The Best Commander Card At Every Mana Value | Commander Clash Podcast #38 

The best 3 drop is 110% necropotence. It lets you draw like half your deck the turn it comes down.

Seth: Wheel is the best 3 drop because it draws 7 cards Tomer: Rhystic Studies is the best 3 drop because it draws 9-12 cards Necropotence drawing half your library: Am I a joke to you ?

I'm surprised colossal dreadmaw didn't get a mention. Its so good it had to be reprinted like 10 times to keep the prices low.

richard's voice is so needed here. i love it. completely agree on dockside.

The zof consumption flicker before consecrated sphinx had me dead.

3drops: I think they value teferi's impact too high. Having rhystic study in your deck wins you more games but you remember when teferis wins you a game. It's like in Poker: I'd rather have pocket Jacks, than KQ suited.

A little disappointed that Jeska's Will didn't come up for the three drop section. I'd put it ahead of eternal witness and wheel of fortune, and maybe comes close to rhystic study.

I'm surprised Thassa's Oracle wasn't in the running as a 2 drop.

I’m surprised that at 6 cmc Bolas’ Citadel wasn’t mentioned

I’ve been really impressed with hullbreaker horror at the 7 drop. Most threats at that level are looking for ways to control or close out the game, and hullbreaker can’t be countered, and then counters threats very well with cantrips. At 7 power he’s also putting pressure on opponents life totals.

that some solid stand up comedy for the 3 drop discussion Seth 😂

Odd omissions: 1. Vampiric Tutor and Reanimate; 2. Sylvan Library and Underworld Breach; 3. Necropotence and Yawgmoth's Will; 4. Culling Ritual; 5. Ad Nauseam.

Maybe it's just my playstyle or lack of times being blown out by teferis protection but Yawgmoths Will or Necropotence feel way stronger at 3 cost than teferis protection.

The best 7 drop is 100% Tooth and Nail. Entwined it just says win the game.

That 1 second flash of Zof Consumption at 45:14 when they started discussing 6 drops made me laugh

Necropotence straight up wins games when it resolves at the 3 drop spot (if you know how to play it...the card does have a bit of a learning curve). Feel like it at least deserved a mention at the 3cmc spot

That Zof Consumption flash at 45:14 haha!

Just because I haven't seen any comments on this yet I am surprised nobody mentioned ad nauseam as at least a contender for the most broken 5 drop - usually when ad naus resolves it means the person who resolved it wins the game.

0: Mana Crypt 1: Sol Ring 2: Dockside Extortionist 3: Necropotence 4: Smothering Tithe 5: Seedborn Muse or Cathar's Crusade 6: Bolas's Citadel 7: Tooth and Nail (Actually Cyclonic Rift :P) 8: Craterhoof 9: Expropriate (Actually Tooth and Nail :P) 10+: Torment of Hailfire :P

Shocked that there was no living death in the 5 drop catagory. That card is insane, and wins the game wayyy more reliably than doubling season if you’ve played the game right up to that point

Im suprised no one mentioned protean hulk for the 7 drop. Its very easy to build your deck in a way that lets you just win when it dies, and otherwise its board wipe insurance and just provides tons of value.

Thanks for putting timestamps, I try to watch what I can to support y'all but some days I just don't have the time for a whole video. Love y'all ❤️

Tomer be like "Don't tell that to Phil, or else we'll have to kill him first and make him watch us play another two hours while we durdle."

I think there's an argument for Ad Nauseam on 5 drop and Peer into the Abyss on 7

Necropotence, Rhystic Study and Wheel of Fortune are amazing. I don't think Teferi's Protection is close to as good as those. Necro is #1.

i think demonic tutor has a chance in the 2 cmc slot.

Dear Richard, Your boat joke was comedy gold and the rest of the crew should have laughed.

Vampiric tutor is what I would argue for 1 mana. While all tutors are technically "Any card in the deck" at 1 mana it consistent can represent any card being played same turn.

Wait did Tomer just always play against cheating Kodama players? Its ability does not go infinite with a bounce land at all. You can't just dump all your lands either as the ability states "if it wasn't put onto the battlefield with this ability". So I think the evaluation is a bit off there.

One thing that the crew didn't mention about Insurrection that goes against the anticlimactic perception, is the CC moment where Crim is dead on board and has exactly one out to not die and top decks Insurrection and won. That was marvelous.

Very strong arguments from Seth with cyclonic rift and mana drain

Welcome back, Richard!!!

On the topic of omniscience, they printed a "fair" version in fires of invention and it was still absurd. Like seth said, magic is built around the mana system and one of the best ways to break the game is to find ways to get around it. That's why cost reducers are as strong as mana dorks in the right deck, as they can generate more mana advantage if allowed to stick around.

Cyclonic Rift is good, but you can’t really look at it as a two-drop, because you never want to have to play it as a two-drop. If you do, it’s an act of desperation, and not a particularly good one either. So you kind of have to consider it in the context of a seven-drop, because that’s what everyone does with it.

I think Jeweled Lotus is in the running for best 0 drop.

I wish you did best minus colorless. So many good 1 drops and best lands in each colour. I would care more to hear about that.

Best 7 drop is tooth and nail, the spells you talked about do a lot but tooth and nail does just win the game, plus it doesn’t suffer from the problem other cards do where they don’t work if your pieces aren’t in the right place.

My personal faves: 0- Gaea’s Cradle 1- Sol Ring 2- Demonic Tutor 3- Nectopotence 4- Smothering Tithe 5- Kiki-Jiki 6- Bolas’s Citadel 7- Elesh Norn 8- Craterhoof 9- Expropriate 10-Apex Devastator 11- Ulamog 12- Blightsteel Most prob won’t agree with all of em but I dig these

I really want an intern to go back and look at the win percentage of each mentioned card in games it is cast over the last two seasons. Then we can test out if dowsing dagger wins more games when cast (or possibly even drawn).

I feel one of the biggest problems with this list is that you have to be in those colors to run the "best card". I think a better way for you guys to do this list is the best CMC for the color it's in

LOL The instant Seth started talking after Tomer at 4cmc, I felt the troll energy

I'm finding it interesting looking at the timestamps for each MV to see how long they argue for

Time Warp/Temporal Manipulation deserved consideration at mv 5. An extra turn for 5 mana is solid and both of these stay in the graveyard to be recurred and re-abused later.

I loved that comment about Yuriko at the end :D

Oh man, UGIN the Spirit Dragon!! That Raymond Swanland art from Fate Reforged is what first made me look twice at those little packets of crack on the pegboards of my local shop!

I feel like Kiki-Jiki deserves at least a mention at 5. Even outside of the two card combos it's just such a powerful source of value for almost any deck that can cast it. Also Krark-Clan Ironworks and Ashnod's Altar feel like just about the same amount of mana as Smothering Tithe sometimes.

0: Fast Mana 1: Fast Mana 2: Fast Mana Sounds about right

Tomer getting PTSD from Hedron Archive will always be adorable.

Rise of the Dark Realms is worth considering for 9 mana. Reanimating ALL graveyards is so powerful

I’m shocked to not see Tooth and Nail at 7

Counter argument for the teferi’s protection argument. Heroic Intervention is another card which replicates much of what it offers.

up to 3 cmc Excellent suggestions for the Banlist

I agree mostly with the argument richard was putting forth with dowsing dagger, except the missing factor is that lower power tables have a higher tendency to actually run creatures you can chump block with

Teferi's Protection doesn't stop your opponents from winning when their card just says 'You win the game.' But you know what does say that? Angel's Grace, which is a Fog if you need it, it stops Thoracle combos, it always buys you an extra turn. It's a personal pet favorite card of mine, and I'd put it in a deck over Sol Ring

Feel like this episode touched on a deeper set of debates. Best mv per color and or deck colors. As the debates on many cards centered around "if I'm not playing x this card is better"

I think Tomer’s take on wheel of fortune is straight up wrong. It can be VERY good. In lots of decks where you empty your hand fast it’s amazing.

I think the strenght with cards like Expropriate also lie in deck construction. If someone builds a deck that wants to play expropriate, they also will build their deck in a way to follow it up, so once they resolve it and guarantee an extra turn, they will put those resources to good use.

0 - Mana Crypt 1 - Sol Ring 2 - Sylvan Library 3 - Necropotence 4 - Smothering Tithe 5 - Seedborn Muse 6 - Bolas' Citadel 7 - Tooth and Nail 8 - Decree of Pain 9 - The Great Henge 10 - Omnipotence 11 - Temporal Trespass 12 - Enter the Infinite 13 - Emrakul, the Promised End 14 - Blinkmoth Infusion 15 - Autochthon Worm 16 - Draco

This should have been 'the best mana value per color'. You could throw in some colorless and multicolored options when their numbers came up, but focus on one per color. This would have easily fixed the 3 mana debate.

My top 4 for the 2 drop slot goes: 1. Sylvan library 2. Cyc rift 3. Dockside extortionist (isn’t 1/2 because it scales) 4. Demonic tutor These are the auto includes in any deck of their color

I liked and subscribed. Good job Tomer, you nailed it!

Personally I think for 5 drops, if you’re talking about broken proactive stuff, ad nauseam has gotta be higher than doubling season.

I could see an argument for Carpet of Flowers, Top, and Serra Ascendent for 1 drops, and Slyvan Library as a 2 drop.

*Another note* Richard, to me, is right when it comes to Hour of R. VS Farewell. Think of the table you see each card... Lower-Powered Tables = Hour = Conditional Counter Spells Mid/High-Powered Tables = Farewell = Absolute/Free Counter Spells (which also exiles) At the tables you see each card Hour proves more resilient

Dowsing Dagger is one of my favourite cards, and it certainly helps that it's colorless ramp that can fit into every deck. Also once you add Vesuva or Thespian's Stage (Thespians I put in 99% of decks) then Dowsing Dagger performs much better.

omniscience is awesome. tips: mizzix's mastery -> emergent ultimatum -> omniscience + one with the multiverse + idyllic tutor -> basically turn 4 win

i feel like the best 3 drop is definitely rhystic study. teferis protection keeps you alive so you can win, but rhystic actually puts you in a position TO win

Wheel of Fortune is actually super powerful in Cedh formats. It's not only a new hand after you drop your rocks out, but if you pull off an early game wheel, and no one had a free counter, you tend to mess up other peoples starting hands. Also combos very powerfully with underworld breach, which is also in red. But best 3 drop? I think Necropotence is probably a tad better. But my MVP would be Opposition Agent. Thief Effects are just really strong in a fetch land meta.

You guys should do the best commander at each mana value next

My powerful pet picks: 0: Island, LED 1: Deathrite Shaman, Swan Song 2: Expressive Iteration, Bitterblossom 3: Retreat to Coralhelm, Mirror Entity 4: Beast Whisperer, Panharmonicon 5: Seedborn Muse, Mirari's Wake 6: Rishkar's Expertise, Wurmcoil Engine 7+: These cards should all just win you the game

0: Mana Vault 1: Sol Ring 2: Cyclonic Rift 3: Necropotence 4: Smothering Tithe 5: Time Warp 6: Farewell 7: Nexus of Fate 8: Craterhoof Behemoth 9: Expropriate 10: Omnicience 11: Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 12: Blightsteel Colossus 13-16: Mentioned by default

Best cards are always card advantage, mana advantage and tutors. You see it on best commanders and cedh decks, where best and effizient cards are always the Same. Because they are so efficiant in what they do.

I didn't understand Tomer's explanation of Kodama. If you play a land, wouldn't you only get to play ONE more as the second was "out onto the battlefield with this ability"?

Even though I would have liked regardless, I gotta hit it immediately after Tomer was so proud of himself in the beginning

How are we not mentioning Nexus of Fate at the 7 drop? A repeatable Extra Turn is one of the most powerful things you can do in Commander, I get that extra turns aren't really a thing for mid power but still.

Aladdin's Lamp not up for the 10 drop spot?! 🤣🤣🤣

Every time Richard picks a card, it’s like 👁👄👁

There are sooooo many cards out there but for me one that was missed here that I would have securely put as my number 1 for its casting cost: Bolas’s Citadel for 6 drop. Everytime I untap at least once with this card I’ve managed to win the game. Every single time. It’s value, ramp, and anything else you could want it to be coupled with also having a ridiculous finisher line of text that I have admittedly almost never used.

Survival of the fittest at two drop. I don't think I have ever lost a game after casting it.

On mid power level best 3 drop to me behind Rhystic Study and TPro is Jeska's Will. It's so good.

I’m with Richard on this one. Dowsing dagger scales better. Unless you are playing against a treasure or urza deck. I’ve tried to use dockside and it never really plays well. Not to mention it’s easier and more common to destroy artifacts (treasures) than to destroy the land (once it’s a land). I have dowsing in pretty much all of my decks unless I’m using a very low cost commander. A turn one birds of paradise or sol ring/mana crypt into an ornathopter of paradise easily combos into a turn 2 hit with either of those flying creatures. Now on turn 2 you have played a mana dork a sol ring AND 3 lands (including the dowsing dagger which constitutes an extra land played and taps for 3) if nothing gets taken out of the picture you can now use the free 3 mana (of ANY color mind you; so another creature or enchantment, or counter magic is back up for protection) on turn 2 and on turn 3 you can tap dork/sol ring/3 reg lands/and dowsing dagger for a combined 9 mana on turn 3. And that doesn’t include if you happened to get both mana crypt and sol ring turn one because then you can tap for 11 beginning turn 3 and it only scales up. A turn 3 omnipotence is just mean. And pray that I don’t play overburden/mana breach/desolation because PAIN. I used to run all of these in my Zur and had to retire him for the mental health of my play group 😅. I do recognize this would require perfect hand draw but I’ve pulled it off more times than dockside has ever helped me. Also cyclonic has also won me more games than dockside but I don’t think it’s fair to call it a 2 drop since I’ve never not paid overload cost. Good video y’all.

this video redpilled me on dowsing dagger I put ONE copy into my monoblue spirit tempo explorer list on mtga and started running people over with it, getting access to 3 extra mana every turn with an extremely reactive deck is insanely strong, basically lets me always have a counter or other answer available while aggressively drawing cards with spectral sailor or activating faceless haven for free

0: Mana Crypt 1: Esper Sentinel 2: Dockside Extortionist 3: Toxic Deluge 4: Kaalia of the Vast 5: Force of Will 6: Consecrated Sphinx 7: Ruinous Ultimatum 8: Craterhoof Behemoth/Ugin the Spirit Dragon 9: Rise of the Dark Realms/Expropriate 10: Ulamog, Ceaseless Hunger 11: Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 12: It that Betrays/Ghalta Primal Hunger 13: Emrakul, the Promised End 14: Blinkmoth Infusion 15: Autochthon Wurm 16: Draco

Seth: "You're saying it right" LoL

“Cyclonic rift doesnt win the game” Ever tried removing all the blockers on attack? Removing all your opponents artifacts and enchantments while your remain intact? Forcing a response before your turn and untapping on a wiped board to win the game? Not sure where the cyclonic rift cant win the game became a thing tbh :p

I never played dockside on 2 I usually wait till there at least 5 or more artifact on the board that usually turn 4. But dagger will play on turn 2

Should have done the drops per color. Makes for more colorful discussion. Best cards seem to revolve around mana ramp and card draw. Mystic remora at one might also be a contender. Demonic Tutor fetches your best card, so the argument there is it isn’t the best card. Same can be said about Eternal Witness.

I would like to mention drannith magistrate as one of the most effective across the board disruption spells at 3 mana

Was blown away not seeing Razaketh in the 8 drop section

I'd like a CMC list for each color. Cause at Green 3 drop: Harrow, Rec Sage, E.Wit, Azuza and Selvala makes it in every green deck

Seth I own so many eternal witness because if I am playing green it going in along with the ramp spells.

Tomer is right. Rhystic Study is 100% the correct call over Teferi's Protection. That said, it's often correct to play out your hand. It's simply a matter of playing to win vs playing not too lose. There are many times where its better to improving your board rather than stall the opponent from drawing cards. Also Richard is wrong. In my experience, the Rhystic Studies player is rarely targeted because the fact that other players aren't paying 1 re-directs the tables attention to them. People get angrier at the players who give the card draw moreso than the person drawing cards.

One drop for me the first that is always auto include is Mystic Remora or Esper Sentinel.

Since this podcast has come out, we now have two new, better 15 MV spells than the Wurm. We have Shadow of Mortality and, the new top, Earthquake Dragon. 11 and 12 are also interesting. Ulamog and Blightsteel are probably number one at their respective MVs, but Temporal Trespass and Enter the Infinite are at least worthy of mention.

I love dockside and smothering tithe they are making boros awesome

absolutely insane that seth gets called crazy for valuing wheel, your opponents are drawing seven but they're also losing their entire existing hand and often have to replan everything they're doing while you're obviously prepared for it

I have never casted Expropriate for 9 mana, it's always 10. The reason why is I always also spend 1 mana for it's second mode, which is a single U for Illusion of Choice. Illusion says you choose how your opponents vote this turn.

In higher power Fierce Guardian ship is a bit more better as less creatures are played but down side having to have your commander out for a free counter spell which is why it is worse than Pact of Negation and or Force of Will. But since most cEDH decks actually utilize their commanders to the best of their abilities eventually they will be played so a Fierce Guardian ship would be a good option if your deck has blue but will be looked over compared to the better counter spells unless your commander comes out fast

34:10 earned my like. Thanks, @saffronolive!

1 drop exploration comes pretty close.. 2 lands on turn 1 and an extra land every turn after. Best part you can even cast a sol ring on the same turn too