Swan Song Mystic Remora Mana Crypt Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr Keeper of the Accord Invocation of Saint Traft Ordeal of Thassa
8.5% accessories	Command Tower Finest Hour Sol Ring Qasali Pridemage Noble Hierarch Sublime Archangel Swords to Plowshares Cathedral of War Sovereigns of Lost Alara Arcane Signet Steel of the Godhead Swiftfoot Boots Seaside Citadel Shield of the Oversoul Giltspire Avenger Rogue's Passage Hallowed Fountain	Beast Within Generous Gift Blighted Agent Smothering Tithe Swan Song Shalai, Voice of Plenty Grunn, the Lonely King Branchloft Pathway Barkchannel Pathway Umezawa's Jitte Tamiyo, Field Researcher Hengegate Pathway Mystic Remora Elspeth, Knight-Errant Winged Boots Mana Crypt Lion Sash
9.0% accessories	Overgrown Battlement Wall of Denial Axebane Guardian Wall of Blossoms Command Tower Stalwart Shield-Bearers High Alert Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive Wall of Omens Sunscape Familiar Sol Ring Assault Formation Slaughter the Strong Tower Defense Dusk // Dawn Crashing Drawbridge Hover Barrier	Shield Sphere Wall of Roots Beast Within Teyo, the Shieldmage Towering Titan Wall of Shards Huatli, the Sun's Heart Generous Gift The Birth of Meletis Barkchannel Pathway Colossus of Akros Hengegate Pathway Branchloft Pathway Wall of Kelp Rigo, Streetwise Mentor Unbreakable Formation Hornet Nest
9.0% accessories	Sol Ring Command Tower Arcane Signet Freed from the Real Vizier of Tumbling Sands Thousand-Year Elixir Swiftfoot Boots Counterspell Azorius Signet Pemmin's Aura Dimir Signet Aphetto Alchemist Arcane Sanctum Swords to Plowshares Fatestitcher Orzhov Signet Hallowed Fountain	Smothering Tithe Mystic Remora Nightmare Shepherd Propaganda Swan Song Generous Gift Mana Crypt Soulherder Athreos, Shroud-Veiled Teferi, Who Slows the Sunset Dauthi Voidwalker Hengegate Pathway Brightclimb Pathway Clearwater Pathway Spark Double Narset, Parter of Veils Corrupted Conscience
9.0% accessories	Command Tower Sol Ring Gemhide Sliver Manaweft Sliver Cloudshredder Sliver Crystalline Sliver Harmonic Sliver Sliver Legion Arcane Signet Sliver Hivelord Necrotic Sliver Heart Sliver Sliver Overlord Chromatic Lantern Lavabelly Sliver Quick Sliver The First Sliver	Sliver Hive Brood Sliver Virulent Sliver Mana Crypt Smothering Tithe Tempered Sliver Parallel Lives Anointed Procession Beast Within Biomancer's Familiar Doubling Season Mystic Remora Swan Song Door of Destinies Fungus Sliver Forbidden Orchard Rhythm of the Wild

There are basically four categories here: Slivers, Auras, Throwbacks, and Others:

• 5 of the 13 least-accessorized commanders are five-color Sliver Lords, and their decks are pretty similar: lots of Slivers, lead by the ramp/fixing Gemhide Sliver and Manaweft Sliver, and some very generically popular rocks and lands. The First Sliver and Sliver Queen want to go a little wider, which is reflected in their accessories: Sliver Hive and Brood Sliver.
• Uril, the Miststalker and Bruna, Light of Alabaster are powered by Auras. Instead of adding power/abilities through counters, they use other pieces of cardboard. Their power buffs are more likely to come from static +1/+1 abilities (Sage's Reverie, All That Glitters) than from +1/+1 counters (Setessan Champion, Starfield Mystic, Hero of Iroas).
• Then there are some throwbacks, like Dromar, the Banisher, Blind Seer, Nebuchadnezzar, or Merieke Ri Berit. These are all various levels of obscure, although I always enjoy commanders that let you use otherwise homeless cards, like Tidal Visionary.
• Rafiq of the Many just runs a lot of creatures who exalt each other. Its accessories are pretty much all just format staples.
• Arcades, the Strategist is the canonical defender deck that just runs a ton of defenders for card advantage and mana efficiency.
• For the sake of interest, the next 13 least-accessorized commanders are: The Beamtown Bullies, Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, Volrath the Fallen, Kaalia of the Vast, Yurlok of Scorch Thrash, Araumi of the Dead Tide, Zurgo Helmsmasher, Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker, Iname, Death Aspect, Phage the Untouchable, Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign, Phenax, God of Deception, and Circu, Dimir Lobotomist.

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Most Decked-Out Commanders

These are the commanders whose EDHREC decks are composed of the largest proportion of accessory cards - that is, those that produce tokens, counters, and so on.

commander	1 rectangle	accessory
63.6% accessories	Command Tower Sol Ring Arcane Signet Seaside Citadel Exotic Orchard Canopy Vista Swiftfoot Boots Prairie Stream Rishkar's Expertise Flooded Grove Brokers Confluence Brokers Hideout Fortified Village Brokers Charm Port Town Skycloud Expanse Temple of Mystery	Agent's Toolkit Slippery Bogbonder Crystalline Giant Damning Verdict Resourceful Defense Denry Klin, Editor in Chief Nesting Grounds Karn's Bastion Evolution Sage Avenging Huntbonder Contractual Safeguard Midnight Clock Tezzeret's Gambit Gavony Township Everflowing Chalice Generous Gift Vivid Grove
60.3% accessories	Command Tower Sol Ring Yavimaya Coast Temple of Mystery Hinterland Harbor Cultivate Breeding Pool Arcane Signet Simic Growth Chamber Simic Signet Flooded Grove Rejuvenating Springs Counterspell Growth Spiral Rampant Growth Kodama's Reach Reliquary Tower	Evolution Sage Fathom Mage Karn's Bastion Tezzeret's Gambit Thrummingbird Simic Ascendancy Incubation Druid Flux Channeler Beast Within Contentious Plan Inspiring Call Merfolk Skydiver Gyre Sage Everflowing Chalice Forgotten Ancient Herald of Secret Streams Rishkar, Peema Renegade
58.0% accessories	Sol Ring Counterspell Paradox Haze Mind Stone Arcane Signet Reality Shift Solemn Simulacrum Sky Diamond Mystic Sanctuary Reliquary Tower Thought Vessel Strionic Resonator Trophy Mage Negate Fuel for the Cause Sphinx of the Second Sun Decree of Silence	Kiora Bests the Sea God Power Conduit Time of Ice Chronozoa Ferropede The Mirari Conjecture Clockspinning Mystic Remora Glen Elendra Archmage Medomai's Prophecy Tezzeret's Gambit Mazemind Tome Flux Channeler Midnight Clock Cauldron of Souls Everflowing Chalice Musician
56.5% accessories	Command Tower Sol Ring Swords to Plowshares Canopy Vista Beast Whisperer Cultivate Arcane Signet Selesnya Sanctuary Sunpetal Grove Rampant Growth Temple Garden Krosan Verge Avacyn's Pilgrim Temple of Plenty Return of the Wildspeaker Heroic Intervention Path to Exile	Inspiring Call Armorcraft Judge Abzan Falconer Good-Fortune Unicorn Felidar Retreat Conclave Mentor Rishkar, Peema Renegade Gavony Township Renata, Called to the Hunt Fertilid Cathars' Crusade Mikaeus, the Lunarch Champion of Lambholt Forgotten Ancient Incubation Druid Beast Within Unbreakable Formation
56.3% accessories	Sol Ring Toski, Bearer of Secrets Heroic Intervention Return of the Wildspeaker Rishkar's Expertise Beast Whisperer Swiftfoot Boots Lightning Greaves Llanowar Elves Kenrith's Transformation Shamanic Revelation Boseiju, Who Endures Fyndhorn Elves Harmonize Nature's Claim Krosan Grip Elvish Mystic	Evolution Sage Beast Within Inspiring Call Oran-Rief, the Vastwood Forgotten Ancient Champion of Lambholt Avenger of Zendikar Rishkar, Peema Renegade Roaring Earth Renata, Called to the Hunt Scavenging Ooze Loyal Guardian Managorger Hydra Retreat to Kazandu Gyre Sage Hardened Scales Armorcraft Judge
56.1% accessories	Sol Ring Arcane Signet Command Tower Prairie Stream Azorius Signet Swords to Plowshares Port Town Swiftfoot Boots Azorius Chancery Temple of Enlightenment Glacial Fortress Hallowed Fountain Skycloud Expanse Path to Exile Counterspell Myriad Landscape Panharmonicon	Wingspan Mentor Avenging Huntbonder Damning Verdict Splendor Mare Resourceful Defense Tyrite Sanctum Contractual Safeguard Nesting Grounds Keensight Mentor Grateful Apparition Boon of Safety Elspeth Resplendent Thrummingbird Luminarch Aspirant Herald of Secret Streams The Ozolith Avian Oddity
56.0% accessories	Rogue's Passage Sol Ring Rampant Growth Swiftfoot Boots Ram Through Return of the Wildspeaker Harmonize Cultivate Return to Nature Llanowar Elves Hunter's Insight Colossal Majesty Reclamation Sage Elvish Mystic Fireshrieker Rishkar's Expertise Sakura-Tribe Elder	Hydra's Growth Invigorating Surge Snakeskin Veil Forgotten Ancient Evolution Sage Ancient Animus Retreat to Kazandu Inspiring Call Ordeal of Nylea Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter Beast Within Pollenbright Druid Hardened Scales Oran-Rief, the Vastwood Ivy Lane Denizen Opal Palace Courage in Crisis
54.3% accessories	Sol Ring Command Tower Arcane Signet Swiftfoot Boots Izzet Signet Chaos Warp Blasphemous Act Temple of Epiphany Robe of the Archmagi Izzet Boilerworks Rogue's Passage Talisman of Creativity Sulfur Falls Shivan Reef Training Center Counterspell Reliquary Tower	Barbarian Class Delina, Wild Mage Wand of Wonder Wyll's Reversal Hoarding Ogre Vexing Puzzlebox Component Pouch The Deck of Many Things Sword of Hours Brazen Dwarf Thunderwave Pixie Guide Chaos Channeler Reckless Endeavor Treasure Chest Contact Other Plane Netherese Puzzle-Ward
54.0% accessories	Command Tower Sol Ring Kiora's Follower Simic Growth Chamber Cultivate Temple of Mystery Simic Signet Counterspell Hinterland Harbor Breeding Pool Reliquary Tower Swiftfoot Boots Seedborn Muse Growth Spiral Yavimaya Coast Murkfiend Liege Arcane Signet	Fathom Mage Simic Ascendancy Everflowing Chalice Evolution Sage Gyre Sage Master Biomancer Forgotten Ancient Astral Cornucopia Deepglow Skate Herald of Secret Streams Karn's Bastion Tezzeret's Gambit Thrummingbird Inspiring Call Fertilid Incubation Druid Zameck Guildmage
53.7% accessories	Sol Ring Cultivate Heroic Intervention Kodama's Reach Castle Garenbrig Beast Whisperer Elvish Mystic Llanowar Elves Eternal Witness Lightning Greaves Rampant Growth Karametra's Acolyte Three Visits Swiftfoot Boots Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx Asceticism Return of the Wildspeaker	Nissa, Who Shakes the World Garruk, Unleashed Evolution Sage Beast Within Vivien Reid Forgotten Ancient The Ozolith Garruk, Primal Hunter Vigor Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Renata, Called to the Hunt The Great Henge Garruk, Caller of Beasts Oran-Rief, the Vastwood Incubation Druid Inspiring Call Rishkar, Peema Renegade
53.5% accessories	Sol Ring Command Tower Swords to Plowshares Arcane Signet Path to Exile Canopy Vista Esper Sentinel Cultivate Bountiful Promenade Rampant Growth Avacyn's Pilgrim Fortified Village Swiftfoot Boots Llanowar Elves Nature's Lore Sunpetal Grove Temple Garden	Abzan Falconer Mikaeus, the Lunarch Karn's Bastion Inspiring Call Champion of Lambholt Damning Verdict Felidar Retreat Evolution Sage Hardened Scales Unbreakable Formation Conclave Mentor Armorcraft Judge Beast Within Gavony Township Forgotten Ancient Grateful Apparition Gyre Sage
53.4% accessories	Command Tower Sol Ring Sandsteppe Citadel Evolving Wilds Arcane Signet Cultivate Putrefy Rampant Growth Terramorphic Expanse Blossoming Sands Swords to Plowshares Scoured Barrens Jungle Hollow Despark Mortify Golgari Signet Orzhov Signet	Abzan Falconer Inspiring Call Corpsejack Menace Winding Constrictor Tuskguard Captain Abzan Charm Abzan Battle Priest Ainok Bond-Kin Conclave Mentor Hardened Scales Ivorytusk Fortress Armorcraft Judge Mer-Ek Nightblade Fertilid Good-Fortune Unicorn Hagra Constrictor Evolution Sage
53.0% accessories	Sol Ring Command Tower Arcane Signet Izzet Signet Reliquary Tower Counterspell Izzet Boilerworks Temple of Epiphany Chaos Warp Talisman of Creativity Blasphemous Act Evolving Wilds Thought Vessel Frostboil Snarl Negate Sulfur Falls Goblin Electromancer	Pixie Guide Barbarian Class Contact Other Plane Delina, Wild Mage Feywild Trickster Hoarding Ogre Brazen Dwarf Wizard's Spellbook Component Pouch Aberrant Mind Sorcerer Chaos Channeler Earth-Cult Elemental Diviner's Portent Power of Persuasion Netherese Puzzle-Ward Treasure Chest The Deck of Many Things

These can also be binned into a small number of categories: Counter Variety, +1/+1 Counters, and Dice-Rollers:

• Perrie, the Pulverizer, Denry Klin, Editor in Chief, Vorel of the Hull Clade, and Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider aren't focused exclusively on +1/+1 counters, but reward having a variety of counter types on any specific creature, across all of your creatures, or inclusive of your planeswalkers. Kodama of the West Tree falls into this category, but is also open to other types of modifications.
• Roalesk, Apex Hybrid, Hamza, Guardian of Arashin, Mowu, Loyal Companion, and Daghatar the Adamant all really want you to pile as many +1/+1 counters as possible on your creatures and then Proliferate them, ramp off of them, increment them, or move them around.
• Farideh, Devil's Chosen just wants you to roll dice (which sounds a little tedious), and Wyll, Blade of Frontiers lives at the intersection of dice-rolling and counter-putting.
• Chisei, Heart of Oceans is in a category of its own, and actually seems pretty sweet. In a world of Proliferating counters, Chisei only wants to remove them. This opens the door for lots of cards that don't see a lot of play elsewhere, mainly those with Cumulative upkeep or counters that count down, like Thing in the Ice.
• The next most-accessorized decks are: Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Kros, Defense Contractor, Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager, Zegana, Utopian Speaker, Thelon of Havenwood, Kalain, Reclusive Painter, Tanazir Quandrix, Alharu, Solemn Ritualist, The Scorpion God, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters, Bennie Bracks, Zoologist, Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, Shaile, Dean of Radiance. Here we finally see the token-centric commanders we might have expected, lead by Kalain (which is a Treasure token/+1 counter hybrid), Adrix and Nev, and Bennie Bracks.

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Variety: The Spice of Life?

I've always liked +1/+1 counters, going wide with tokens, and even Superfriends decks, but I thought that focusing on bare cardboard alone might lead to a more essential Magic experience. Though after doing this exercise, I'm fairly convinced that the "essential Magic experience" is a theoretical construct - impossible to define and not worth chasing. And, to the extent it relies on de-accessorizing your decks, not particularly compelling.

So, as compelling as it can be to build with restrictions, I'm not going to shy away from decks that require large stacks of tokens, boxes of dice, or literal dollars' worth of pennies. If you're going to spend literal hours playing a game, you might as well accessorize!

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Thoughts? Questions? Critiques? Suggestions?

Let me hear them! I'm curious about the practical aspects of accessory-heavy decks: do you have the right tokens for your deck? How many of each do you bring? Or do you use dry-erase tokens as an outlet for your artistic expression? Do you use dice for +1/+1 counters, or something more bespoke? Have you ever built a deck that really leaned into a truly massive number of tokens or counters? I'd love to see the lists and hear about your experiences! As always, if you aren’t already, please follow me on Twitter.