Charms! They are valued due to their multi-modal versatility. They are preferred in our deck because they can place multiple +1 +1 counters on Ramos, Dragon Engine. There are a lot of charms in Magic: the Gathering's history. So narrowing the expansive list of charms to a manageable number was difficult. The deciding parameters became usefulness, mode relevance and number of colors. The following charms fit these guidelines and were selected for inclusion into this deck:
Abzan Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Exile target creature with power three or greater. 2) We draw two cards and you we lose two life. 3) Distribute two +1/+1 counters among one or two target creatures. Exiling a threatening creature is great, and so is paying two life to draw two cards. However, let's not sleep on mode #3. If we cast Abzan Charm and target Ramos, Dragon Engine with the two +1 +1 counters, our beloved General/Commander will net a total of five +1 +1 counters from this spell. Then, Ramos, Dragon Engine is online and we can remove those five +1 +1 counters for . We love you, Abzan Charm.
Bant Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Destroy target artifact. 2) Put target creature on the bottom of its owner's library. 3) Counter target instant spell. Artifact destruction, creature removal and safety from an instant spell are the modes gifted to us by Bant Charm. Although the tuck rule no longer exists when targeting Generals/Commanders, removing a troublesome or problematic creature from the battlefield by placing it on the bottom of its owner's library, or in the case of a General/Commander, to the command zone, is very valuable. No graveyard recursion. No re-casting it from their hand. Leave it to the fates!
Boros Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Deal four damage to target player or planeswalker. 2) Permanents we control gain indestructible until end of turn. 3) Target creature gains double strike until end of turn. Dealing four damage to a player or planeswalker in EDH/Commander may seem irrelevant. However, casting Boros Charm after five or six other instant and/or sorcery spells with Thousand-Year Storm on the battlefield and under our control makes this charm's first mode much more threatening. Easily the most favorable mode for us, Boros Charms protects our permanents by giving them indestructible for a turn. There is the potential of Ramos, Dragon Engine acting as a Voltron General/Commander and providing it double strike for a turn can be game-ending to an opponent through lethal General/Commander damage. Additionally, this text reads "TARGET CREATURE" and not "TARGET CREATURE YOU CONTROL." We can target an opponent's creature with Boros Charm for an ambush or through a political ploy.
Crosis's Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Return target permanent to its owner's hand. 2) Destroy target nonblack creature. It can't be regenerated. 3) Destroy target artifact. We can return any target permanent to its owner's hand. Ours. Our opponent's. Protection or disruption. Ideally, we do not want a restrictive creature removal spell, but black is just one color and a nonblack creature removal spell is still valuable. If we can't destroy a black creature, we can return to its owner's hand for a turn by choosing mode #1. Destroying an artifact is always valuable.
Esper Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Destroy target enchantment. 2) Draw two cards. 3) Target player discards two cards. Enchantment removal is always important. Drawing cards is always important. Depriving our opponents of resources is always important. Most likely, mode #2 will be the most popular selection, but the other two modes are quite relevant and are valuable enough to include in this deck.
Izzet Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays . 2) Deal two damage to target creature. 3) Draw two cards, then discard two cards. Selecting mode #1 can punish an opponent that left-up just enough mana to cast a counterspell or a removal spell against us. Dealing two damage to a creature is not insignificant as a number of problematic and troublesome General/Commanders sport a toughness of two or less. Lastly, drawing cards. It's a good thing. UPDATE Izzet Charm was replaced by Brokers Charm (see UP & UP REVISIONS #3 for more details).
Jund Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Exile all cards from target player's graveyard. 2) Jund Charm deals 2 damage to each creature. 3) Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature. We have a focused direction for our deck, and therefore, we do not include a lot of specific disruption outside of our charms and select removal spells. Jund Charm fills the gap in a big way. We can exile the graveyard of an opponent with recursive shenanigans in mind. We can wipe out a token army. We can place a total of five +1 +1 counters on Ramos, Dragon Engine, thereby preparing for an influx of . Jund Charm's versatility is extremely valuable and can disrupt various opponents or simply buff our General/Commander.
Naya Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Deal three damage to target creature. 2) Return target card from a graveyard to its owner's hand. 3) Tap all creatures target player controls. Naya Charm displays some great versatility and potential for political ploys. We have a restrictive piece of creature removal as our first mode. It's useful, but will never be mistaken as one of the best creature removal spells ever printed. The other two modes are much more valuable. Notice the text on mode #2. It says "RETURN TARGET CARD FROM A GRAVEYARD TO ITS OWNER'S HAND." It doesn't say "return target card from YOUR GRAVEYARD to its your hand." We can choose to return a card to our opponent's hand with the aspiration that that opponent uses it for our benefit in some way. Lastly, choosing to tap all creatures an opponent controls can open the combat floodgates against a player and potentially knock him or her right out of the game. UPDATE Naya Charm was replaced by Inspired Ultimatum (see UP & UP REVISIONS #3 for more details).
Rakdos Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Exile all cards from target player's graveyard. 2) Destroy target artifact. 3) Each creature deals one damage to its controller. Rakdos Charm may be the most punishable charm in the EDH/Commander format. How often do we see graveyard shenanigans transpire during a game of EDH/Commander? How often is there an overpowered artifact causing havoc on the battlefield? How often are we staring down an army of creature tokens, goblins, slivers, humans and/or allies? Rakdos Charm is an answer and may be the hardest working charm in Magic: the Gathering.
Simic Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn. 2) Permanents we control gain hexproof until end of turn. 3) Return target creature to its owner's hand. Simic Charm offers layers of protection throughout its three modes. Although the +3 +3 can target any creature and can be used as a political tool, it also can grant Ramos, Dragon Engine a temporary boost in power and toughness in order to push lethal General/Commander damage or survive combat or a board wipe. Granting permanents we control hexproof until the end of turn is extremely valuable. We want to protect Ramos, Dragon Engine, Omniscience and any of our other win conditions, and Simic Charm's second mode can do that. Mode #3 offers protection to one of our creatures or bounces an opponent's creature back to their hand.
Sultai Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Destroy target monocolored creature. 2) Destroy target artifact or enchantment. 3) Draw two cards, then discard a card. Sultai Charm only destroys a monocolored creature, which can be a bit restrictive as we can not target multicolored or colorless creatures. Historically, however, there's always a monocolored creature causing some level of disruption and/or trouble. Mode #1's restrictiveness is compensated by mode #2, as we can destroy target artifact or enchantment. Many of the aforementioned charms do not offer a choice, stating "destroy target artifact" or "destroy target enchantment." Sultai Charm provides valuable options. Finally, card-draw! Yay, card-draw!!
Treva's Charm: Three relevant modes: 1) Destroy target enchantment. 2) Exile target attacking creature. 3) Draw a card, then discard a card. Treva's Charm can either destroy a problematic enchantment, exile an attacking creature or draw us a card. Removal. Protection. Cantrip. This charm from Planeshift affords us with great versatility. UPDATE Treva's Charm was replaced by Brilliant Ultimatum (see UP & UP REVISIONS #3 for more details).