Alela, Cunning ConquerorAlela, Cunning Conqueror | Art by Livia Prima

Welcome to Fire and Ice! Would you be so kind as to give me your name?

Fae trickery aside, this is the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article! For some information on the math that supports this series, check out this article.

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

This edition will focus on Alela, Cunning Conqueror, EDHREC's 97th most popular commander. This Faerie Warlock has more than 17,000 decks to her name as of the time of writing, and is one of the most popular Faerie commanders out there!

Alela, Cunning ConquerorAlela, Cunning Conqueror

What's Hot and What's Not for Alela, Cunning Conqueror

For , Alela is a 2/4 with flying. When we cast our first spell on each opponent's turn, she creates a 1/1 Faerie token with flying. And, whenever one or more Faeries we control connect with an opponent, we get to goad one of that opponent's creatures.

Alela decks want to control the board, utilizing counterspells, instant speed card draw, and creatures with flash to flood the board with flying pests. They'll then chip away at life totals while keeping other players' threats off the field. Among this commander's most popular cards are Obyra, Dreaming DuelistObyra, Dreaming Duelist (92% inclusion rate), Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind (69% inclusion rate), and BitterblossomBitterblossom (70% inclusion rate). It's worth noting that Alela was printed as a backup commander in the Fae Dominion deck from Wilds of Eldraine Commander, which contributes to some cards' high play percentage.

What's Fiery for Alela Decks?

Bitterbloom BearerBitterbloom Bearer - Fire Score of 6.03

This creature does everything we want. It's an evasive Faerie that makes more evasive Faeries, and it can be cast at flash speed. It triggers our commander's first ability on cast, and makes enough tokens to allow for consistent goading of our opponents' biggest threats with her second ability.

Bitterblossom is, of course, a staple of Faerie decks. But this creature outclasses it in almost every way. It may require an extra pip in place of , but the extra body and flash speed that Bitterbloom Bearer brings to the table are fantastic.

Harmonized TrioHarmonized Trio - Fire Score of 4.76

We'll be making plenty of creature tokens, allowing us to prepare this creature with ease. Then, we can cast its spell on an opponent's turn to make more creature tokens we can use to prepare this Merfolk Bard Wizard again!

As a side note, I'm shocked that this creature costs just . It may require some setup, but Harmonized Trio lets us Brainstorm at least once per turn cycle! That's a crazy amount of card selection. If we upgrade our mana base to include fetch lands, we can even flush away the bad cards we store on top of our library.

Voracious Tome-SkimmerVoracious Tome-Skimmer - Fire Score of 4.69

This is a consistent way to draw cards, and can hit the board pretty early in the game. We'll cast at minimum one spell on an opposing player's turn per table rotation, making this Faerie Rogue into a solid way to fill up our hand.

Admittedly, the life payment that Voracious Tome-Skimmer demands can stack up. If we choose to draw from its triggered ability too frequently, we could find ourselves in trouble. We'll (hopefully) be goading enough of our opponents' creatures that this won't present a problem.

Changing LoyaltyChanging Loyalty - Fire Score of 3.60

We can cast this Aura in response to an opponent's removal spell, allowing us to either save our own creature from death or steal an opposing creature permanently. is an okay rate to save our own creature from removal (spells like Malakir RebirthMalakir Rebirth are a bit more efficient), but is a great rate for stealing someone else's creature.

It's also fantastic that we can replicate this spell, letting us rebuild from a board wipe super quickly. If we replicate this spell a few times in response to a sweeper, we can grab the best creatures on the field while leaving our opponents high and dry.

Glen Elendra GuardianGlen Elendra Guardian - Fire Score of 2.68

This creature really shines in +1/+1 counter decks, but it's alright here. It'll act as a five-mana counterspell that we can pay for in installments. The threat of activation is significant and can keep other players from taking meaningful game actions if we politic well.

But, at the end of the day, this is an evasive creature that can provide on-the-stack interaction at a pretty high mana cost. I don't know if it's worth playing in Alela decks, but at least it's got flash!

What's Icy for Alela Decks?

Blightwing BanditBlightwing Bandit - Ice Score of -3.69

This is a difficult-to-block Faerie, but that's just about all it's good for. If we're going to pay for a 2/2 creature, that creature had better have some good abilities. And this one doesn't! Stealing cards from the top of our opponents' libraries is technically card advantage, but those cards aren't guaranteed to fit with our game plan. If an opponent is playing a lands deck and we exile a Nature's LoreNature's Lore from their library, we haven't really gained much at all.

It's much better to use opponents' cards in specific contexts (like in a deck built around Gonti, Canny AcquisitorGonti, Canny Acquisitor). Unless we're focused heavily on using someone else's stuff, their stuff won't be very useful for us.

Wavebreak HippocampWavebreak Hippocamp - Ice Score of -3.13

This Horse Fish can draw us up to three cards per turn cycle! But, it's a bit of a "win-more" card. If we're doing well enough to maximize the card draw this creature can provide, we're already casting at least three spells per turn rotation and likely don't need more help filling our hand with gas. But, if we're not able to draw cards with this creature, then burst card draw may be more useful.

I suspect that some folks may be swapping the Hippocamp for Harmonized Trio directly! If that's the case for you, do let me know in the comments section.

SkullclampSkullclamp - Ice Score of -2.88

I'm a bit confused to see this card declining in popularity. All of the Fae tokens we create are 1/1s, and there are lots of other creatures with one toughness in our 99. With that in mind, Skullclamp should be a no-brainer inclusion. Its rate of spending just one mana (and a disposable creature) to draw two cards is really hard to beat!

It's possible that players are looking to sell this card off, now that its price has crested above $5 again. Beyond that, I'm not sure why this card's got a relatively significant Ice Score.

Archmage of EchoesArchmage of Echoes - Ice Score of -2.87

Alela lists thrive on living low to the ground, having the flexibility to cast whatever spell the situation may call for. Investing five mana into a creature that doesn't immediately impact the game doesn't align well with that plan.

Copying all of our Faerie spells is certainly quite powerful, and landing two Malleable ImpostorMalleable Impostors can rocket us ahead, but is a high price. We'd usually rather spend that mana on a few spells that we'll cast on somebody else's turn.

Leyline of AnticipationLeyline of Anticipation - Ice Score of -2.62

Why would we play this enchantment when we can just use High Fae TricksterHigh Fae Trickster? The Faerie triggers our commander's first ability if we cast it on another player's turn, and triggers our commander's other ability when it deals combat damage.

While we can just play both spells, there are too many other good flash enablers out there to justify playing the Leyline these days. I'd look toward Final-Word PhantomFinal-Word Phantom and/or Tidal BarracudaTidal Barracuda before this enchantment.

Vendilion CliqueVendilion Clique - Ice Score of -2.62

This Faerie Wizard is much better suited for 1v1 formats, where stripping a card from someone else's hand is much more consequential. In Commander, though, this three-drop costs too much and does too little. It's sadly just not built for a multiplayer, 40-life format like ours.

What's in an Alela, Cunning Conqueror Deck?

Here's an Alela list with all of her Fiery cards, and none of her Icy cards.

Conclusion

Alela is a near-perfect commander for Fae-centric decks, encouraging the slow-but-certain death this creature type delivers. She also incentivizes Commander players to use their spells on opposing turns whenever possible, which is a great lesson for new players to learn. This commander is super cool and everything that a preconstructed deck's backup leader should be!

What's your favorite secondary precon legend? Are you partial to Dina, Soul SteeperDina, Soul Steeper? Vihaan, GoldwakerVihaan, Goldwaker? Let me know in the comments, and Fire and Ice will be back soon!