Drannith Magistrate
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Arena Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Gladiator Legal
Highlander Legal
Historic Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Drannith Magistrate

Creature — Human Wizard

Your opponents can't cast spells from anywhere other than their hands.

legendofa on The New Commander Brackets Beta

1 week ago

I've been struggling with this for a couple of my decklists recently, and I'm trying to summarize my thoughts here without starting a new thread. So this is semi-stream-of-thought, and I apologize if it gets a little rambly.

There are several criteria being tracked by the current bracket system, including resource generation, speed, reliability, and oppression, and possibly others.

Game changers: A combo like Demonic Consultation/Tainted Pact + Thassa's Oracle gets a key card on the game changers list, because it's fast and reliable, ending a match on turn 3-4. These are speed game changers. Other game changers generate resources just by playing the game, like Rhystic Study or Smothering Tithe. This group often also includes oppression, since a lot of them tax the opponent. Another group is cheap (1-2 mana) tutors, like Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, or Survival of the Fittest, that increase a deck's reliability for very little opportunity cost. Most game changers can be sorted into one of these four categories. Ancient Tomb and Gaea's Cradle are speed and resource generation, Drannith Magistrate and Force of Will are oppression, and so on.

Bracket Guidelines: From Gavin Verhey's announcement article, here's what each of the brackets mean and expect. Important to note that the system is still in beta testing, so this is probably going to be different in the future.

  • Bracket 1: Decks with more focus on a gimmick than on winning. "Winning is not the primary goal here, as it's more about showing off something unusual you've made. Villains yelling in the art? Everything has the number four? Oops, all Horses? Those are all fair game!" This bracket doesn't allow extra turns, two-card infinite combos, mass land denial, or game changers, and restricts tutors.

  • Bracket 2: Decks that can win, but are not tightly focused, or slow to develop. "While Bracket 2 decks may not have every perfect card, they have the potential for big, splashy turns, strong engines, and are built in a way that works toward winning the game. While the game is unlikely to end out of nowhere and generally goes nine or more turns, you can expect big swings." This bracket doesn't allow any game changers, mass land denial, two-card infinite combos, or multiple extra turns in a row, and restricts tutors.

  • Bracket 3: Decks that are focused on winning efficiently, but are not optimized. "They are full of carefully selected cards, with work having gone into figuring out the best card for each slot. The games tend to be a little faster as well, ending a turn or two sooner than your Core (Bracket 2) decks." This bracket does not allow mass land denial or multiple extra turns in a row, and restricts game changers and two-card infinite combos, and allows tutors freely.

  • Bracket 4: Decks that are optimized for their strategy. "Bring out your strongest decks and cards... This is high-powered Commander, and games have the potential to end quickly. The focus here is on bringing the best version of the deck you want to play, but not one built around a tournament metagame." This bracket has no restrictions.

  • Bracket 5: Decks that expect to win at the most competitive levels. "There is care paid into following and paying attention to a metagame and tournament structure, and no sacrifices are made in deck building as you try to be the one to win the pod." This brackets has no restrictions.

Deck Analysis 1: The deck I've been struggling most with is Clear Waters. As I listed in another thread, it has an infinite turns combo (Wanderwine Prophets + Deeproot Pilgrimage + Merfolk Sovereign) and mass land denial (Opposition + Seedborn Muse, Quicksilver Fountain), and a selection of tutors to pull these together (Forerunner of the Heralds, Idyllic Tutor, Merrow Harbinger, Seahunter, and Sterling Grove). This should put it squarely into Bracket 4.

My concern is that it's neither high powered nor optimized. On the axes of speed, resource generation, reliability, and oppression, I would score it high on oppression, pretty good on reliability, and low on speed and resources generation. Looking at examples of other Bracket 4 decks around the internet, all four of those criteria need to be high in this bracket. The infinite turns combo is slow and easily removed, and the land denial is optional (Opposition can have other targets) or temporary (Quicksilver Fountain can remove its own effect).

It would be easy to simply add a big pile of game changers to improve all of these facets. Right now, it has one game changer in Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, and that one's not essential to the deck. That's not the direction I want to go with the deck, though--I want to keep it reasonably budget, and even adding the three least expensive of the game changers I'm considering would basically double the deck's cost.

I know that people in brackets under 4 want to be able to play their deck, and the infinite turns and land denial shut that down. These are clearly stated in the announcement article -"A single extra-turn spell can be fun and splashy. However, extra-turn spells take a ton of time away from other players and their ability to play the game and tend to be unfun when repeated."- that's why they're forced into brackets 4 and 5. But if a deck isn't able to compete against high power, optimized Bracket 4 decks, can it be considered Bracket 4?

Deck Analysis 2: Another deck that I've been struggling with is an enchantment deck, Do Not Mistake Peace For Passivity. The point of concern for this deck is land denial. Blood Moon is classic mass land denial, and the deck is designed to play around it with Abundant Growth, Fertile Ground, Prismatic Omen, and similar cards. It also has a combo that doesn't directly deny lands, but punishes their play and use: Manabarbs + Citadel of Pain. Otherwise, the deck fits all the criteria of a Bracket 2 deck--no game changers, no infinite combos, few tutors, and no extra turns.

This deck can be converted into a pure Bracket 2 deck without much effort by replacing Blood Moon and Manabarbs. But as it stands, a single card pushes the deck up two brackets, according to the guidelines. Again, I don't feel the deck is high powered or optimized, and would not be able to compete in a Bracket 4 match. It could probably survive in Bracket 3, since it's highly synergistic, but nothing any higher.

In this case, adding a bunch of game changers and power cards would somewhat dilute how the deck functions. A few, like Smothering Tithe or Trouble in Pairs, could slot in, but most others would be more gratuitous.

Conclusion: To quote the article again, "There's some wiggle room, and while playing against decks that are all inside your bracket is ideal, you can usually wiggle within one bracket away from you safely." "You should play where you think you belong based on the descriptions." All of this can be discussed in a Rule 0 talk. I strongly believe the brackets are intended to help this conversation, not replace it. As an example, for the Clear Waters deck, I would say that the deck is not optimized to Bracket 4, and I think it fits best into Bracket 3, but it's controlling and has a potential three-card infinite turns combo. I'm willing to announce when the combo is assembled and ready to start, to give everyone a turn cycle to react, and reduce the use of Opposition to creatures and artifacts.

I feel like the current setup is a little too restrictive of the kind of combo-control decks I like. I can have fun smashing big creatures into each other and outmaneuvering everyone else, but I will enjoy locking down the board and establishing my inevitability, and I'm having a harder time trying to find ways to do that in lower brackets. Some people have already offered me excellent feedback and suggestions that I'm taking into consideration, but I'd also like to see how people are responding to the bracket system so far.

For comparison, here's a few more of my decklists:

OberstHati on Swinging with Isshin

1 week ago

Thank You Last_Laugh, Valet is another spicy Option,… I have Hanweir Garrison  Meld don’t really know what to cut in its favour though, and Breena, the Demagogue The opponents Card draw scares me a bit… Dollmaker's Shop / Porcelain Gallery is a bomb on Arena, Shared Animosity too, Both should find their way into the 100,… I think about adding Drannith Magistrate and Archon of Emeria, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is already ordered… That should help a bit with the curve issue too…

jsnrice on Atraxa, Grand Unifier

3 weeks ago

Deck Title: Ascension Through Unity – Atraxa cEDH Food Chain

Commander

Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Color Identity:

Introduction

Welcome to Ascension Through Unity, a competitive EDH build centered around Atraxa, Grand Unifier, the ultimate value engine and a uniquely powerful commander that bridges midrange resilience with combo potential. This list leverages the raw card advantage of Atraxa’s ETB trigger to dig for win conditions, interaction, and fast mana — all while supporting a Food Chain combo core.

This deck is tuned for high-level pods and aims to win fast, interact precisely, and grind smart when necessary.

Win Conditions

Primary Wincon:
- Food Chain + Eternal Scourge / Misthollow Griffin / Flesh Duplicate
Infinite creature mana via Food Chain and one of the exile-recurring creatures.
→ Cast Atraxa, Grand Unifier, dig for Thassa's Oracle or Tainted Pact / Demonic Consultation combo.

Backup Wincons:
- Thassa's Oracle + Tainted Pact / Demonic Consultation
- Finale of Devastation for lethal with infinite mana
- Displacer Kitten combos with The One Ring, Teferi, Time Raveler, or mana rocks for infinite value/actions

Notable Synergies

Staples and Interaction

This deck plays nearly every blue interaction spell you’d expect: - Free Countermagic: Force of Will, Force of Negation, Pact of Negation, Mindbreak Trap, Flusterstormfoil
- Removal: Swords to Plowshares, Abrupt Decay, Chain of Vapor, Toxic Deluge, Culling Ritual
- Tutors: Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Worldly Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Imperial Seal

And it runs every relevant fast mana: - Mana Crypt, Lotus Petal, Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, Mox Opal, Mana Vault, Ancient Tomb

Why Atraxa?

While many commanders offer value, Atraxa’s Grand Unifier trigger is uniquely broken in a deck like this. With a proper build, she can hit: - A creature (e.g. Eternal Scourge, Deathrite Shaman)
- A non-creature spell (e.g. Demonic Consultation)
- An instant (e.g. Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse)
- A sorcery (e.g. Finale of Devastation)
- An artifact (e.g. Sol Ring)
- An enchantment (e.g. Rhystic Study)
- A planeswalker (e.g. Teferi, Time Raveler)

This makes Atraxa a one-card value engine that refills your hand and pivots you into a win turn with proper sequencing.

Power Level & Goals

This deck is firmly cEDH (power level 9.5–10). It’s built for pods where interaction is heavy, turns are fast, and wins are clean.

You’ll thrive if: - You can protect Atraxa, Grand Unifier for at least one trigger
- You pilot your combo lines efficiently
- You mulligan aggressively for interaction or ramp

Mulligan Strategy

Look for: - Turn 1–2 dorks/rocks + tutor
- Food Chain + exile creature opener
- Strong card draw pieces + interaction
- Always mull away clunky high-CMC hands

Weaknesses

  • Susceptible to Drannith Magistrate (unless we remove it)
  • Hate for graveyard/exile recursion (Rest in Peace, etc.)
  • Heavy counterspell matchups if we stumble on mana

Closing Thoughts

Atraxa, Grand Unifier doesn’t just unify card types — she unifies power, control, and combo under one elegantly devastating package. Whether you’re tutoring with efficiency or slamming a turn 4 Food Chain win, this deck rewards mastery and punishes hesitation. Perfect for cEDH players who love versatility and inevitability.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you want a sideboard package or metagame tweaks.

Tsukimi on Game Changers & Brackets

1 month ago

Yea there's a big difference between a free for all and a 3 v 1 game. Edh is a free for all unless you are playing Archenemy.

I see what you are getting at but I think Game Changer is an excellent way to refer to these cards. A great example imo is Drannith Magistrate. Once people play this commanders can no longer be cast until it is removed. It instantly changes the course of the game by demanding your removal or denying you your commander. Craterhoof Behemoth is big, but doesn't instantly change the game on its own the DM does.

Barjack521 on Cheap deck always wins.

2 months ago

I realize I'm something like 10 years late to the party but have you considered adding Slaughter Pact? it could be useful for dealing with things that shut down commanders like Drannith Magistrate and since it's technically zero CMC it won't matter for the Ad Nauseam life loss. Plus spot removal can come in handy lots of ways if someone is playing creature stax pieces or something less subtle like a Platinum Angel. The other suggestions I had were Rain of Filth and/or Bubbling Muck which can each be used to go off earlier. I copied this deck and added a Skirge Familiar and an Exsanguinate and a Torment of Hailfire rather than use the zombie swarm cards as my alternate win con. If they stop the sickening dreams / dark sphere I can use the familiar to discard the rest of my hand to drain them out.

Crow_Umbra on Good uses for bad cards

4 months ago

I don't have uses for the other cards unfortunately. I'll list the combo in an accordion below:

This combo requires that both Nexus and Mirror be in your graveyard, and that Osgir is not summoning sick.

Main Line

Step 1/Turn 1

  1. Acivate Osgir, creating 2 copies of Ugin's Nexus. One of the copies will automatically die to the Legend Rule,

  2. The 2nd Nexus will be sacrifcied to Osgir's 1st ability (or additional free sac-outlet)

  3. Pass turn with 2 extra turns remaining.

Step 2/Turn 2 (Extra Turn 1)

  1. Activate Osgir, creating two copies of Mirror of Fate.

  2. Activate the first copy of Mirror of Fate, moving your library into exile.

  3. Activate the 2nd copy of Mirror. Return in order from bottom to top: Mirror of Fate, Filler card, Ugin's Nexus, *Codex Shredder

*Codex Shredder on the first iteration, filler card on each iteration afterwards.

Step 3/Turn 3 (Extra Turn 2) 1. Draw Codex Shredder using your draw step.

  1. Play Codex Shredder and activate it targeting yourself to mill Ugin's Nexus.

  2. Proceed to loop from Turn 1.

This will create a finite loop that can be repeated for as many iterations as you have filler cards to insert into the Mirror pile, HOWEVER, you can convert it into a true infinite loop by piling in a card that can exile your own graveyard, such as Tormod's Crypt. Codex Shredder can also be substituted for any way to get Ugin's Nexus into the graveyard without it entering the battlefield.

If you do have a loop going, Blind Obedience can be added to Extort the table as means to win through loops, without necessarily having to rely on beats.

Line Minus Osgir

This line eliminates the need for Osgir, making it ideal for situations where there is a Drannith Magistrate in play or if Osgir has been removed.

Prerequisites: Goblin Welderfoil in play and not summoning sick, Mirror of Fate in graveyard, Ugin's Nexus in hand.

TURN 1: 1. Cast Ugin's Nexus.

  1. Activate Goblin Welderfoil, sacrificing Ugin's Nexus and returning Mirror of Fate. Ugin's Nexus will go to exile as a replacement effect.

  2. Activate Mirror of Fate, sacrificing it and replacing your library with Ugin's Nexus.

  3. Pass turn with one extra turn remaining, and repeat from Turn 1.

DemonDragonJ on Was it Inevitable that WotC …

5 months ago

lukecwolf, I very dearly would like to see Drannith Magistrate banned in EDH, and possibly Thassa's Oracle, as well, but what is wrong with Rograkh? Is he too powerful for 0 mana?

artcwolf22 on Was it Inevitable that WotC …

5 months ago

I do not believe WOTC had any say in handover. Even if they did, the new judge committee maintains much of the same the same hands off, keep playing casual, and be social component of the old committee. And unless they're directly on the drawing board, I don't think it will change much.

Put a different way, WOTC has no intention of ever having commander ever be truly competitive, as that would alienate a significant portion of their card design and base. The same staples see so much competitive play that making commander competitive would mean they would need to reprint those or artificially power creep the format like it did with Modern Horizons.

I'm cautious with predictions. Mystery Booster 2 reprinted so many commander cards. Perhaps they could hit egregious cards in cEDH. Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation. But those were just reprinted. Unfortunate timing with the committee adjustment. Drannith Magistrate,Rograkh, The One Ring, and Rhystic Study have been much complained of cards. Ikoria power crept the game, and it could happen again.

It's in all a very unfortunate accident due in large part to having such a large base of players. But I don't foresee the committee changing the game or the format much.

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