Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed | Art by Magali Villeneuve

It's official! As of Tuesday, August 11, just shy of 15 months after her release with the Final Fantasy set and its associated Commander precons, Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed is now the #1 most popular commander on EDHREC. This is the fastest rise to glory of any commander in the format's history, by the numbers.

In the process, Y'shtola has also bumped The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon to the #2 spot. For some time now, The Ur-Dragon had battled it out with Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov for the esteem of Most Popular Commander. But now, 425 days post-release, Y'shtola has not just those two, but all commanders beat in terms of popularity.

What Is It About Y'shtola?

There is something about Y'shtola that keeps players engaged with building decks for her. Sure, it could be the concept of Catgirl Solidarity, but frankly, that angle doesn't sit right with me as a definitive answer. There probably aren't nearly 50,000 decks for her that cater specifically to that demographic. She also exists in a greatly underserved color identity for Commander.

In January, I wrote about how Esper () has traditionally had the short end of interesting commanders. This changed in 2025 when Hashaton, Scarab's FistHashaton, Scarab's Fist came out. I recognize now that I was wrong, but in the sense that it was Y'shtola that really changed things around for the color identity. Sure, Hashaton currently has more than 25,000 decks and lands at #32 in overall popularity. That still doesn't make it a bona fide winner in the public eye.

So, what is it about Y'shtola, Night's Blessed that makes her as popular as she is?

The answer could lie within the source material. Final Fantasy XIV is not the most popular title in Final Fantasy (by way of critical and commercial acclaim). However, it is also the only major MMORPG in the mainline series and one that many people were exposed to. If you went to a video game convention dressed as Y'shtola RhulY'shtola Rhul and you asked a random con-goer who you were dressed as, many would probably recognize you as more than just a "catgirl."

Nevertheless, there's still the question of how our Esper catgirl became the #1 commander on the site. To that end, I couldn't tell you a succinct or definitive reason for why. But, it honestly might just have to do with all of the above.

The Road to 50,000 Decks

So, now that Y'shtola has beaten The Ur-Dragon in raw popularity, the question shifts. Can she make it to 50,000 while retaining her esteemed title? As of this Tuesday morning, before her ascent to #1, Y'shtola had 49,589 builds to her name, just a measly six decks behind the now-dethroned #1 commander. Therefore, as of this morning, she was 411 decks away from reaching the mark.

Later on Tuesday afternoon, numbers showed Y'shtola at 49,644 decks, eclipsing The Ur-Dragon's 49.627. Now, there are only 356 decks between her and 50K.

This road is a long one, and has been for every commander that we have databased on the site. So far, even with data trending and shifting every few years, no commander has so far made it to 50,000 decks. Whichever it is, be it Y'shtola or The Ur-Dragon (or even Edgar Markov, who is not terribly far behind at 49,360 decks, truth be told), it'll be the first deck to do so in our site's history.

Conclusion

As eager eyes watch the tally to see who gets to 50,000 decks first, we can take time to congratulate Y'shtola, Night's Blessed fans on their victory today. Have fun with your popular builds, friends!

And now, dear readers, let's hear what you have to say. Is this an interesting turn of events for you? Have you been reading about Y'shtola's exploits on EDHREC? And who do you hope or think will reach that fabled 50K first? Sound off in the comments below!