The card functions just like Black Lotus, except it is restricted to helping you cast your Commander. Assuming your deck is largely built around making your Commander as effective as possible, this is hardly a large drawback. Imagine getting to play powerful four-mana Commanders like Urza, Lord High Artificer on turn one. The goal, in many cases, is to try to use Ad Nauseum to draw your whole deck. This can be done in conjunction with cards like Angel’s Grace or even the new Doctor Who card Everybody Lives!
These decks, therefore, can be difficult for more traditional players to adjust to. I have used various combo strategies to win cash in tournament play, and even when combo decks are terrible, you will mtg card find me playing them anyway. The most consistent combos require the fewest cards and have the most redundant cards. When combos are too consistent, they can create an unhealthy environment. Two-card combos require you to draw both of those cards in a game, but sometimes the combo pieces have redundancy, which leads to these decks becoming too consistent.
Cards like Narset, Parter of Veils and Notion Thief are extra brutal, making Wheel of Fortune and Timetwister as one-sided as possible. One of the things that makes Commander super unique is that the format follows a strict Singleton model. Only the same basic Land can appear more than once in a Commander deck, which can make it a bit difficult for you to consistently find your most powerful cards. Cards like Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor that have no restrictions regarding what cards you can search for are obviously among the best.
Archon of Emeria-like effects are a pretty common one you will need to deal with since most Combo wins require casting a whole bunch of spells. In the situation where you are playing Control Combo, you should (obviously) hold your removal for heavier impact options like the Archon. Lastly, we wanted to cover a neat play you can make with Veil of Summer that you might not have thought of.
For example, Mystical Tutor is an excellent inclusion for blue-based combo decks, letting you find combo pieces as well as Force of Will or Fierce Guardianship to help protect your combos. Having the power to reliably find the best cards in your deck in any given situation is simply fantastic, earning these tutors a spot on this list. In a similar fashion, Smothering Tithe forces players to pay mana when they draw cards or allow you to create Treasure tokens. Couple this effect with cards like Wheel of Fortune that make everyone draw a bunch of cards at once, and you’re in business. Add Underworld Breach into the mix, and you can keep casting Wheel of Fortune over and over, netting tons of Treasures in the process.
Both Rakdos Vampires and Amalia were top-tier decks for the bulk of last year until their key cards were struck down during the August bans. Now the format is much more tempo-driven, with the likes of Rakdos Midrange and Selesnya Company ruling the roost. Just this week, a new MTG Combo list featuring Standard superstar Screaming Nemesis has come to light. Again, there isn’t anything special or unique about this tried and tested combo type. It’s just that this time, the specific coverage that each card provides (Humans, Angels, Selesnya colors, etc.) tilts the balance quite considerably into the pesky category. Shame that it isn’t as popular as it should be right now, since (creature) hexproof isn’t exactly the hottest keyword ability in Standard right now.
#5 Underworld Breach
This is often a sign that your playgroup is either not running enough interaction or not using it well. We see this play out once again with Sigarda’s latest incarnation and Skrelv. Our stalwart “rebel” mite has already been a staple of many decks due to its universal protection capability and nigh-negligible mana cost. In particular, it thrives very well in mono-white and Azorius Human decks and is featured in superfriends builds, decks that also happen to welcome Sigarda, Font of Blessings’ ability set. There’s a million other combos that eventually get out of hand should a second, more expensive spell comes into play.
This version of Marvel did not perform as well as Marvel decks did after Aether Revolt was released. It played cards that did not do a whole lot on their own, such as Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot or a ten-mana Eldrazi. This meant the opponent had to attack the deck from different angles. If they dealt with the Marvel or the Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, they may not have had the resources to deal with the creatures. The opponent just needed too many different answers, and that kind of combo deck is not healthy for Standard. You can also try to play Ad Nauseum in a deck with mostly very cheap spells and a lot of Lands, using Maralen of the Mornsong as your Commander to help tutor for Ad Nauseum.
A Player In Pioneer?
In addition, there are some extra options available like height adjustments and dark/light mode. At the very least, it is an effortless combo to set up, and you have the initial element of surprise. It gives a small “aha” moment that stings your opponent just well enough to realize the mistake and vow never to fall to the same cheap trick again. Blazing Crescendo works too, and is probably the more meta variant that meshes well with this Scamp’s more Prowess-tilted friends. And to the very few unlucky ones that to had to sit through a perfect turn six-to-seven mana curve on a Chandra, Hope’s Beacon and Breach, our deepest condolences to you.
Both Wheel of Fortune and Timetwister are symmetrical cards that let each player draw a fresh hand of seven new cards. Timetwister, importantly, does make players shuffle their graveyards into their libraries too, so it doesn’t work well with Underworld Breach. The objective with these cards, just like with Stax effects like Winter Orb, is to break the symmetry in some way. One of the ways is to just empty your hand quickly before your opponents get to make use of their cards, then cast Wheel of fortune or Timetwister.
Different Types of Combo
A Mutavault I can now exile it with Niko’s ability, making all my Shards into Mutavaults that are just lands since the type-changing effect isn’t copied. I can then animate my Shards (now Mutavaults) into land creatures. So far I understand, what I’m confused about is what happens during my end step. Thanks to its recent printing in MH3, the card is now legal in Modern for the first time. When Laelia was initially spoiled, many players were curious if the card would show up in various Cascade shells. Thanks to the way the Cascade mechanic is worded, it’s possible to put a ton of +1/+1 counters on Laelia at once.
Path to ExilePath to Exile, PongifyPongify and Nature’s ClaimNature’s Claim all have “downsides” and are limited, but the efficiency just makes them so strong. My deckbuilding leans toward a split of 75% efficient/cheap and 25% flexible. Let’s start with counterspells, since we’ve discussed a lot of removal. At higher power levels, all your counterspells should sit at 0-2 mana. Almost every set brings us a new variety of the 3-mana counterspell, and none have made the cut for me yet. I find myself much more likely to drop even a 2-mana counterspell for a more restrictive 1-mana counterspell, such as An Offer You Can’t RefuseAn Offer You Can’t Refuse.
Selesnya Company does have a lot of disruptive tools at its disposal, but most of those are temporary or timing-based. There’s a good chance you’ll be able to push your combo through against it, especially given how much redundancy you’re packing. Ben is a Michigan native who fell in love with Magic just a few years ago in 2019. He loves making big splashy plays in Commander as well as crunching the number to optimize his decks. Outside of Magic, he works in marketing and loves a great cup of coffee to start each morning… maybe with a splash of hot chocolate for his sweet tooth. The more cards you know and see played, the better you will get at it.