Honorable Mention – Circuitous Route

As there are so many great cards in the set, I’ll start by cheating and including a virtual number eleven, which we’ll call my Honorable Mention.  This honor goes to Circuitous Route.  This card easily qualifies as one of the best mana ramp and color-fixing cards for budget decks.  Easily slotted into three, four, and five color decks playing budget duals, specifically Gates.  This card compares well with Skyshroud Claim, itself one of the best mana ramp and fixing cards ever printed.  Circuitous Route can even fetch up two gates which contain no green at all!  

Number Ten – Discovery and Dispersal:

In a Ravnica set, it’s practically a requirement that a hybrid card and split card be included on a top-ten list.  In this case, we’re lucky enough to be able to include both in one card, Discovery and Dispersal.  This versatile card allows you to cantrip early in the game, while fixing the top of the top of the library and stocking the graveyard, all for two mana.  Discovery is like format staples Preordain and Ponder, but with incredible upside; and that is just the first half of the card.  Then, Dispersal adds an incredible removal option, hitting each opponent much like Crackling Doom.  It works as permanent removal for opponents who may be empty handed, and works at instant speed!  

Number Nine – Crush Contraband:

Commander is really a format of threats, answers, and resources.  To end up on top at the end, you need to ensure that you preserve your resources with your answers.  This is a roundabout way of saying that two for ones, three for ones, etc. allow you to stay ahead on resources, while dealing with your opponents’ threats.  Crush Contraband splashes into multicolored decks better than Return to Dust, while allowing you to hit two targets at any time, removing the timing restriction of the latter card. 

Number Eight – Citywide Bust:

Citywide Bust, the new Retribution of the Meek, gives low-lying decks a new option for creating an asymmetrical board sweeper.  At only three mana, it’s as aggressively costed as possible, and even has an advantage over Retribution.  Using power boosting buffs, like Cranial Plating, Sword of Vengeance, and Hammer of Nazahn, you can make Citywide Bust vastly superior to Retribution of the Meek.

Number Seven – Bounty Agent:

I’m beginning to wonder if the rest of the list will be all white cards – Editor

Not to worry, we’ll be taking a break from white for a bit after this.  Bounty Agent is a unique bear, which allows you to remove opposing commanders, while also targeting some of the best artifacts and enchantments in the game.  Feel free to target classics like Umezawa’s Jitte and Akroma’s Memorial, as well as new favorites like Helm of the Host and the two full cycles of Legendary Enchantments from Ixalan block.   This little two-drop works like a Mangara of Corondor “light.”  While the colon is in the wrong place for the crazy shenanigans that are possible with Mangara, Bounty Agent does not exile itself. In the right deck it can act as recursive removal.

Number Six – Omnispell Adept:

Cheating mana costs is among the most powerful things you can do in the game of Magic.  Omnispell Adept allows for an incredible rate on casting instants and sorceries (without timing restrictions).  You even get to cast massive spells like Apex of Power from your hand for the mana bonus, while also capitalizing on the trigger from Sunbird’s Invocation.  The possibilities are truly endless.  Pair the adept with the likes of Rings of Brighthearth, Illusionist Bracers, Training Grounds, and Thousand-Year Elixir to really go crazy.

Number Five– Assassin’s Trophy

Like a few of the other cards on our list, it’s difficult to explain how amazing you’re about to find Assassin’s Trophy.  Much has been said about how Assassin’s Trophy will impact Standard, Modern, and even Legacy, as possibly the best removal spell ever printed.  A card with that kind of pedigree will likely leave an impact on Commander as well.  Unlike the recently printed premier removal spell, Fatal Push, Assassin’s Trophy is not hampered by a drawback uniquely unsuited for Commander play.  Assassin’s Trophy is simply the best single target removal in this format, trimming off a mana from Vindicate, while accelerating to instant speed.

Number Four – Mausoleum Secrets

Rather than explain how Mausoleum Secrets is better than cards currently in the format, I want to point out that of the two best tutors ever printed in Magic’s history, neither is strictly better than this card.  Mausoleum Secrets plays like a combination of the best aspects of Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor, adding two drawbacks that are hardly drawbacks in Commander.  Mausoleum Secrets can tutor, at instant speed, Countersquall, Assassin’s Trophy (!), various combo pieces, and my personal favorite options, Notion Thief and Tainted Strike. 

Number Three – Mission Briefing

Mission Briefing will most likely be slotted into decks a somewhat budget version of Snapcaster Mage.  Rather than detailing how similar it is to one of the best two-drop creatures of all time, I’m going to focus on the reasons it is better than Snapcaster.  First, surveil allows you to add to the options of spells to copy.  This allows you to dig for answers, even if you do not have one available.  Second, in a spell-focused deck, Mission Briefing allows you to build towards your critical mass of spells, add counters to Primal Amulet, get copied by Fork, and even be flashbacked by Snapcaster Mage … seriously.  Third, and the coolest advantage that Mission Briefing provides, is hidden in the wording.  Since one of the two cards you can mill over with the surveil ability are available for casting, the spell itself does not target like Snapcaster Mage.  This means that by the time you name the card you intend to flash back, you can retain priority and cast the spell, preventing an opponent from using their Deathrite Shaman, or other targeted graveyard hate to fizzle your spell. 

Number Two – Divine Visitation

Divine Visitation single handedly adds a new win condition to every white based token deck.  Multicolored commanders that include white and create token creatures include Edgar Markov, Ghave, Guru of Spores, and Rhys the Redeemed. These guys are already top-tier commanders.  Changing their text to creating Serra Angels as their tokens is just silly.  Serra Angel is not a playable card in commander, but if you can efficiently create four or more of them per turn, you will win plenty of games.

Number One – Doom Whisperer

If Lilliana signed a contract with five demons, I would be talking about Ugtharod, and how he is almost as game breaking as Razaketh, the Foulblooded.  The craziest part of Doom Whisperer is at only five mana, it will likely be cast from hand more often than reanimated from the graveyard, and without the assistance of Cabal Coffers.  Now, I’m not saying that Doom Whisperer is better than Razaketh, but it does have its advantages.  Doom Whisperer fixes the top of your deck and fills your graveyard. It does not even need a second creature in play to sacrifice for the cost.  That ability, combined with a 6/6 flying, trampling demon, at only five mana, makes it my favorite card of Guilds of Ravnica.

Last Thoughts

I am beyond excited about the new additions to my favorite format.  As always, we never know the precise impact of the new cards we add to our decks until we get to play them, but I have a feeling several cards from Guilds of Ravnica will make a lasting impact on my decks and on our format as a whole.  Let me know below which cards are your favorite from the new set.  I did not even mention popular and exciting cards including Underrealm Lich, Thousand-Year Storm, and Beast Whisperer, so let me hear your worst.

Joshua Sabet

Joshua is a family man and EDH player.  He started playing during fourth edition, and after a long hiatus, returned during Innistrad block.  EDH quickly became his favorite format.

“Don’t worry everyone….I’ll be back.”

We have seen several iterations of Oblivion Ring over the years (though I feel a bit bad not giving credit to Faceless Butcher), and each card has seemed less powerful than before. I’m speaking of cards such as Journey to Nowhere, Banishing Light, and even Grasp of Fate and Aligned Hedron Network. The problem I find in these cards is their lack of permanence. Yes, they are permanents, which is part of the issue; they don’t grant a permanent solution to your opponents’ threats. If I’m spending a card to remove one of theirs, why would I give it a chance to come back?

Remember those caveats I mentioned? Let’s look at them. The early versions of this effect are worded so they can exile something for good. Faceless Butcher and Fiend Hunter are solid choices for decks built to sacrifice and recur their creatures when there’s a sac outlet handy that can be utilized at instant speed. If the deck is designed for this then full speed ahead; otherwise I feel they aren’t worth playing. The same holds for Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere. Considered staples for enchantress decks, without ways to sac enchantments I would not look to them. Sphere gets some bonus points when facing token decks, and both it and Ring are great with Sun Titan, so indeed there are exceptions. The one version I find to be interesting is Palace Jailer. If you have a meta that is low on combat damage, it can be quite strong when coupled with the continued card draw from being the Monarch. I want to play in your meta – Editor

“I REALLY hope this bubble doesn’t burst.”

Since I am arguing against these effects, how about some cards that can (and probably should) replace them? Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile are the obvious choices, but likely those are already used. So let’s dig a little deeper. One of my favorites is Crib Swap. It may only target creatures, but for the same CMC as O-Ring, all they receive is a 1/1. It also will trigger some tribal abilities; it will give you a token if you’re playing Edgar Markov, and Depala, Pilot Exemplar will put it into your hand when revealed. Another fine mention is Ashes to Ashes. At first glance the five damage may be scary, but it is a small price to exile two creatures with a single card. And since those two are for creatures, I’ll end with something for those pesky artifacts and enchantments. Return to Dust is a must play, but even cards like the recent Forsake the Worldly are fine choices. Exile plus the ability to cycle is very handy in EDH.

Again, I know cards like O-Ring have their place. For some strategies they can shine, as long as your deck caters to them. But in too many games I’ve seen them used as general (not commander) removal. Suddenly they are swept away by Austere Command or Acidic Slime, leaving the original culprit back on the battlefield. So please, when you fill out your removal package, choose those cards that will be a more permanent solution to troublesome permanents.

Chris Nicholson

Chris is a Strictly EDH player and thorough Melvin from Columbus, OH. He squeezes in games whenever he isn’t on adventures with his wife and toddler daughter.

When you see this image, how does it make you feel?

Oh wait, this is the internet, so I already know. This dude…he pisses you off, doesn’t he?

That’s the thing with George Lucas. Sure, he created the most successful film franchise of all time. He made something you probably adored. Chances are there is something incredible about one of his stories that inspired you at a young age; a story that was truly creative and inspiring.

And then he destroyed it. And why? Because he, like most of mankind, just doesn’t know how to leave something alone.

Welcome to EDH: IMHO. A diverse haven for passionate, casual weirdos who want to create stories with their friends through a game of Commander!

I hate sequels. You know why? Because they rarely ever suceed in raising the profile of a franchise. More often than not, they actually diminish it.

Boondock Saints. Pirates of the Caribbean. The Matrix. Countless franchises whose sequels are so truly bad that they almost make you regret seeing the usually-very-good original.

Sure, there are occasional exceptions. (Terminator 2 rules, duh) The Dark Knight – Editor
But in general, I’m tired of seeing great movies get ruined by poor sequels. As a writer, you do the hard work of creating a great story, amazing characters, and a captivating plot. All that’s left is to leave it alone and let history enjoy your work.

You’ve done the hard part: now just finish it.

This gif was brought to you by  Cars 2 aka I Guess Pixar really CAN Make a Bad Movie.

All this to say…sequels are tricky, guys.

Commander 2011 was a smash hit. The generals ruled, the decks had tons of staples, the mana-fixing was decent, and a great amount of fun was had by all.

Wizards were so taken aback by the success of Commander 2011 that they weren’t prepared to release a commander product in 2012. Nevertheless, a standard was set, and Commander would eventually begin having a new pre-constructed decks on a yearly basis.

The thing is….sequels are tricky, guys.

Just to be clear, these precons did very well commercially. Wizards is at a point where they have to try pretty hard for a release to be a financial failure.

That said, in terms of fun, I can comfortably say no release has ever done more damage to EDH.

We could talk about how True-Name Nemesis, a practically useless commander card, was such a legacy chase piece that it made one of the precons nigh-impossible to attain.

We could talk about how they didn’t print nearly enough of the decks, running out of supply when demand rolled into fervor.

But to express how badly this hurt the format, I don’t have to do that. I just have to talk about the five commanders they chose to lead each of these decks.

Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

Even before Oloro, Commander had become a format where you often just played certain colors to enable your combo, without ever actually casting your commander.

So what did wizards do? They printed a general that actually incentivized leaving your commander alone for the entirety of the game. If that wasn’t enough, Oloro gave already passive decks a way to not openly durdle, but build up a life total to hold off other players until they could Diabolic Revelation into all their combo pieces for the win.

…and to prolong that suffering as long as they possibly could.

Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

Oh, wonderful. Look, its Deveri. Like Oloro, Derevi it took a strategy that was already one of the most hated in the format (because who doesn’t love Static Orb, right?) and gave them the perfect general for the occasion.

On top of that, add in that she combos off with just about everything. (My name is Azami, Lady of Scrolls; I heard there was some fun for me to smash?)

As bad as Derevi is practically, she is even worse fundamentally. One of the first things a person learns about EDH is how commander tax works. It is so foundational that it seemed to actually subvert the very essence of the format when a card like this can just ignore it. To make matters worse, cheating commander tax just isn’t enough for Derevi: she has to embarrass it. Derevi doesn’t just skip the tax: she does it at instant speed.

What fun.

Jelava, Nephalia’s Scourge

Ok, well, this ones not too bad. Jeleva is pretty fair, all around. Let’s just make sure there aren’t any other strong generals in this deck….

Oh, yeah. Look, a general who is already roughly half of your game-winning combo! Huzzah!

Oh well, if they printed this, surely its gotta be the only combo piece general in this set…..

Prossh, Skyraider of Kher

Last of all, the single most destructive commander ever printed:

Marath, Will of the Wild

Ok, just kidding. Marath is fine. He just hangs with the wrong crowd.

Marath aside, when you look back at Commander 2013, you see a murderer’s row of un-fun generals. Like any legend, there are totally fun ways to build all of these decks. (except maybe Derevi…who has fun playing Derevi?) I built a Derevi and unblockables deck, and then realized that I had lost all my friends – Editor

In general, Wizards whiffed bad enough on these products that they came perilously close to undoing all the goodwill they created with casual commander two years previously. As you know, the most popular generals in the format tend to be the ones from the most recent set of precons, meaning people were actually suffering while learning about how to cause suffering for others at the same time.

So, here’s the good news. Wizards learned from Commander 2013, and their yearly precons were marked improvements.

No more legacy chase cards. No more underprinting.

Most of all, they created some truly fun commanders. In 2014, just one year after this fiasco, Wizards released mono-colored commander decks. They made what was, in my opinion, the single most fun set of commander precons that were ever printed.

Not only were the decks fun, but the generals from Commander 2014 succeeded in changing the game in a way that was still fun. This set was the first to create planeswalkers that could be the general of a deck, a concept that would have been very easy to muddle, but ended up creating enjoyable new twists in casual gameplay.

Not only that, but they actually refined some of their design shortcomings. In 2017, they debuted Eminence, allowing commander to affect the game from the command zone, but still incentivizing their pilots to actually play their generals. This mechanic was seen as a huge success, and showed that they learned from what they tried to do with Jeleva and Oloro.

Wizards has always seemed to just barely-kinda-sorta understand Commander. When you hear Mark Rosewater talk about Commander, it  feels like he just doesn’t understand how it is supposed to work, and that shows in the company’s design. For every Commander 2011, there seems to be a Commander 2013.

That said, the idea of creating cards for a casual format is a monumental challenge when you consider how much thought has to go into every single set. The truth is, more often than not, Wizards nails it. Yes, these generals still plague casual groups to this day, but Wizards did a great job of making sure there was only the one bad sequel.

So…basically the Dollars Trilogy. Commander is the Dollars Trilogy.

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.

But is this fair? What do we really know about vegetables?

Some like to party.

Some make great weapons; right, Clive Owen?

That’s right, mate.

And some just…

…explode.

Welcome to EDH: IMHO. A diverse haven for passionate, casual weirdos who want to create stories with their friends through a game of Commander!

Today, we continue our unlimited, running series evaluating the different options for ramp in commander. The beginning of a commander game is crucial, so its important to give plenty of consideration to your ramp passage.

Every time we Rate that Ramp, we invite a special celebrity evaluator on to help us know just what to do with these silly cards. This week’s guest is the star of 1982’s classic horror film and internationally acclaimed diabetes spokesperson Wilford Brimley. Thanks for joining us today, Wilf!

Today, Wilf wants to talk about vegetables. Exploding Vegetables, also known by its technically-correct-but-far-less-satisfying name, Explosive Vegetation. This was the first real ramp card I got excited about. After all, when you start playing commander, and you’ve got a hand full of seven drops, few things bring you more joy than seeing good ole’ veggies there to help get you there.

In format of big, explosive plays, who wouldn’t want more big, explosive vegetables?

And the stakes just get higher when you learn that Veggies is just the oft-forgotten middle child of this kind of ramp.

Meet its cool, mature older brother…

And the likeable, unassuming younger brother:

When I first started playing with my current group, we collectively loved “veggies” and friends. It seems to put you so far ahead, along with the fact that it’s incredibly helpful for manafixing, especially in decks with three or more colors. Suddenly, our cool seven drops were playable on turn five if we had a land. Even if we had cast our general once already, we probably had the mana to cast them again.

Which is why I am a little sad to say that these cards have slowly begun to fade out from our playgroup. Skyshroud Claim makes the occasional appearance, but the other two are going extinct quickly.

Why? Well, the short answer is that it costs four; for ramp, I’m afraid…

The big drawback of any ramp spell is the fact that you need it early, but don’t want it late. Nothing is worse than hoping for the perfect topdeck, only to get a ramp spell. Sometimes, in the care of Sol Ring and other cheap ramp, the upside you get from the early boost is worth the occasional late-game dead draw. Sol Ring even adds an available mana for you in the late game, giving your Black Sun’s Zenith one more toughness to cancel out, or one more card from Pull From Tomorrow.

But Veggies and friends, at four mana each, will rarely be something you can just tack onto your turn. Not only is it a dead draw, its converted mana cost makes it a comparatively expensive dead draw, keeping it from even piggybacking on another play in a convenient fashion.

The final problem is this: on turn four, is this what you really want?

Turn four is pretty important in Commander. Chances are, this is a turn where your commander is playable, perhaps for the first time. For white decks, you are finally within reach of a Wrath to stop the guy who got the god start. For blue, you’ve got the mana for Fact or Fiction.

As spoiled as it sounds, turn four just feels too late for ramp. Sure, this gives you a shot at 7 mana on turn 5. There are certainly a good number of landfall decks that benefit from a double drop. But most decks aren’t specifically built around land drops. I am willing to bet you’re gonna have a hand full of cards you would much rather play on turn four than Veggies and pals.

Skyshroud Claim still makes a decent case; both lands come into play untapped, along with the ability to search for shocks or other dual lands. This makes it a little more helpful than its homies, but only slightly so. In general, Mr. Brimley is just not impressed.

Explosive Vegetation:  2.5 Brimleys

Ranger’s Path: 2.75 Brimleys

Skyshroud Claim: 3.25 Brimleys

This makes our running list as follows:

1. Sol Ring (*****)
2. Mana Crypt (****3/4)
3. Skyshroud Claim (***1/4)
3. Birds of Paradise (***)
4. Ranger’s Path (**3/4)
5. Explosive Vegetation (**1/2)

Thanks for joining us this week! As always, if you like veggies…keep it! The best part of Commander is the ability to just play a card if you like it. Just one word of advice: don’t tell Wilford Brimley.

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.

This is our second in an as-of-yet-unlimited series where we evaluate some of the nearly-countless ramp options in commander. So much of a game of commander can be determined by those crucial first few turns, while a failure to launch can be annoying and unforgettably unpleasant.

Last week, we looked at the godfathers of EDH ramp, Sol Ring and Mana Crypt. This week, I would like to look at another beloved piece of ramp technology.

Every week, we have a celebrity guest ‘star’ visit us in order to help us evaluate the card. This week, we are honored to have distinguished ABC News correspondent John Quinones. Thanks for joining us this week, John.

In classic Quinones style, its time to ask ourselves…What Would You Do?

One of the most magical words to see on a commander card is ‘any’: ‘any’ number, ‘any’ time, ‘any’ color. We love that word. It suits the limitlessness that brings so many people back to commander, time and again.

It’s that limitlessness that is so very appealing about Birds of Paradise. For decks that can regularly be 3-5 colors, the ability to drop in a Command Tower on a flying stick seems like just what the doctor ordered. And it would appear that most commander players agree, as Birds of Paradise is the 41st most popular card in commander according to edhrec.com

Here’s the thing: I’m not sure it’s that good.

Let me qualify this for a second; if you are building a deck to win in the first five turns, you are running a ton of ramp similar to this, and the color fixing makes it perfect for that kind of brew. If you run a commander that can use the Birds for another purpose late in the game, such as decks commanded by generals like Animar, Soul of Elements and Ezuri, Claw of Progress, it’s perfect.

If it’s not one of those situations…I don’t think this card is really that good.

At least when I draw Cultivate on turn 12 or later, I’m getting lands that I can use for the rest of the game. At least when I drop in a Fellwar Stone, it doesn’t have summoning sickness. Oh yeah, and neither of them dies to this.

If your playgroup is like mine, Wrath-effects are popular and efficient defense. It’s bad enough to lose a powerful team of creatures, but to lose a piece of mana-production that you were counting on for the next turn just seems unacceptable when you consider the options.

This may be a nice point for me to further explain what I usually want in a ramp spell. With some exceptions, I would ideally want my ramp spells to be:

1. Cards that get me lands OR
2. Mana rocks OR
3. Mana dorks (when necessary)

When I ramp, I want lands. I’ll settle for mana rocks (artifacts that tap to produce mana), because they are much less fragile than mana dorks like Birds Of Paradise. But what really hurts Birds of Paradise is the fact that it’s in green. When I play green, I have a variable armada of ramp options waiting in the wings, begging me to have them help me get actual lands of the color of my choice into play. In all likelihood, when I get a land on the battlefield, I will get to keep that land for the duration of the game. (Now that we, thankfully, live in the post Sylvan Primordial world)

If Birds of Paradise was in any other color, it would probably earn itself four stars or more. But it’s in green, and is simply not as good as other green cards used for the early game. For me, it settles in at a barely-respectable 3 out of 5 Quinones(es?). (Dear Editor, please leave this word in there, because I think it’s funny) (Actually, if you actually want to leave these parenthetical notes, as well, I’m down with that, too) (Editor, you rock)

This makes our running list as follows:

1. Sol Ring (*****)
2. Mana Crypt (****3/4)
3. Birds of Paradise (***)

Thanks for joining us this week! For John Quinones, I’m Akabane Rowsdower! Consider your ramp…rated!

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.

“In commander, the worst thing that can happen to you is to not hit your first six lands drops.”

Ok, so obviously not the actual worst thing that can happen, but still pretty unpleasant. In commander, getting lands could be the determining factor between a game where you burn out early, or last late into the game to affect the outcome.

Welcome to EDH: IMHO. A diverse haven for passionate, casual weirdos who want to create stories with their friends through a game of Commander!

Commander is the format of big, splashy plays. In order to power those plays, you’re gonna need mana, and lots of it.

I devote a lot of time, thought, and card space to mana in my commander decks. Out of 99 cards in a deck, my goal is always to run 38 mana-producing lands, along with 12 ramp spells. If the deck doesn’t include green I bump ramp spells all the way up to 14.

Most people would probably say this is too much ramp. They hate the feeling of drawing a ramp spell late into the game when they could be drawing something that makes a bigger crater. But for me personally, that is worth the risk to make sure my deck has a proper liftoff.

So I’m going to run through just about every playable ramp spell available. I’ll give each one a rating between 1-5 stars, based on how good I think it is for everyday commander usage.

I will also keep a running list of rankings, denoting how I rate each ramp spell.

To make it a little more fun, I will get a little help from a celebrity guest star in order to properly evaluate each card with just the right amount of pizazz.

For the inaugural column, only one man’s star power would suffice. Helping me to evaluate the first ramp spell is the legendary star of such television hits as Quantum Leap and Men of a Certain Age, Mr. Scott Bakula!

On this week’s column, I want to evaluate the two pieces of ramp you are most likely to see on turn one. Most of my analysis will be pretty obvious, here, but this will allow us to get used to the evaluation format a little bit. Let’s begin with the absolute last word when it comes to ramp, our friend the Sol Ring.

It’s colorless. It is played on turn one. It should, ideally, give you four mana on turn 2. Even late in the game you basically give yourself an extra mana on the turn you play it. It is run in no less than 78% of decks on tappedout.net, making it the most played card in all of commander…by a full 26% over the next most popular card.

Unless you are constraining yourself with a deck-building or price limitation that wouldn’t allow it, there really isn’t a great reason not to run this card. I have no choice but to award this card the full score of FIVE Scott Bakulas.

Moving right along: this one time, I heard someone say that there was one other piece of ramp that was better than sol ring.

They were wrong, of course, but its still quite good. Isn’t it?

Short answer: Yes, Mana Crypt is good. Like Sol Ring, it means that (worse case scenario) you have four mana on turn 2. Unlike Sol Ring, and this is where my friend’s argument has a little traction, Mana Crypt allows for three mana on turn 1. When added to anything from Cultivate to Chromatic Lantern, could certainly mean five mana on turn 2. Yes, you have to pay three life occasionally. No, that is not likely to matter before it is destroyed by a Bane of Progress.

That’s the good news. The bad news is for those who already hate drawing ramp spells late in the game. If a ramp spell is a dead draw, for you, than this might be the worst one to draw late. Sure, you can always use two more mana, but at that point you are more than a little worried that that thing might just kill you. It’s a ramp spell that you are unlikely to play at all if you’re under 20 life in commander.

Then there is the actual currency price. The converted mana cost makes it look like its free…but nothing could be further than the truth. When there are so many cool thing to buy for your deck, it is difficult to justify spending your hard-earned cash on something as boring and potentially painful as this.

Think about that for a second. This card has a legitimate reason to be preferred over SOL RING, and it still doesn’t even make the most 100 played card according to edhrec.com. Clearly the price tag and the downside are enough to put people off this card.

Don’t get me wrong: I may not think it’s better than Sol Ring, but I would definitely say it’s in the conversation. Even so, there are just enough drawbacks that I end up rating it just short of its little metal brother, with a still-impressive four-and-three-quarters Bakulas.

Thus, my running list looks like:

AkabaneRowsdower’s running Ramp Rankings!
1. Sol Ring (*****)
2. Mana Crypt (****3/4)

You might be thinking: did I just read this article just to have this idiot tell me Sol Ring is good?

Yes…I guess you did. But hey, you have to start somewhere; if we’re going to talk ramp, we’ve gotta start with the measuring stick.

I look forward to this series, as discussing the theory behind a seemingly soulless mechanical deck building issue can be of great service in creating the kinds of awesome commander games we all seek! We all love to build decks that do awesome things once we get eight mana…but all that deckbuilding means nothing without eight mana!

As they say, you can’t win the race…

…if you do that.

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.

This was before commander really exploded in popularity. At that time it was known as the ‘cheap,’ format. The dollar rare box was your best friend. My decision to abstain from boosters was definitely the right decision for the time, considering what most of my card needs were.

But still, there was something missing.

Whenever my friends got packs, I begged them to let me open one of them. Sure, I wasn’t going to keep the cards, but there was something inside me that missed that sound of peeling plastic, and the surprise of unveiling its contents.

It’s why we wrap presents. It’s why the bean-boozled challenge is a thing.

We love to take a risk, holding our breath in anticipation of the sheer excitement of finding out just what’s inside.

Welcome to EDH: IMHO. A diverse haven for passionate, casual weirdos who want to create stories with their friends through a game of Commander!

Redundancy. When you play some form of ‘regular’ magic, you are taught that redundancy is important. Redundancy allows you to pre-plan your turn based on your anticipated draws, and allows the best cards in your deck to occur frequently.

The obvious problem is that redundancy is spun on its head in a format where you are only allowed one of each card.

Says who?!?!?!?!?

For someone who has only played normal “four-of” limit magic, this is a frequent hang-up when they give commander a try. To be fair, this isn’t really surprising. Chances are they have come from playing a format where the less redundant the deck, the less often they win.

Every time I have brought someone into commander from another format, their first instinct is to jam in as many tutors as possible.

Unfortunately, that instinct can often result in a lot of this:

Even if you don’t have a crazy broken combo, tutors just seem perfect in a format where so little is guaranteed. It ensures you always have an answer, or can access to your wincon when the moment is right.

This leads perfectly to the final question you should ask your playgroup:

Question #4: How many tutors is too many?

As I said before, tutors act as a crutch for players new to commander. Tutors link them to magic-as-they-know-it. Tutors help new commander players slowly wade into the deep end.

I am fine with this. But after a couple games I usually encourage them to see how many tutors they can cut. Not because tutors are egregious (although I do wonder how many times you can Tooth and Nail and still have fun). The real reason I do this is that I think a player running a lot of tutors is missing out.

Missing out….on the glory of chaos!

My booster pack deprivation may be to blame, but in my opinion drawing a card might be the best moment in all of magic. I absolutely live for that moment, wondering how the game might pivot.

It’s actually even better in commander…because you have to wait for it. So much happens between two turns in a commander game. That causes some long waits while the board changes, and changes again. All the while, you look at your hand, carefully planning your move for that anticipated moment when it comes around to your turn again.

Untap. Upkeep. You’ve been waiting for this. Your plan is set, all you need to do is draw, and when you do….

Stop everything. The plans have changed. All of a sudden, I have something more awesome to do.

That, right there; that is the moment that keeps me coming back to magic.

Magic takes skill, and planning, and foresight. But sometimes it takes luck (known in some parts of the world by another name: chaos). If skill was everything, I’m not sure I’d play. It’s that delicious, fervent rush of chaos that makes this game so very rewarding.

That’s why I always challenge commander players with this: replace every tutor you have with card draw, and see what happens.

It’s undeniably weaker, and you shouldn’t do it if you want your deck to be at its “best.” But for me, winning bows down to the throne of stories.

Come to think of it, I’m not sure anything more perfectly epitomizes my deck-building philosophy than the act of replacing a tutor with a draw spell.

You see, tutoring is a sniper rifle. Card draw is a shotgun.

One gets the job done. The other creates STORIES.

As always, this is only my opinion. Talk to your playgroup and come up with your own conclusions. If they aren’t the same as mine, that’s awesome. No matter what you choose, you are working together to make the kinds of games you want to have. For me, that’s what EDH was always meant to be.

The entire point of these last four weeks has been to encourage talking with your playgroup; I hope you have! When it comes to tutors, talk about it with your friends. If you are like my group, I think you’ll find that your games will become more epic when you’re not even sure what is going to happen next.

For people who have only played “four-of” magic, chaos is a pit.

In Commander, Chaos is a ladder.

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.

As far as the hand goes: Not bad, not great. If I can get to six mana, I’m golden.

Oh wait, I started with six cards; I get to scry. Maybe I’ll get some help.

I go to scry, and I see my girl….

Hello, beautiful.

Suddenly I’m excited. I’m gonna get there. It’s gonna be all right. Oracle is awesome and….

My friend Jaws Putrefys her to Bejeezus and back. See, Jaws has a rule. When he spots Oracle, he kills it on sight. Never explains why, doesn’t even think it’s always his best play; just does it. He’s a man of principles. So… Let’s talk about removal.

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.

Welcome to EDH: IMHO. A diverse haven for passionate, casual weirdos who want to create stories with their friends through a game of Commander!

This is the second article in a four-part examination of the kind of questions we want to be asking when it comes to the kind of commander games we want to have.

Last week we learned to ask your play group: How do you want your games to end? For you and your friends, what is a satisfying conclusion to a game of magic? When you answer this question, it helps the group create more games that match everyone’s ideals of what constitutes FUN magic.

This week, our question is this

Question #2:
How interactive should our games be?

In other words…..Are you playing with yourself?

No no! Get your mind out of the gutter! Bad reader! Bad, dirty, reader!

What I’m actually talking about is, how does your group feel when a turn just goes….OFF? How do they feel about long, extended turns, like the one described above?

Now, for some of you, that kind of turn is the stuff of legends. You LOVE plays like this. You love to see how different cards from magic’s past interact to create insane scenarios for your benefit.

And you’re in luck! The great thing abut commander is that if you and your playgroup all think this is awesome, by all means, queue up them turns!

But for for others, myself included, waiting for one of these turns to end feels something like this.

Remember, the theme of this series is talk.

Getting an extra turn, in many commander decks, is the beginning of the end. If someone gets one extra turn, it usually means no one else is getting another turn at all.

Even when it doesn’t just end the game, these cards can be annoying. In multiplayer, each person is already waiting longer than they may be used to if they’ve only played 1-on-1. To take an extra turn is to essentially skip every single person you are playing with. You may just be excluding everyone else at the table.

Personally, this is why our playgroup encourages each other not to include extra turn cards. This way, everyone has a turn coming up, the game keeps moving, and everyone feels like they have something to do, or that their untap step is right around the corner. Extra turns were just never for us.

No matter where your group’s discussion goes, a good question to ask might be this: Is this awesome more than once?

Without a doubt, a cool interaction like the one above is amazing the first time you see it. Second time around…how does it feel?

Does it feel like you just might be….playing with yourself?

As always, allow me to remind you that everything I’m saying is just my opinion. (It’s not called EDH IMH-FACT, after all.) If your playgroup is on the same page, and these kinds of cards/games don’t bother your group, go for it. The nature of casual magic is that you have the opportunity to shape the story of your games with your friends: all you need to do is talk about it.

Storm is cool. Extra turns are cool, too. But when you build a deck around them, you decrease the interaction that can happen in a great game of commander. For me, that’s the problem with extended combos: eventually, its just goldfishing with your friends watching.

And I don’t want to goldfish. I want to collaborate.

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.

For me, the key to a great story is how it ends. If an amazing story has a lame ending, it will undue every trace of the groundwork that brought it to its conclusion. If a mediocre movie can really stick the landing, then you might be able to forgive mistakes made the the beginning and middle of the plot. There’s just something about a story that really, truly requires you to stick the landing.

Welcome to EDH: IMHO. A diverse haven for passionate, casual weirdos who want to create stories with their friends through a game of Commander!

Last week we talked about….talk. The key to a healthy EDH playgroup is being able to communicate about the kinds of games you want to have. The more you all share, the better the deckbuilding decision-making of everyone in the group. This doesn’t mean you will always agree: these conversations may very well end with some compromises. But at the end of the day, it helps your group to work together toward the most fun games possible.

For the next four weeks, I want to talk about the kind of conversations that should take place for the sake of your playgroup. Most of these conversations revolve around the question: “Is this ok?” Magic is a diverse game with a diverse variety of players, and that can lead to any number of differences in expectation when people play commander together. The last thing anyone wants is a violent mismatch due to the players involved not being on the same page

I will discuss what I believe to be 4 important questions for your playgroup. I’ll share my opinion at the end of each, but I really want to stress that there is no correct answer here, on any of these subjects. In truth, the correct answer can only be the one you all arrive at through discussion. That said, I’ll warn you from the beginning that I, in general, tend to take the conservative route on most of these subjects.

Now, the best place to begin this discussion…is the end.

Question #1: How do you want your game to end? How long do you want your game to go?

In all likelihood, there will be two schools of thought on this subject, and it centers around how people feel when a game winning combo or alternate win condition hit the board.

Some people play commander for the crazy, long, interactive games. They want power to sway several times over the course of the game, and hate it when someone wins out of the blue without ever really interacting with the board.

Others just don’t want games to last that long. As my friend CNWeezard said to me, some games just need to end. Players in this camp don’t mind someone winning all of a sudden; they enjoy finding perfect interactions on the board, and ways to end the game uniquely and efficiently.

A common compromise between the two is setting a number of turns for a game, and to say that after a certain turn ‘anything goes.’ Sheldon Menery, godfather of EDH, has often said that he thinks anything that happens after turn 7 is fair game, which is how this little diddy has stayed off the banned list so long.

Rowsdower take: I love long games, and very rarely do I wish they would end. Only when 3 players have life totals in triple digits do I ever hope for sudden death.

Similarly, I don’t love combos. More often than not, it feels like an abrupt, unearned end to the “story” of the game. I feel like a lot of people in my group tell the story of the Eldrazi Mulldrifter.

I don’t feel like anyone talks about the Palinchron/Phantasmal Image/Capsize games that our group had at one point. Except, perhaps, to say what a deflating way to end a game it was.

For me, I want to create a great story with a satisfying ending. If your group has fun with combos: awesome! Do it! If your group wants combat to always end the game, then consider a ban on infinite interactions. Maybe you want to meet in the middle, and set a turn limit of when a game can end.

No matter your conclusion the important thing, once again, is to talk. Talk to your group about the kinds of stories you want to tell. Talk to them about what kinds of game endings you want to have.

Commander, and particularly casual commander, has a unique advantage over nearly any other game I’ve played. That advantage is this: you, and your friends, get to decide what kind of game you want to have. In any competitive format, you are a slave to a banned list, or to a meta…but not so in commander. In Commander, you have the opportunity to talk to your group and decide exactly what kind of game you want to have.

As Mort Rainey says in Secret Window, the only thing that matters is the ending.

Kyle Somerfeldt

Kyle Somerfeldt is an avidly casual player of Commander. He loves movies, Japanese pro wrestling, and Sphinx Ambassador. Every week, he uses EDH IMHO to share his rambling philosophy regarding the format he loves.