Why Has Golos Become More Popular, Recently?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on July 26, 2020, 11:24 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
On EDHREC's top commanders page, Golos, Tireless Pilgrim has been the most popular commander for both the past week and the past month (at the time of this post), and has now overtakn Edgar Markov
as the third most popular commander for the past two years, behind only Muldrotha and Atraxa, so I am wondering what caused this surge in popularity.
What does everyone else say about this? How did Golos become so popular? Do players simply really like the abilities that it has?
He is an etb land tutor in the command zone, he can cheat big flashy spells, he is 5c... Golos is just such a flexible commander, there are so many ways to build the deck. Even if your not takign advantage of both his perks, just buildign around 1 of the abilities is very strong and fun!
July 27, 2020 1:52 a.m.
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim can command any 5 color deck even if the deck is not built around it
because you can take advantage of the triggered ability even if you never use it's activated ability
What i am trying to say is i believe its not that this card is great
it's just 5 color commanders are limited and most are deck specific
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim is one of the most flexible
July 27, 2020 7:50 a.m.
ugg its earlier and im still worken my first cup
i basically just said the same thing as goodair
July 27, 2020 7:52 a.m.
I’d say it’s because commander tax pretty much doesn’t effect him as long as you are hitting your land drop during your turn since he tutors for the other half.
Also just the fact that he free casts the top three for seven mana make him really popular for decks that they are just loading up with signets, land ramp, and then huge game winning level cards to activate his ability as many times as possible.
July 27, 2020 9:12 a.m.
I think it's a fair question. I honestly don't think he's very competitive, his activated ability being totally based on luck- however, he is very, very, very generic. Literally take this example. I could go online and make a Roon of the Hidden Realm deck. Wait a second - now I want to play the deck, but what?! I don't own Roon?! Easy. I own Golos. Check. Mate. Copy the deck and replace a couple cards now. Add Buried Ruin. Add Conjurer's Closet. Add a couple more like Academy Ruins, Elixir of Immortality, and Fabricate. Done.
What about K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth? Easy. Cabal Coffers, Cabal Pit, Swamps, and the rest are the same.
Emry, Lurker of the Loch? Same as Roon.
Similar things can be said with Ramos, Dragon Engine.
July 27, 2020 12:40 p.m.
dingusdingo says... #8
While supply & demand is the universal law governing the price point, there is a bit more to the story of Golos than first meets the eye. First, the supply of Core 2020 is high, all the print runs from the last few years have been much bigger than the print runs from 10-20 years ago, because the game has been burgeoning with new players. Second, the demand is actually lower than you would anticipate too. Golos was used alongside Field of the Dead in Standard and Pioneer, and after the card was banned, Golos decks disappeared and many of those players are actually selling their copies of Golos. Golos hasn't and doesn't see play in Modern, but funnily enough it does actually get slotted into workshop decks for Vintage as a way to find the all important The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale for board lockdown, or a Mishra's Workshop to get ahead on the prison/stax components, or even a Mishra's Factory to further beatdown pressure. Most of these decks don't even use a full playset of Golos, 1 or 2 at the most. Vintage is also a relatively small sized format population wise which means those 1-2 copies of Golos are sought by a small group of buyers. The only format with real demand for Golos at the moment is Commander, in which a single copy of Golos will probably do the trick. The color identity of WUBRG means you can't just toss it casually into your mono/dual color deck so it doesn't really get played in the 99 either.
You are 100% spot on about evaluating Golos though, he's a very nice body with a strong active ability that can win games, and the unconditional land tutor is hugely powerful, and means you only need to generate more mana to recast Golos each time. I think interest in him will continue to rise as we see more big/flashy spell effects, and we get more land printings with abilities.
Large supply, not a whole lot of demand except for 1-2 copies from a small % of the total MTG players, comes from a very recent set. That's how I'd sum it all up.
July 27, 2020 6:11 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #9
Essentially, it's a commander that is naturally powerful that can be built in a variety of ways and can accommodate any budget.
July 27, 2020 9 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #10
Versatility, versatility. Obviously you can build a land combo deck with Golos, and that would play into its specific strengths, but as of now he's probably the best 5c "secret commander" genetal we've got.
Beyond that, being 5-color, cost-effective, and just a slightly bigger Sad Robot in the command zone means that any wild strats that don't have a commander yet can just go "worst case is I cast it and get some value!" and set him as the general. For instance, my buddy's got a 5c Upkeep Triggers deck. Golos is heading it because his ETB is good value and it's good to have a mana sink when most of your value comes from upkeep triggers.
hejtmane says... #2
There are many reasons he is still cheap he was a semi chase in standard because of the FOTD decks so with him seeing play in standard enough packs where cracked of M20. This goes back to circulation; The commander precon's of Atraxa and Edgar did not see near the print run of M20 standard boxes.
Remember rarity can drive price cough cough Grim Tutor is a perfect example.
Once FOTD was banned in standard Golos dropped out of being played and he is no longer relative in pioneer and sees no replay in modern either.
Basically you have a heavily printed legendary basically played only in Commander now. Then when you look at his commander stats he is rarely played in the 99 he is mostly played as the commander.
Basically the only reason he is even pushing $5 is commander other wise he be even cheaper.
Basically you have to factor in many things when it comes to price not just is he popular in commander. Print run matters was it a chase card how much was it printed etc etc all that matters so quit using price as the determination of his rise.
July 27, 2020 12:17 a.m.