Yarok, the DesecratedYarok, the Desecrated | Art by Daarken

Welcome back to Fire and Ice! 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!

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 into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Today, we'll spend some time looking at a Sultai () commander that really likes when things enter the battlefield. Yarok, the DesecratedYarok, the Desecrated is a powerhouse, enabling landfall, blink, and even some Elemental kindred strategies! It's great to have a PanharmoniconPanharmonicon in the command zone, no matter how you choose to build your 99. Let's see what Yarok pilots are doing with their awesome commander!

Yarok, the DesecratedYarok, the Desecrated

What's Hot and What's Not for Yarok, the Desecrated

By far the most popular way to build Yarok is with a focus on lands. Pilots want to have many lands enter the battlefield each turn, churning out landfall triggers, and before taking advantage of having access to a ton of mana by casting big creatures with scary abilities that can trigger twice thanks to Yarok.

With an ETB doubler in the command zone, we can accelerate from the mid game to the late game with ease. Among the most popular cards for Yarok decks are Coiling OracleCoiling Oracle (66% inclusion rate), Lotus CobraLotus Cobra (64% inclusion rate), and Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar (59% inclusion rate).

What's Fiery for Yarok Decks?

Starfield VocalistStarfield Vocalist - Fire Score of 7.57

By far the hottest card for Yarok, Starfield Vocalist puts PanharmoniconPanharmonicon on a body! Again! This is essentially a cheaper, second copy of our commander that we can slot into this deck.

This creature would be strong enough without its warp ability, but it's extremely nice to be able to get this Human Bard's effect temporarily for just . This is exactly the sort of effect that decks with high mana value commanders want. It provides redundancy for Yarok, and doesn't lose its effectiveness if it's on the battlefield at the same time as our commander.

Earthbender AscensionEarthbender Ascension - Fire Score of 6.12

Let's break this enchantment down. Assuming we have Yarok on the battlefield, For , we get to search our library for two basic lands and put them onto the battlefield, before making two of our lands into 2/2s. Then, immediately, we get to activate the quest counter half of Earthbender Ascension and begin putting +1/+1 counters on our creatures and giving them trample.

It's like this card was tailor-made for Yarok pilots. It provides a nice mana boost at a low spot on our curve, before supplying tons of +1/+1 counters to our board. Earthbender Ascension would be strong in any land-centric build, but it's remarkably powerful here because Yarok's doubling effect means that we'll immediately put four quest counters on it from the lands it searches up.

Ob Nixilis, the FallenOb Nixilis, the Fallen - Fire Score of 3.37

This is an interesting card to see gaining popularity. For most decks, I'd, say that this version of Ob Nixilis is not worth the that he costs. But, Yarok decks make a lot of mana very quickly, negating that downside. Plus, each land that we have enter the battlefield represents six life lost for an opponent and six +1/+1 counters on Ob.

That's a much better rate than we typically see, and it turns this Demon into a genuine game-ending threat.

Azusa, Lost but SeekingAzusa, Lost but Seeking - Fire Score of 2.89

Azusa is a classic for lands decks, allowing us to dump cards from our hand onto the board. She lets us trigger our landfall abilities multiple times per turn, and gives us access to a ton of mana at a very early stage in the game.

She is vulnerable to removal, carrying just a 1/2 stat line, but we've got access to more than enough recursion in our Sultai color identity.

Eusocial EngineeringEusocial Engineering - Fire Score of 2.48

This feels like a worse version of Rampaging BalothsRampaging Baloths. While Baloths may cost more, it provides 4/4s instead of 2/2s. This enchantment can be warped in, granting us temporary access to its effect for just , but I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze.

Other landfall payoffs provide us with more advantage for a similar amount of mana investment.

Tireless TrackerTireless Tracker - Fire Score of 2.38

Speaking of landfall payoffs, Tireless Tracker is a great one. In this deck, we'll be netting a ton of Clue tokens, and we'll typically have the mana available to sacrifice them easily. This Human Scout does a nice job keeping our hand full throughout the game, and is a fantastic include for Yarok pilots.

Rampant GrowthRampant Growth - Fire Score of 2.33

Would I prefer to play Three VisitsThree Visits, Nature's LoreNature's Lore, or FarseekFarseek instead of Rampant Growth? Yes. Are those cards often harder to find (and pricier) than Rampant Growth? Also yes. Rampant Growth is a classic, reliable ramp spell that provides meaningful mana acceleration in the early game.

It's a solid option, even if there are better cards out there.

What's Icy for Yarok Decks?

Agent of TreacheryAgent of Treachery - Ice Score of -3.95

This Rogue has been a great curve-topper for -based decks for a while. But these days, can do much more than just steal a permanent.

Edge of Eternities' Famished WorldsireFamished Worldsire would be a great swap. We can turn the excess lands we've got on the board into even more lands and a massive creature! I'd also prefer to play Railway BrawlerRailway Brawler and make each creature I cast for the remainder of the game absolutely massive.

Point is, we're not short on high mana value, high impact creatures anymore.

PanharmoniconPanharmonicon and Virtue of KnowledgeVirtue of Knowledge - Ice Scores of -3.09 and -3.06

Though Virtue of Knowledge does have an Adventure attached to it, these two cards are largely the same. Their decline in popularity is likely due to the emergence of Starfield VocalistStarfield Vocalist, which provides a similar effect on a body. The Vocalist may even outclass these two cards due to its warp ability, which lets it come online much earlier.

Roil ElementalRoil Elemental - Ice Score of -2.94

This Elemental is a super powerful card, and will be at maximum effectiveness in a land-heavy deck like this. But, it's mean. Cards that steal multiple creatures from opponents in a semi-permanent way are frowned upon, and can create negative play experiences for some.

That, combined with this Elemental's restrictive mana cost of , has likely contributed to its declining popularity.

Uro, Titan of Nature's WrathUro, Titan of Nature's Wrath - Ice Score of -2.84

Uro is fantastic in 60-card formats, where its 6/6 stat line and the three life points it lets us gain are significant. But we need to spend to repeat Uro's ExploreExplore-esque ability. I'd rather include Exploration BroodshipExploration Broodship (or even the newly released Prismatic UndercurrentsPrismatic Undercurrents) in my deck instead of Uro.

The Titan is certainly not a bad card, but it's not well-suited for Yarok decks specifically.

Wood ElvesWood Elves and Reclamation SageReclamation Sage - Ice Scores of -2.44 and -2.18

Both of these cards provide effects that can be accessed for , but cost . While their status as permanents means we can search for two lands with Wood Elves and destroy two artifacts or enchantments with Reclamation Sage, these creatures have significant drawbacks.

Any amount of extra mana that we need to spend on a removal spell may mean that we can't deal with a problematic permanent at all, especially with the high ward costs being printed on many permanents these days. And, Wood Elves only grabs Forests. While many Yarok pilots include some dual lands in their deck that can be fetched with this Elf, some of them enter tapped. That's a big tempo hit, especially for a three mana ramp spell.

Sire of StagnationSire of Stagnation - Ice Score of -2.14

Much like Agent of TreacheryAgent of Treachery, this is a nice curve-topper. It can draw us 12 cards per turn cycle (assuming each opponent plays at least one land), while also providing a bulky 5/7 body.

This creature feels more "worth it" than Agent of Treachery does, though. It provides more card advantage, and can be much more effective in combat. While this Eldrazi isn't as good of a card advantage engine as Consecrated SphinxConsecrated Sphinx, it can do a pretty good imitation under the right circumstances.

Risen ReefRisen Reef - Ice Score of -2.03

Yarok is an Elemental, meaning this creature will instantly provide a bit of value when we cast our commander. But, outside of Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar and MulldrifterMulldrifter, there aren't many Elementals that Yarok pilots typically play. It's cute that Risen Reef lets Yarok provide us with two Coiling OracleCoiling Oracle-style triggers when it enters the battlefield, but it doesn't do much outside of that.

What's in a Yarok, the DesecratedYarok, the Desecrated Deck?

Our Fire and Ice database hasn't been updated to include Lorwyn Eclipsed cards yet. But, when those updates come around, I expect to see Mutable ExplorerMutable Explorer, WistfulnessWistfulness, and DeceitDeceit carve out solid niches with Yarok pilots. Each of these creatures has a fantastic ETB trigger, making them likely to be easy includes in these decks.

With that said, here's a Yarok decklist that includes all of its hot cards and none of its cold cards.

Conclusion

Yarok is currently the seventh most popular Sultai commander on EDHREC. And, looking at the deck counts for Gonti, Canny AcquisitorGonti, Canny Acquisitor and Maralen, Fae AscendantMaralen, Fae Ascendant, this Elemental Horror may soon slip even further down the list. I don't see Yarok moving beyond the top 10 most popular commanders for this color combination any time soon, though. The doubling effect that it provides is a great general purpose ability in a powerful color combination, meaning Yarok gets at least a few new toys every set.

What do you think? Will Yarok keep its #7 slot, or will it tumble further down our list? Maralen's got nearly 10,000 decks to her name already, and is closing in on Yarok fast. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!