MTG: Weekly EDH – Top Five – October 15th
The leaders haven’t changed, but their position in the running is favoring Phyrexians these days.
Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander. For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering, where you use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, your Commander.
Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory.
EDHRec.com is a great source for Commander info and can give you ideas to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one. They also provide a definitive ranking of which Commanders are ranking the highest each week. These are the top five Commanders for this week, based on decks built and logged playtime.
Atraxa, Praetor’s Voice
Now that Eldraine has tapered off and the new Doctor Who decks are out, I’m not surprised Atraxa shot to the first spot. With a deadly suite of keywords and a proliferate trigger that doesn’t require you to do anything, Atraxa can turn a slight nick into a deadly toxin in no time. She makes infect, wither, and bolster much better, and she can end the game with little effort.
Tymna the Weaver
The first of the “partner” commanders on the list, I don’t think that Tymna is here just on her own merits. While she certainly isn’t bad (she gives you card advantage in a color pair that doesn’t usually), you’ll mainly find her paired with other Commanders for color variance. Thrasios is the most common, and the infinite draw combo the two are famous for is one of the most hated strategies in EDH. Tymna is great with any partner, though, and she’s an incredible leader in her own right.
The Ur-Dragon
The king of the dragons, this deadly beastie has been the bane of many a table over the years. With a nasty eminence ability, a beefy statline, and the ability to not only get card advantage but catapult a threat at your enemies, Ur-Dragon is usually a KoS. You don’t want to let him start cooking, and with a WUBRG identity, every dragon under the sun is a potential threat in his deck.
Eriette of the Charmed Apple
Eriette has dropped a few spots, but she’s still Top Five for a reason. Her two-pronged Aura assault shuts down your opponent and drains the entire table while healing you. With all the Aura creation in WOE and the strength of aggressive Auras in White, you can dominate the entire table with only a few lands.
Alela, Cunning Conquerer
Faeries have always been a nuisance in Magic, as the continued high price of Bitterblossom proves. However, there are few Faerie generals quite as rage-inducing as Alela. Her WOE incarnation is an incredible piece, encouraging you to cast spells on your opponent’s turn. This allows you to not only build your army but also have plenty of flying menaces to lock down your opponent and keep their aggression firmly pointed at each other.
