Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast | Art by Livia Prima

There's been a massive surge in popularity for Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed since her release last year. She currently holds an esteemed ranking as the #6 most popular commander. The question on the table: Will she breach into the Top 5? And, perhaps just as importantly, if so, when?

However, an obstacle stands in Y'shtola's way. She is an obstacle as old as Wizards of the Coast's support of the format. She's a major tour de force of the format at large. Her name? Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast.

Ladies, gentlemen, neither, both, and everyone besides, the fight to claim the #5 spot on EDHREC's Most Popular Commanders list is just getting warmed up. Will this bout end up in Y'shtola, the challenger's, favor? Or will a mainstay of foundational Commander bring her to her knees? Let's look at some details.

The Reigning #5 Commander: Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast

Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast has been around since the summer of 2011. At that time, the format was young and had just gained product support from Wizards of the Coast. Kaalia was one of the initial five "face commanders" for the Commander 2011 precon products. She led the Heavenly Inferno precon, a relative hodgepodge of cards within the themes of Angels, Demons, and Dragons.

The current reigning #5 commander was the glue that held that deck together; without Kaalia, the deck would be a shambles altogether. Since her release, she's even had a retrain in Kaalia, Zenith SeekerKaalia, Zenith Seeker, though that iteration of the character hasn't had nearly as much success.

Nowadays, Kaalia of the Vast commands 32,449 decks on EDHREC, and, as mentioned, is the #5 most popular commander on the site right now.

Unfortunately for the powerhouse, that may soon change.

The Challenger: Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed

Notably, Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed only came out last summer, with the highly-acclaimed Final Fantasy set. Final Fantasy and its four preconstructed Commander decks were a testament to the growth and appeal of Magic: The Gathering on the whole, as well as the Commander format, to boot.

While Y'shtola led the Scions & Spellcraft Commander deck representing Final Fantasy XIV, she, too, had an additional iteration in print, albeit in the main set. Y'shtola RhulY'shtola Rhul is not nearly as popular as Night's Blessed, much like how Zenith Chronicler lacks in that department as well, where Kaalia is concerned.

As of the time of writing, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed has 30,214 decks on EDHREC, and is soon to contest the rank of #5 Most Popular Commander on EDHREC.

Some Insights

The developers over here at EDHREC have come to an interesting insight. With the current trajectory and trending numbers, it seems that, indeed, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed will overtake Kaalia! In about 28 days, give or take a few, we can expect to see Y'shtola claim the #5 spot on our Top Commanders page.

Now, that's not a perfect estimation, and predictions have a chance of faltering. After all, it took a good many days for Sephiroth to take the mantle as the most popular mono-black commander after I preemptively wrote about that happening. Time is funky, friends. But all that to say, it'll probably happen in about that span of time. When it does, I can't wait to cover any further ascension of the Night's Blessed.

And now, I'd like to open the floor to you, dear readers! I know we've been doting over Y'shtola and waxing poetic about how cool the commander is in various articles lately.

What I want to know from you is, where do you see Y'shtola, Night's Blessed ending up on the Most Popular Commanders list by the end of, say, June? How about the end of December 2026? Place your predictions in the comments below!