Underrated EDH Cards
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Oct. 9, 2020, 5:15 p.m. by Sultai_Sir
I know this topic has been beaten to death and back again, but I recently stumbled across some very underrated cards: The Dreams cycle, from Torment. Each card besides one has less then 1,000 decks on EDHrec, and while some of the cycle are meta-specific, a couple of them should be staples. Like Nostalgic Dreams, a two-mana scaleable Regrowth, getting back all your best cards while discarding all your worst, or Turbulent Dreams, a 2 mana board wipe in any deck that draws a lot of cards, like Kruphix, God of Horizons, The Locust God, both of which are very popular generals. Or what about Insidious Dreams, while even though it has 1.7 thousand decks, should be a black staple? Do you have any underrated cards in EDH? Personally, underrated means, at least to me, having less then 1,000 decks on EDHrec. Thanks!
Sultai_Sir says... #3
Thanks for commenting, ClockworkSwordfish! Personally, I think the downside of Turbulent Dreams is mitigated by it being two mana, instead of 7, like Cyclonic Rift. I'm not saying it is Cyclonic Rift, but it's a great budget alternative.
October 9, 2020 5:33 p.m.
RiotRunner789 says... #4
Tower of the Magistrate: Played against my friend's Urza voltron deck and saw his plans crumble after having his swords fall off and not being able to untap his lands from feast and famine.
He got hit with a hellkite tyrant next turn and couldn't bounce it because he over committed his lands expecting them to untap.
Pestilence: Great repeatable board wipe and life drain. Especially when you have lifegain and an indestructible creature.
October 9, 2020 6:19 p.m.
TriusMalarky says... #5
I feel like people discount countermagic sometimes. Literally every blue deck should run Negate, Disdainful Stroke and probably Counterspell. But that might just be my low data count.
Efficient removal is also really underrun. Terminate, Doom Blade and more should find a lot of homes, but really don't.
However, if you're looking for real power, Scheming Symmetry is SO good. In any mill deck it's the best tutor in the game. With some way to draw a card immediately, it makes it really easy to combo off. Also, there's often somebody who's behind... give them the tutor.
Simic Charm is anti-removal and can stop someone from winning. Great 2-use utility.
October 9, 2020 8:23 p.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #6
Mark for Death for those moments you really want to swing for the face with everything you got. Well, almost everything.
October 9, 2020 8:51 p.m. Edited.
Head Games - Politics, fun, and "mind games" all in one. Did I give my opponent his combo piece so you have to focus on him instead of me, or did I give him all lands? The world may never know....
Mirrorpool - Utility land which can copy g-wave, rishkar's expertise, a tutor, etc... way too much utility to ignore IMO. Coming in tapped sucks, but for the utility it provides, in midrange decks it finds a loving home
Nissa, Vital Force - Recursion, wincon and untapped cradle/nkythos. Note that its very close to it's ult already
Rude Awakening - Wincon or ritual. Even more fun with cradle! Add in deserted temple/thespians stage/vesuva to make it more fun
Mind Twist - Mess over 1 player, at random makes it more painful. Its easy counter bait against blue
Thought Distortion - A very powerful silver bullet for my meta. Blue really does destroy our hopes and dreams. Note, it is also a form of grave hate!
Worst Fears - Never underestimate how powerful taking someone's turn can be. Putting their commander in grave/exile, destroying their own board, etc.... so much potential. In black we ramp anyways.
Sword of the Animist - For mono red and white decks that want lands
Ignite the Future - Draw, flashback is great!
Humble Defector - Politics, fun with Homeward Path
October 9, 2020 9:59 p.m.
VampDemigod says... #8
Evra, Halcyon Witness. If you can get one hit off, you’re set up for life. It’s a glass cannon, but it’s a game-breaking one.
October 9, 2020 10:33 p.m.
Omniscience_is_life says... #9
Chemister's Insight. I think most blue players should run to his card, as you’re up 6 cards in hand, and have drawn 8 (after you resolve it twice) for eight mana, which is quite a good rate
October 9, 2020 10:35 p.m.
VampDemigod says... #11
You essentially pay 8, discard a card, and exile this card from your hand to draw 4 cards. It’s not bad, but it's not super.
October 9, 2020 10:42 p.m.
Diplomatic Immunity for great protection at a great cmc.
Oppressive Rays is very good against a creature that wants to attack a lot or activate abilities a lot. In the past I've shut down a Najeela, the Blade-Blossom deck from the very start of the game.
October 9, 2020 10:46 p.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #13
I'd also like to add Talent of the Telepath, it needs more love.
October 9, 2020 10:55 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #15
A chunk of some of my favorite (mostly unusable) cards: Transmutation Ashnod's Transmogrant Psychic Surgery Nin, the Pain Artist Carnivorous Plant Angry Mob Banshee Carrion Ants Natural Order Cyclone Cosmic Horror
October 9, 2020 10:58 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #17
Now I’m just looking at cards I’ve had fun with: Energy Tap, Preacher and Exorcist, Frankenstein's Monster....man, there are SO MANY weird cards that bring back the Old Weird(tm) of M:tG. You all should just take a stroll through some of the old sets. You don’t even have to thank me! ;p
October 9, 2020 11:11 p.m.
Omniscience_is_life says... #18
VampDemigod thanks for catching that, I’m a fucking idiot and misremembered the card. Also: ghirapur orrery is excellent, I knew there was another card I wanted to mention and that’s the one
October 9, 2020 11:59 p.m.
Nostalgic Dreams isn't a "repeatable" Regrowth. you get more cards, but its not repeatable. and all of these cards require you to discard, which is a huge drawback. theres a reason they're used in less than 1,000 decks.
October 10, 2020 12:18 a.m.
CaptainToll says... #20
Sol Ring can't believe how many times I got an absolute ludicrous start with this in my opening 7. Yea you have to invest 1 mana and it only produces 2 mana (not even of color), which is a steep price, but after a while you won't notice this downside. Can't believe so many people haven't picked up on this sleeper yet, as it basically puts you ahead by two turns manawise the next time you untap with it.
October 10, 2020 5:15 a.m.
CaptainToll says... #21
Jokes aside: I really like Shiny Impetus and Bloodthirsty Blade. Add some Artificer's Hex and you got yourself some spice.
October 10, 2020 5:18 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #22
Authority of the Consuls has prevented so many flashed in ambush blockers in my games, while also gaining 15 life a game easily, all for a measly . People really don't think it's worth it to remove, and then continue to lose to it all the time.
October 10, 2020 9:09 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #23
RiotRunner789: Tower of the Magistrate looks great! I can totally see that being an equipment deck hoser. I wouldn't exactly call Pestilence an underrated card, but it's still powerful.
October 10, 2020 10:13 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #24
TriusMalarky: I love Scheming Symmetry! It's a great tutor, and it's disadvantage often is an advantage in political decks.
October 10, 2020 10:14 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #25
Mj3913: I've never seen Mark for Death, but it seems great! Unblockability plus pseudo-removal in one card is always great.
October 10, 2020 10:15 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #26
Head Games looks great for political decks! I always love the dynamic that multiplayer brings to the table.
Mind Twist: The OG mono-black x-spell is still powerful. I run it a couple decks, it's always a good draw.
Thought Distortion: Looks like a very powerful budget top-end card. Exiling a spellslinger's whole hand can be backbreaking.
The rest of the cards aren't exactly underplayed, but they're all still powerful.
October 10, 2020 10:21 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #27
VampDemigod: Evra, Halcyon Witness looks great! Do you run it in anything? It looks powerful with a bunch of equipment, making you basically immortal.
October 10, 2020 10:22 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #28
Omniscience_is_life: Chemister's Insight looks like a powerful budget draw spell, but if anything, isn't it overrated? It's already in about 6,700 decks, and there are more powerful draw spells on a budget, like Keep Watch or Ever-Watching Threshold.
October 10, 2020 10:26 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #29
Brutal_B: Those cards look great! Diplomatic Immunity isn't really underplayed, but it definitely needs more love. It's like an enchantment version of Lightning Greaves.
October 10, 2020 10:28 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #30
FormOverFunction: I've never heard of those cards! Ashnod's Transmogrant looks great in any Memnarch deck, and Cosmic Horror has crazy art. It looks like a starfish made of mouths.
October 10, 2020 10:30 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #31
Pyrrha: Sorry if my wording confused you, I meant a scaleable Regrowth. In the early game, you can get back a ramp spell, and in the late game, you can get back all your bombs. And as for the discarding, it's a big downside, but they make up for it by being undercosted. I'm not advocating for them to be in any deck, but they should definitely be in more decks then they are right now.
October 10, 2020 10:35 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #32
CaptainToll: Yeah, people just haven't really caught onto how good Sol Ring is yet, but it's only a matter of time. As for your actual underplayed cards, Shiny Impetus should probably be in any red deck lacking ramp. It's not very competitive, but it's one extra mana a turn, which is great.
October 10, 2020 10:38 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #33
plakjekaas: Authority of the Consuls is in most of my white decks. It's lifegain plus stax, and it stops haste in its tracks.
October 10, 2020 10:39 a.m.
Sultai_Sir your wording didn't "confuse" me, the wording just wasn't correct. i definitely don't think these cards are good or useful in the slightest. its negative card advantage.
October 10, 2020 10:43 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #35
It's negative card advantage, but in the case of Nostalgic Dreams, which is the best of the cycle, you're trading in cards you don't want, like lands, for removal, or ramp, or removed cards. I'll fix the wording, though.
October 10, 2020 10:49 a.m.
VampDemigod says... #36
Sultai_Sir I actually built a commander deck around it for a friend. (Deck for Starbot) It’s one weakness is the first activation. If they can reduce Evra’s power to 0 while it’s on the stack, you lose. Also, if they can remove Evra from the battlefield before it deals damage, you’ll be left at 4 life.
However, if you have a turn with Evra on the battlefield and your opponents tapped out, you can usually get that first activation, and then you’re home free.
Also of note, if she’s ever not blocked, the opponent’s basically dead, since they’re taking a life-total’s-worth of damage, which can be commander damage.
To anyone who’s confused as to why Evra, Halcyon Witness is so powerful, take another look. Yes, she’s a 6 mana 4/4. But her ability doesn’t end once the turn does. Here’s how the game can play out, assuming for the sake of example that you have 20 life:
Activate evra’s ability (power 20, life 4) Hit with evra (power 20, life 24) Hit with evra (power 20, life 44) Activate evra’s ability (power 44, life 20) Hit with evra (power 44, life 64)
Then you just keep switching the power and life every time you attack.
October 10, 2020 10:55 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #37
Oh my goodness, I totally missed the fact that you exchange them, instead of having your life total becoming Evra's power. It's so much more powerful then I thought!
October 10, 2020 11 a.m.
VampDemigod: in magical christmas land where you're going unblocked on turns 7, 8, and 9 and nobody plays interaction or removal then yeah all that sounds good on paper, but in actual practice the deck is still mono white. wouldn't really call it "home free" after the first activation since they can still hit it with almost any removal.
Sultai_Sir its really not more powerful than you thought.
October 10, 2020 11:01 a.m.
VampDemigod says... #39
It doesn’t have to be unblocked! You can deal 20 lifelink damage to a 0/1 plant token.
Also, see my first comment, wherein I call it a glass cannon.
October 10, 2020 11:19 a.m.
Sultai_Sir I always put Authority of the Consuls and Blind Obedience together. I feel like usually if I want one then running both is good, too.
October 10, 2020 11:37 a.m.
White has a great removal suite. Getting a hit in is not a big deal. And it's not the only card in the deck. And trample is not the only way to deliver commander damage. The enormous life gain just adds inevitability to the deck and since it's your commander, you get a lot of chances to do something big with it.
The best thing would be to get a big exchange/lifelink boost when they chump block it, then drop Aetherflux Reservoir and win.
Evra, Halcyon Witness has been underrated since it was printed. The fact you can create a huge power on a creature using your life total as fuel or a resource is pretty decent.
October 10, 2020 3:34 p.m. Edited.
plakjekaas says... #45
Which means if you have less than 21 life it's not gg, which is completely dependent on life totals, mainly yours.
Trample is not hard in mono white though, it is the color mainly associated with equipment. A simple Shadowspear or Whispersilk Cloak is a great way to connect your Voltron commander in every color, and white has easy tutors for those.
October 10, 2020 5:17 p.m.
TriusMalarky says... #47
One nice thing about Evra is that you only need to activate it right before damage is done, after blockers are declared.
I think the main problem is it costs a buttton of mana(10 for the first switch!) and there's enough removal in the game that people can blow it up and move on with their lives. However, with an easy way to protect it, it's an absolute monster.
I mean, in EDH you can easily be at 40ish with a 40/40 for 10 mana, 6 on one turn and 4 on the next. Not the worst card I've seen, and it's cheap enough I plan on trying it out.
October 10, 2020 9:33 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #48
It will be a 40/4, Evra only gets power equal to your life total.
Which does matter, I've seen Narset, Enlightened Master running Electrify for some reason, which seems like a bad choice, but still destroys your Evra, Halcyon Witness even after the switch xD
October 10, 2020 9:40 p.m.
VampDemigod says... #49
Also, with evra, you don’t have to hit their dome. If they don’t have something that can kill it (see indestructible/first strike equipment/auras), you’ll still gain great amounts of life.
Reminder in case anyone’s forgotten, a creature deals damage to another creature equal to its power, even if that power is more than the other creature’s toughness.
October 10, 2020 10:23 p.m.
VampDemigod says... #50
And the reason Evra’s been so underrated is because she was in the same set as Befuddle
ClockworkSwordfish says... #2
I used to rock Nostalgic Dreams in Five-Color Magic. Discarding cards need not even be a cost, such as in a dredge deck. Turbulent Dreams is really hurt by being Sorcery speed - Vengeful Dreams will generally do the same sort of thing, but permanently and at Instant speed.
Insidious Dreams is completely busted and every black deck should consider making room for it.
October 9, 2020 5:26 p.m.