Overperforming Cards?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on June 6, 2021, 11:17 a.m. by Gleeock
Curious about your experiences with curiosity add-cards that overperform when you put the card to use. Cards that maybe shouldn't be that great, but whenever it is played it seems to be impactful & discuss why you think the card is so impactful. (These are often cards that may be future pet-cards for you, not staples - they perform exactly how we'd expect)
plakjekaas says... #3
Whenever I play Authority of the Consuls it always does a lot more than you'd think. Not only does it gain me over 20 life in a game on average, but it also shuts down quite a few combos that generate infinite creatures (think Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker or Breya, Etherium Shaper -fueled ones). It shuts down surprise blockers with flash, and all of that for a mere . My playgroup sounds the sweetest of groans whenever I manage to play it turn 1 these days, can't recommend it enough.
June 6, 2021 12:14 p.m.
plakjekaas that is a good one! I've played it a few times in Marisi, Breaker of the Coil & had similar experiences
June 6, 2021 12:17 p.m.
Also kind of a funny overperformer because at times players will pay to have that overperformer removed, with a terrible exchange rate on removal
June 6, 2021 12:20 p.m.
SynergyBuild says... #6
Stong, hard graveyard hate often stops 2-3 opponents. In a fair deck, with 2-4 graveyard recursive pieces, but not too much, like an Eternal Witness or something, a Rest in Peace can take games wayyy harder than I'd expect.
Fire Covenant also is incredibly underrated, and whenever I put it in a deck, it feels often much more backbreaking than a Cyclonic Rift , and the life loss doesn't often matter once you destroy all your opponent's creatures.
June 6, 2021 12:49 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #7
I’ve really enjoyed the trap-door-spider-aspect of Whipkeeper in my torture deck. Being able to double-up on combat damage with a below-the-radar sleeper card like that is a lot of fun. No one pays much attention to it (or recognizes it, honestly) until it swoops at an opportune time...which then, sadly, draws it a lot of hate. Pairs well with Nin, the Pain Artist (unless you’re torturing your own creatures) or any other mana-reliant damage. Also hits the bullseye on theme.
June 6, 2021 12:53 p.m.
Imp's Mischief - Hands down one of the most unique and versatile black cards printed. Redirect targetted removal, draw, extra turns, counterspells, etc.... all for the price of 2 mana and some life. They rarely see it coming and when they are keen to it, you can bluff. Highly underrated card
June 6, 2021 12:53 p.m.
Omniscience_is_life says... #9
Sentinel Totem . Like SynergyBuild said, GY hate is a very relevant effect. The Totem comes down on T1 (when you probably won't be playing anything else), fixes your second draw--maybe you needed to dig for another land, who knows--and then looms over your opponents' heads for the rest of the game, all the while helping with things like Metalcraft, All That Glitters , etc.
June 6, 2021 1:16 p.m.
Mtg_Mega_Nerds says... #10
On MTG Arena it has been Crush the Weak in standard. Exiles rogues and other pesky cards like Skyclave Shade . Can also wipe some mono white and mono red board states. Pretty solid card for standard.
June 6, 2021 2:28 p.m.
Portcullis
. Does almost all the same work as
Ensnaring Bridge
for a fraction of the $.
Also
Sunforger
because so much fun shenanigans come out of that card. It’s not that good. It just FEELS amazing
June 6, 2021 2:30 p.m. Edited.
SynergyBuild - I was hoping someone would mention Fire Covenant - instant speed, dmg based, low cmc sweeper! :) & more & more we are getting relevance to damaging our own creatures too that can make that card ridiculous.
June 6, 2021 2:33 p.m.
I would like to add most the Court of _ cards. In decks that like back & forth aggression & only need a few extra draws to keep running with the big boys... Usually those courts do work for me & no one really typically cares to hate them off the board when there are bigger fish to fry. The courts typically add up & I love that they still get a lesser effect without monarch, then you add that they are mostly self-replacing with end step draw. In theory they don't look too impactful, then in actual practice they can be sneaky houses in a game.
June 6, 2021 2:38 p.m.
Metroid_Hybrid says... #14
Phyrexian Reclamation was the definition of an unexpected over-performer in some of my earlier EDH decks..
Not quite the same, but Syr Konrad, the Grim (as a Commander) turned out to be hilariously stronger than I had expected..
June 6, 2021 3:09 p.m. Edited.
plakjekaas says... #15
I second Sunforger . But I disagree about it not being that good. It protects your board with Teferi's Protection , Debt of Loyalty , Deflecting Swat and Boros Charm , it removes creatures with Swords to Plowshares , Path to Exile and my favorite: Settle the Wreckage , it kills other problematic permanents wit Disenchant , Chaos Warp or Wear / Tear , can shut players down with Silence , Abeyance or Orim's Chant , and in my deck, it wins the game by searching and casting both Gideon's Sacrifice and Arcbond on the same Indestructible creature. It will even find the Lightning Bolt to start the chain.
Sunforger is one of the best boros equipments, at least if you can cheat a bit on the equip cost. But we have Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist , Brass Squire , Puresteel Paladin , Sigarda's Aid , Halvar, God of Battle Flip and a few others to help with that
June 6, 2021 3:13 p.m.
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I think it is somewhat meta dependent & (subjective) as well. In my meta Sunforger isn't so much of an overperformer in the sense that everyone recognizes it as a high-performance threat right away & it is either promptly dealt with or runs away with the game. It doesn't really get that: what is that? who cares... oh shit what was that again? treatment in my playgroup.
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Metroid_Hybrid I agree on Phyrexian Reclamation that one often does over-perform in ways that typically are ignored. Another card on that front seems to be Journey to Eternity Flip, people will sometimes cast a sweeper ignoring the death trigger on that & that instant recursion on a land is pretty aggressive. It may not be a definitive over-performer though as much as reclamation
June 6, 2021 3:29 p.m.
Gleeock Deathsprout is probably a better option.
But my pick is Broken Wings one card can hit 3 different permanent types at instant speed
June 6, 2021 3:33 p.m.
Spellskite is pretty underrated imho. While protecting your commander or other creatures is obvious, ppl don’t seem to see the full potential. It can also protect artifacts and save your combo pieces. It even can protect enchantments since a lot of enchantment removal can also target artifacts.
What ppl seem to overlook most however, is the ability to retarget positive spells. If an opponent tries to save a creature by giving it protection, indestructible or buffing it, retarget it to spellskite. A roon player wants to flicker his etbs, retarget it to spellskite. An Uril player tries to enchant his commander...... You get the idea
June 6, 2021 4:27 p.m.
I think Chevill, Bane of Monsters over-performs as a commander, despite being a simple value generator.
G/B doesn't need a lot of help from the commander to work well, and Chevill tended to fly under the radar most of the times I used him, rarely being seen as an important threat.
June 6, 2021 4:37 p.m.
Pikobyte I've been using spellskite for years in my Muldrotha deck and somehow that has never crossed my mind to redirect stuff other then kill spells
June 6, 2021 4:47 p.m.
Try it @shadow63, your opponents won’t expect it probably. It can do so much work. Protecting your stuff is great but denying your opponents good stuff is really satisfying
June 6, 2021 4:52 p.m.
shadow63, I also typically use Deathsprout for similar reasons. Though, I like the versatility of nonland permanent removal instead of creature removal & the CMC restriction on the sprout has come up early game for me. Personal preferences abound there.
June 6, 2021 5:14 p.m.
Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury has become a pet card of mine in multiple decks just because it only takes a little Dragon synergy to mean the boost from Kolaghan turns from inconsequential to lethal.
June 6, 2021 10:08 p.m.
TriusMalarky says... #24
One card I would love to try in cEDH is Dovin, Hand of Control . Turn one Mana Crypt this guy, especially if you're going first, should be backbreaking.
Other than that, Flood of Tears is hilariously good. Oftentimes you get to the point where you have several Mana rocks and dorks in play in addition to an assortment of creatures, and this just resets the board except you have your scariest thing in play and probably one or two Mana dorks/rocks, meaning you take the way the game had been going and now you're ahead on Mana and are totally winning.
June 7, 2021 12:59 a.m.
gavriel1136 says... #25
Volcanic Offering , is a massive overperformer for my Mizzix of the Izmagnus deck. Granted. I can cast it for R in that deck, but every time I've played it, it's been devastating. With the slightest politicking, you can remove the two biggest threats on the board and cut the legs out from a ramp player.
Do it right, and they won't even blame you, since you only did half the targeting!
June 7, 2021 9:16 p.m.
libraryjoy says... #26
Skyblinder Staff - it's a cheap way to make flyers pretty much unblockable, as not too many decks are heavy on reach creatures.
Archetype of Imagination is a bomb that makes your whole field pretty much unblockable.
Sephara, Sky's Blade is easy and cheap to get on the field early and a bit of indestructible for her, and she's a cheaper Avacyn, Angel of Hope for a field of flying creatures.
Verdant Sun's Avatar has found its way into many of my decks. I'm surprised by how much the lifegain helps, especially in any deck that wants to play big creatures (and mine usually do).
June 8, 2021 6:50 p.m.
gavriel1136 I forgot about Volcanic Offering what a badass spell. Soulfire Eruption is ridiculously bomb too. If only it didn't have 3 red pips so you could be more comfortable with token heavy decks
June 8, 2021 7:41 p.m.
SteelSentry says... #28
Need for Speed . Sometimes you just need the one haste threat, and you can spare the land. Bonus if filling your graveyard for recursion or Delve is relevant. It flies under the radar in a way that the most popular haste enablers don't, and you can use it on other player's creatures as well.
June 8, 2021 7:45 p.m.
golgarigirl says... #29
Mana Bloom for any enchantress-style deck. Early game it gives you a little extra mana. Late game play it for x = 0 and you will always have card draw/angel tokens/ etc for just G.
Daretti, Scrap Savant in the 99 of almost anything that can run him. He +2's for card advantage/filtering/quality whatnot. His -2 gets back whatever artifact your opponent wasted a kill spell on. Most decks have, at very least, a spare mana rock in the late game if not a treasure token or something. Time to get that Sword of X and Y back and ruin someone's day. Who even cares about the ultimate.
Tectonic Giant in any deck that runs damage magnification like the new Jeska planeswalker, Fiery Emancipation , Torbrand, etc. At worst, he's a decent body with card advantage. At best, he will demand an answer, and cost everyone dearly for being answered.
June 8, 2021 11:36 p.m. Edited.
plakjekaas says... #30
I completely forgot Mana Bloom in my Klothys, God of Destiny enchantress deck, thanks for the reminder.
Looking at that list, I got another one: Primal Order does a LOT of damage if you're used to play against 3- or more colored decks.
June 9, 2021 5:14 a.m.
I'll echo what Metroid_Hybrid said about Syr Konrad, the Grim . You'd think he was just for aristocrats decks, but really most decks in black he goes in and takes over the game.
June 16, 2021 7:14 p.m.
Omniscience_is_life says... #32
A card I keep adding to my decks is Dragon Throne of Tarkir . It’s no surprise that Overwhelming Stampede is good, but a lot of the decks I build that want that effect aren’t in green. So that’s when the Throne becomes a massive boon.
June 16, 2021 7:38 p.m.
golgarigirl Mana Bloom looks awesome for my Tuvasa the Sunlit deck. I might have to check it out!
Gleeock says... #2
To start with me, a couple of cards that are quickly becoming pets for me are: Immersturm Predator , Shiny Impetus , Binding the Old Gods
Immersturm Predator - Been ridiculous solid. If someone has a necrodeck in play he is self-politicking for players to let him hang to chisel the most important recursion targets. He is a good attacker, but doesn't have to. Often hanging up as a blocker to instant indestructible & exile a graveyard piece in token heavy deck. His tempo always seems to work out incredibly for me. Just hangs around, does work.
Shiny Impetus - Not a big removal fan without some associated progress in the game, this way I get to keep the damage train rolling for others, let other players worry about removing the problem. Usually the floor is: 1 treasure returned & another player uses a removal. The ceiling is quite high: a bunch of damage, building spite, & treasure ramp.
Binding the Old Gods - Why just ramp or remove a permanent when I can do both? May be a spendy & clunkier removal piece, but it works beyond just removal & again, when put to practice this card has done work for me every time.
June 6, 2021 11:31 a.m.