
Combos Browse all Suggest
- Mana Vault + Sol Ring + Tidespout Tyrant
- Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter + Mana Vault
- Mana Vault + Myr Welder + Staff of Domination
- Mana Vault + Swift Reconfiguration + Voltaic Construct
Legality
Format | Legality |
1v1 Commander | Legal |
Archenemy | Legal |
Block Constructed | Legal |
Canadian Highlander | Legal |
Casual | Legal |
Commander / EDH | Legal |
Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
Custom | Legal |
Highlander | Legal |
Leviathan | Legal |
Limited | Legal |
Oldschool 93/94 | Legal |
Planar Constructed | Legal |
Planechase | Legal |
Premodern | Legal |
Quest Magic | Legal |
Tiny Leaders | Legal |
Vanguard | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Mana Vault
Artifact
This doesn't untap during your untap step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay . If you do, untap this.
At the beginning of your draw step, if this is tapped, this deals 1 damage to you.
: Add .








SaberTech on Animar enthusiasts!
2 weeks ago
The value of Trinket Mage really depends on what else you have for it to target besides the Ballista. I did run it at one point but that was back when I was also running Skullclamp, which I think is the main inclusion that makes Trinket Mage worth considering. If you are also running a number of cheap mana rocks like Chrome Mox and Mana Vault that can also help justify the inclusion. If you face a lot of graveyard decks and feel compelled to put in some artifact-based graveyard hate then that could be another reason to run Trinket Mage. It can also tutor for artifact lands, but generally you want as many of Animar's lands as possible to produce at least two different types of mana so the single-colour artifact lands aren't the best to include while the dual-colour artifact lands enter tapped, which you also want to avoid your lands doing if you can.
The reason why Transit Mage makes the cut despite also only having a few targets is because:
- Finding Ancestral Statue is more important to the deck. There are already a number of ways to get to the Ballista.
- Being able to go Imperial Recruiter -> Phyrexian Metamorph -> Transit Mage -> Ancestral Statue -> Rack up counters on animar then bounce Metamorph -> Metamorph copying Recruiter to get Walking Ballista is a super mana efficient line when Animar starts with just 2 counters.
Total mana cost for the line: RU + 4 life.
That line is way more mana efficient than the old line that required you to tutor up Spellseeker, have the Seeker tutor Neoform and then you Neoform the Seeker into Ancestral Statue. Transit Mage basically lets you get the same result for that stage in the line for just one blue mana, and it keeps the line to only using creatures so there are less commonly-used counterspells that can interrupt it.
jsnrice on
Atraxa, Grand Unifier
1 month 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
- Atraxa, Grand Unifier ETB + Displacer Kitten: Abuse blink triggers for maximum card filtering and pseudo-storm turns.
- Food Chain + Exile creatures: Efficient engine for infinite mana into Atraxa chains.
- Talion, the Kindly Lord + low-cost spell density = passive draw engine.
- Drannith Magistrate, Opposition Agent, Orcish Bowmasters: Stax elements that don’t disrupt our own lines.
- Archivist of Oghma, Esper Sentinel, Mystic Remora, Rhystic Study: Passive card draw galore.
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, Flusterstorm
- 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.
Epidilius on Infinite Rulings
2 months ago
Sorry, wasn't trying to come off as dismissive of the whole reason for the post. But, well, even those rules you've listed now are vague. Even just the "No MLD" rules brings up a ton of questions. Does that include Bearer of the Heavens, or Life and Limb + Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth + Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, or even just a bunch of "You get an extra land drop" cards + Crucible of Worlds + Ghost Quarter?
Trying to change the fundamentals of Magic gameplay is complicated. The MTG comp rules is 905 "main" rules (plus who knows how many sub-rules) for a reason haha.
If I were asked to write the rules for this tournament, I would say
"We want battlecruisery and unoptimized Magic, like we played when we first started. This is the spirit of what we are aiming for. No efficient tutors, no fast mana, no MLD, and combos can only trigger once per turn. Here some decks that showcase the level of power we are aiming for (each with a different archetype):
- Example Deck 1
- Example Deck 2
- Example Deck 3
If you are unsure if something crosses the line (eg, Farseek, Increasing Ambition, etc), ask and the entire playgroup can weigh in. If something comes up during a game, we'll figure it out then."
But even with all that, these rules wouldn't affect one of my close friend's Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder deck. It doesn't combo, doesn't have tutors, doesn't have Mana Vault, but it can get a quick Ydris into play and start generating tons of value pretty early, by casting multiple expensive spells every turn cycle. It violates the spirit of the ask, but unless I write a multi page document it won't violate the rules as written. Unless, of course, he were to play in good faith and say "I know this deck meets the rules as written but not as intended," which I believe he would.
Necramus on
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Zul Ashur)
3 months ago
Goldberserkerdragon that specific example:
I go first.
t1: Swamp + Gravecrawler
t2: Swamp, Stitcher's Supplier, Sol Ring
t3: Swamp, Bontu's Monument + Dark Ritual + Warren Soultrader
No one actually got a t4, and I was the only one that got a t3. Turn 1 was mostly mana rocks or playing value tap lands, like the Surveil lands. Turn 2 was people mostly playing their ramp. The blue guy in the pod did hold up counter magic but funnily used it to stop the guy that played right after him to squash his Mana Vault. So, I shot my shot and no one had an answer. Like I said, people don't really see tribal zombies and think, "Oh, I should hold up interaction so they don't win on t3 or t4." That's part of the benefit :)
The pod was me, Urza, Lord High Artificer, Sigarda, Font of Blessings and Godo, Bandit Warlord.
Profet93 on
The Capitoline Triad, or the Chronikoid
7 months ago
I agree with the previous user's suggestion of Basalt Monolith. It's ramp on it's own and combos with Rings of Brighthearth +2 mana to make . Basalt also combos with forsaken monument
Everflowing Chalice (4 counters) + rings + Voltaic Key = . Voltaic key is also useful for politics or ramping with artifact such as the below....
Mana Vault - Ramp
Liquimetal Torque - Ramp which can make something an artifact for politics.
Cloud Key/Semblance Anvil - Ramp. Cloud key also synergizes with Mystic Forge and Sensei's Divining Top to draw your entire deck. All pieces are helpful on their own.
Blinkmoth Urn - Ramp, combine it with Blinkmoth Well for only you to benefit. Well also acts as a political tool.
Caerwyn on MASSIVE EDH RC ban list …
7 months ago
As should be fairly obvious, of course players will move on to the next best thing - that is kind of the point of bans. Bans exist to remove the most damaging cards in a format--the cards which cross a threshold to "makes the game worse"--and encourage people to play cards which are on the right side of that threshold instead.
To that end, you can pretty easily see why Mana Crypt and Jeweled Lotus are on the wrong side of the threshold and Mana Vault is a lesser threat.
Mana Crypt gives you access to a colored mana (your land drop) and at the very first turn of the game. That means you can drop any number of dangerous cards - including colored cards - right from the get go, putting you two full turns ahead of your opponents. Then, on each subsequent turn, you remain ahead of your opponents, for a measly cost of 1 average life per turn.
Compare to Mana Vault. Mana Vault costs one mana, so, if dropped on turn 1, you have access to , but have no colored mana. That can get a bit out of control if you have an artifact-heavy hand (especially if you have other mana rocks), but you are still in a position where your casting options are limited by the lack of inherent colored mana. Further, unlike Mana Crypt, which untaps, you have to put in some degree of work to untap and reuse your Mana Vault, and it sits around doing nothing but pinging you until you do.
For Jeweled Lotus, Lotus gives the player access to three mana of any color of their choice plus the mana from their land drop. That is four mana, all colored and easily spread across two different colors from turn one. Considering Wizards typically costs as equal to a single colored mana (see or the cast cost of numerous cards), having four colored mana available at turn one is a bit like if a Mana Vault gave you . I can guarantee you if Mana Vault gave eight colorless mana, it would have been banned long ago.
If you actually think about the cards, you would see that "look, people are just playing Mana Vault now, so this ban didn't solve any problem and therefore should never have happened" is a pretty nonsensical argument. The fact people are playing Mana Vault now does solve a problem - it means people are still able to get access to powerful effects; those powerful effects just come at a more "fair" cost. That does not undermine the bans--it shows the bans are working exactly as intended.
Mortlocke on MASSIVE EDH RC ban list …
7 months ago
plakjekaas, "This is also not true though, Mana Crypt has always been a poster child of promo's...Until last week, Commander and Vintage were the only popular constructed formats you could play them in. You chased it to play it in commander, that doesn't mean it's a poster child voor the format."
Commander is the cash cow format of Magic, and with the exception of Kaladesh and LCI every single one of those products commanded a premium price. Not to mention, it appeared alongside other Commander format favorites in each of the aforementioned products. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to understand the marketing intent here. My Brother in Cardboard, not every player who wanted a copy of Mana Crypt was some hyper competitive spike - It was marketed as a cool piece of power in a trading card game that only the lucky and those with means can get. Shiny card is shiny, and everyone wants it.
"None of those sets were printed specifically for Commander."
Save maybe Eternal Masters, every one of those sets had excellent reprints for Commander. Wizards were well aware of the Commander market eclipsing all the others - and a popular sentiment in my circles at least was that all these supposed Modern products were primarily designed lure in Commander players.
"You can list a bunch of 3+-drops with conditional alternative casting costs, but those are not at all similar to a zero cost artifact that will start you 2 full turns ahead of everyone else."
You're missing the point. Those cards match a pushed power design philosophy that has emerged relatively recently in Magic. All of those cards were chase rares included in premium products alongside Mana Crypt as a crown jewel to better market those products.
"I find probably a healthy change in the format. Not completely eliminating the chance by leaving Sol Ring is probably a good move too, the multiplayer aspect of the format is capable of compensating for that, up to a point. But the more broken zero/one mana plays, the bigger the chance you go past that point."
You're forgetting player intent. Players who still want their power will simply go to the next best thing. Mana Vault has had a huge price spike recently...I wonder why. Players will still include and collect powerful cards that seem ubiquitous - these bans will only affect a minority of players: The cEDH, and High Powered/Cut Throat Meta crowd. I think the only ones getting healthier here are the investors' wallets. As the giant soulless corporation wants to encourage it's customers to buy the new powerful ubiquitous cards in the next premium product.
"And banning gatekeeper cards only increases the odds of more people showing up, because they didn't have to invest 10k in autoslot cards first, and those people might be able to actually compete."
You're forgetting deck builder's intent. If you ban one thing, the players will just go to the next best thing then that fills the void and the perceived problem from before will still remain. In this case, Mana Vault has stepped up to fill the slot of Mana Crypt. The so called autoslot cards will always be around no matter how many bans show up. Also, real talk - who are you playing with? 10k autoslot cards? Are you sure you're not playing Vintage? lol.
legendofa on MASSIVE EDH RC ban list …
7 months ago
Further bans that would not surprise me:
-
nothing else, these are the last bans for at least a couple years
-
Strip Mine and/or Wasteland
-
any single "free" counterspell
-
any single Thoracle combo piece
Further bans that would surprise me:
-
any single "free" removal
-
multiple Thoracle combo pieces
Further bans that would scare me:
-
any other "efficient" removal (Swords to Plowshares, Chaos Warp, Toxic Deluge, etc.)
-
multiple "free" counterspells and/or removal
-
any Eminence commander
Further bans that would blow my mind:
- pretty much anything else
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