The new Magic: The Gathering Commander 2019 decks are only a few weeks away and we are looking forward to all the brews that players come up with. Broken up across four mechanics, each deck sports around 17 new cards and a ton of reprints. When deciding on our list for the best cards from these decks, we decided to focus solely on the new cards entering the format. While reprints such as Seedborn Muse are extremely powerful, they’ve had more than enough time in the spotlight.
Keep in mind, we will not be considering Competitive EDH for this list. Those decks typically run faster, more expensive spells and aim to win by turn three. Instead, we’re looking at cards that are both strong but remain in the spirit of the format. If you are looking for thoughts on the competitive potential of Commander 2019, we suggest checking out the CEDH TV Youtube channel.
Here are our picks for the top 10 Commander 2019 cards:
(This list is in no particular order.)
1. K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
Let’s kick off our list with an exceptionally strong Mono-Black commander, K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth. Phyrexian Mana is one of the deadliest mechanics in the game, as it allows players to have explosive turns. Giving this ability to all of your Black spells is bonkers since it effectively reduces the cost of every Black card in your deck. Combine this with life gain and you have the potential to go through your deck at an unprecedented rate. While K’rrik might not be as combo-focused as his father, he makes a supremely strong general for any Black deck.
2. Road of Return
Have you ever had your commander die so much that you cannot afford the Commander Tax? Road of Return fixes this extremely common problem by putting your general into your hand for just two mana. Alternatively, you can also return a card from your graveyard to your hand if you already have your commander out. This gives Road of Return some nice flexibility, especially since you can Entwine both abilities. While it may not be the flashiest spell on our list, Road of Return is a subtly powerful card that will be apart of any deck that relies on its commander.
3. Dockside Extortionist
There are a lot of artifact and enchantment decks in EDH, so it’s no surprise that Dockside Extortionist is an absolute powerhouse. Creating a ton of Treasure tokens when it enters the battlefield allows any deck running the extortionist to obtain a ton of mana. Aggressively costed, this card can be very abusable via any reanimation or enter the battlefield effects. It’s very easy to obtain infinite mana and we fully expect this card to become a popular combo piece.
4. Song of the Worldsoul
For all the token players out there, Song of the Worldsoul allows you to rapidly increase your army of creatures. Even though it doesn’t trigger when it enters the battlefield, this enchantment sets up the rest of your deck. It’s very easy to amass a huge board of tokens by just playing a few cheap spells. Despite costing six mana, Song of the Worldsoul will quickly become a staple in any token-focused deck that has White mana in it. Sometimes the best cards are the simplest.
5. Volrath, the Shapeshifter
Combining Voltron strategies with -1/-1 counters, Volrath is a superb toolbox commander that can transform into almost any creature. This gives a deck helmed by Volrath a lot of directions it could go. You can focus on effects that trigger when a creature attacks or give Volrath potent abilities such as Unblockable, Lifelink, or Deathtouch. If tribal is your thing, then you can use Volrath to lead a Shapeshifter/Changling deck. His strength is limited by your creativity and deck-building skill. If you’re looking for an intriguing, commander-focused deck than give Volrath a try.
6. Chainer, Nightmare Adept
Anje may be the face of the new Rakdos deck, but Chainer is the best commander included. Not only can he reanimate creatures and give them Haste, but Chainer lets you fill your graveyard. Previously only in Mono-Black, the addition of Red opens up a ton of new possibilities for this graveyard deck.
Granting Haste opens up a ton of aggressive or control options, which makes this one of the most open-ended reanimation commanders in the format. It’s a superb design choice and we suspect there will be a ton of unique, strong decks built around this guy. Plus, he also works great as one of the 99 cards in your deck!
7. Elsha of the Infinite
My favorite card of Commander 2019 is also one of the best in all four decks. Elsha of the Infinite is a unique Jeski leader that is perfect for Voltron, Control, or Storm decks. She adds a ton of unpredictability since you’re free to play off the top of your library. Curiously, Elsha is not just limited to instants or sorceries, as her ability works with both artifacts and enchantments. Because of this, we suggest running a lot of zero costing mana rocks so you can rapidly filter through your deck. Who doesn’t like taking twenty-minute turns and winning out of nowhere?
8. Atla Palani, Nest Tender
If you prefer to play creatures, Atla Palani is a fantastic and flavorful commander that has the potential to drop insanely strong creatures early on. By sacrificing an egg, Palani can cheat out everything from a lowly mana dork to a massive Eldrazi. Combine Atla with artifacts such as Scroll Rack and Sensei’s Divining Top to set up some terrifying plays. Remember, you can also use cards such as Dragon Egg and Roc Egg with Alta’s first ability.
9. Aeon Engine
Sometimes you just want to play wacky cards that mess with the board. Yet, don’t let the card’s odd ability fool you, it has a ton of potential. By triggering this ability at the end of your opponent’s turn you can send it back to you. This essentially gives you an additional turn! Aeon Engine is also colorless, meaning you can run this in any deck of your choosing. It’s also an artifact, so if you really want to be mean slap cards like Mechanized Production on it to make a copy every turn. This may look like one of the weirdest cards in the format, but it’s also quite strong if used correctly.
10. Selesnya Eulogist
Perhaps the best Populate card currently available, Selesnya Eulogist is a terrific two for one. For just three mana you can exile a card from any graveyard and grow your token army. Perfect for any deck that is running a token theme, this is one of the best graveyard hate spells that green has access too. Of all the cards on our list, we expect this one to become a staple in the format. We expect the Selesnya Eulogist to become toe bane of many Dredge and graveyard-focused decks. Make sure to save a removal spell for it!