With the release ofMagic: The Gathering’s Phyrexia: All Will Be One, there are plenty of new cards to fuel EDH players' ambitions. In fact, this set contains some of the most powerful cards sure to make a splash in nearly any Commander deck.
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Alongside some staple Commander reprints, Phyrexia: All Will Be One has many cards that slot into a variety of deck archetypes, including a wealth of legendary creatures to make into commanders themselves. Due to the sheer power of this set, there are many other cards not on this list that would feel right at home, but simply were edged out by the more powerful options.
10Phyrexian Vindicator: A Stalwart Defender With Some Bite
Phyrexian Vindicator is often compared to its Black counterpart Phyrexian Obliterator, and for good reason. Both offer intimidating board presence with the added effect of triggering its effect upon being damaged. While Obliterator may be killed by damage, Vindicator instead prevents that damage and deflects it elsewhere, making it a much more difficult adversary to remove.
Additionally, Vindicator is arguably more versatile than Obliterator, as it does not matter the source of the damage. This means keen players can blast their own Vindicator with board wipe effects to deal massive damage to other targets, including opponents. As such, this card would fit well into Boros or Selesnya decks seeking to maximize their damage in combat while maintaining a threatening presence that opponents will be reluctant to damage.
9Phyrexian Obliterator: A Classic Newly Revived
Phyrexian Obliterator is actually a reprint from old sets, but that doesn’t mean it is any less powerful. In fact, reprinting gives it renewed life in more Magic formats and makes it more readily available for Commander players to pick up for cheaper. This classic card offers an intimidating body that players will either need to kill on sight or risk being hit by.
With trample and the added ability to force your opponents to sacrifice permanents when damaged, this monstrosity is not likely to receive any blockers. It is such an intimidating board presence that it can single-handedly defeat opponents without the removal to deal with it, making it a perfect creature to slot into nearly any Black deck.
8Encroaching Mycosynth: Now Everything can be Artifact Tribal
Encroaching Mycosynth is a game changing card, converting all your nonland permanents into artifacts. This can have massive effects depending on your deck, potentially making it one of the most powerful cards in any artifact deck.
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Artifacts have some of the best tribal support in Magic, including Affinity, one of the most powerful mechanics ever created in the game. Even besides Affinity, there are manyMTG artifact commandersthat synergize well with artifacts, making this card a perfect addition to any of those commanders (as long as they’re Blue).
7Phyrexian Arena: The Return Of A Black Staple
Phyrexian Arena is another reprint of an older card, but with far wider uses than Phyrexian Obliterator. A staple in many Black Commander decks, Phyrexian Arena offers immense draw advantage for black decks.
At only three mana, this cost-effective card can give Black Commander players the needed draw power to stay ahead.
6Mondrak, Glory Dominus: A Powerful, Resilient Force Multiplier
Like Anointed Procession before him, Mondrak is a powerful White card that doubles tokens. All Mondrak needs is two artifacts and/or creatures to sacrifice, which his own ability helps accomplish easily, to gain indestructible for as little as one mana and four life.
This is an immensely powerful effect that makes Mondrak much more resilient than his enchantment counterpart and greatly widens his versatility. Obviously, Mondrak is an immensely powerful addition to token decks of any kind. Food, Treasure, Clues, and Creature Tokens are all doubled for a reasonable four mana cost, making him universally powerful in any token focused EDH deck, maybe even opening them up to be a White Commander staple.
5Solphim, Mayhem Dominus: A Red Powerhouse
Many Magic players will have seen an effect like Solphim’s before, doubling noncombat damage. However, Solphim stands a cut above the rest by having the potential to gain indestructible, possibly making him a more permanent threat. While the loss of two cards is substantial to trigger the effect, it is often worth it to maintain this damage multiplier.
What makes Solphim more useful than others of his kind is his capability of doublinganydamage you inflict, not just from red sources. This makes Solphim a solid choice for any deck focusing on burning down opponents with noncombat damage spells and effects.
4All Will Be One: A Game-Changer In Versatility
The titular card of the set, All Will Be One is one of the most versatile cards in the game. What makes it so versatile is just how many decks can benefit from it. +1/+1 counters? Use it. Planeswalkers? Use it. Quest Counters? Use it. Any deck that uses counters of any kind, and there are many, can benefit from this card.
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Obviously decks that aim to add a large amount of counters onto their cards can make the most out of this card, but that doesn’t depreciate the sheer versatility this card has. With this card, even just the act of using a + ability on a Planeswalker can destroy pesky creatures your opponents control with no further effort involved. If your deck uses a lot of any kind of counter, this card needs to be considered.
3Nissa, Ascended Animist: A Game-Winning Card With Great Presence
The newly Compleated Nissa is a great new addition for Commander players, offering removal, presence, and a game-winning ult. Unlike previous Nissas, this one does not put your land at risk for removal, which makes her more useful in Commander, where board wipe effects are much more common. Additionally, her -1 can remove artifacts and enchantments for little cost. While she herself is a bit costly mana-wise, most green decks have the ramp capability to fix that easily.
The horrors she can summon are substantial and can become board presences in their own right. However, what sets this Nissa as a critical asset for Green decks is her ult, which empowers all your creatures and gives them trample. As many Green deck focus on having many, beefy creatures, this ult can outright win the game for many.
2Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting: She Can Do No Wrong
The newest Vraska Planeswalker offers everything a Commander player could want: draw power, Proliferation, removal, and a game-winning ult all within an affordable mana cost of at least five mana plus two life. Her 0 ability not only draws you a card but also proliferates, not only helping herself but also any other permanent with counters on it as well. Her -2 ability (which can be activated immediately regardless of how you summon her) can remove almost any creature-based threat by turning it into a treasure, an effect arguably even more powerful than Oko’s (which he was banned for).
Vraska can outright win the game if left to her own devices, using her ult to place nine poison counters on a player that a simple proliferation can increase to ten. All in all, Vraska is a value powerhouse that makes her immensely useful in any Black EDH deck, even moreso than Phyrexian Arena.
1Elesh Norn, Mother Of Machines: An Oppressive Villain
The big bad herself, Elesh Norn, Mother Of Machines is an immensely powerful card that nearly defines the set itself. Her positive effect triggers your enter the battlefield effects twice, creating immense value. The fact that this effect applies to any permanent makes it widely useful in nearly any deck.
However, what puts this card above the rest is simply how oppressive it is to other players. Elesh Norn completely shuts down many decks as so many powerful cards have enter the battlefield triggers. Alone, she can shut down opponent’s strategies while gaining you immense value from your own triggers. For that, she is among themost powerful creaturesin Magic: The Gathering, let alone EDH.
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