In the 99: One Mana in a Big Mana Format

Commander is often referred to as the “Big Mana Format”, given how the starting life total, deck size, card variance and number of players ensures that many games last over 10 turns. This allows players to easily cast spells in the high mana range. Such spells are often sweeping in scope and can be potentially backbreaking to one’s opponents. It’s this splashiness that makes Commander games fun. However, to get to that point, you obviously have to play lower cost cards. Most of the time, especially for this format, we look immediately to cards in the 3 to 5 mana range, since the game usually doesn’t really begin until after the first 3 turn cycles. Still, it would be unwise to overlook those cards below 3 CMC. In fact, here are 7 great cards that only cost 1 mana, but are great throughout the game in Commander. Some you might be familiar with, while others might be new to you.

Brainstorm

This Legacy staple also has a place in Commander. With access to multiple tutor effects that allow you to search for cards and then shuffle your library, be it from Demonic Tutor or Stoneforge Mystic or Scalding Tarn, Brainstorm gives blue players the chance to get the 2 worst cards out of their hand permanently. This level of instant speed card draw for such a low mana cost allows you to hold it for the best time and react to any spells or effects that your opponent might throw at you. Holding Brainstorm in your hand, especially with a fetchland in play can feel like you're in a definite position of power.

Viscera Seer

Sacrifice outlets are always a good option in Commander, so many cards are as great going into or staying in the graveyard as they are in play, plus it gives you the ability to make sure your opponents never gain control of anything you have on board. When coupled with Grave Pact -like effects, you can really damage your opponent’s board. Viscera Seer provides all that for one black mana, with the bonus of being able to scry. In a deck built to take advantage of these strategies, Viscera Seer really shines.

Goblin Welder

In most games of Commander, your best artifacts are probably going to get destroyed at some point or another. There are just too many great cards that can blow up your artifacts, from Acidic Slime to Austere Command, it’s hard to keep your toys on the board. Luckily, Goblin Welder can get it back for you, and then some. When you first read the card, you notice the linear strategy I’ve just discussed - trade your less powerful trinket into something menacing. And if you play the card that way forever, it’s still a great card. However, extending beyond that you can do some other cool thing with Goblin Welder. The first one, similar to Viscera Seer’s use, is that you can bin important artifacts you don’t want exiled so that you can get them back later. Better to have your Darksteel Forge in the yard then permanently lost forever. Even better is that you can use it on your opponents. Don’t like the artifact they have in play? Give them the one they have in their graveyard back to them in exchange. How nice of you.

Berserk

I almost didn’t have Berserk on the initial list, because that list existed before the spoilers for Conspiracy 2. I didn’t want to promote a very expensive card, but Berserk is very versatile for one green mana. The obvious line of play with it is to just make your attacker twice as large out of nowhere and take someone out of the game, especially if that attacking creature is your Commander. That alone can be pretty powerful. However, Berserk enters the realm of insanity once you realize that it can target any creature. Suddenly, you have a one mana way of getting someone else out of the game off the back of someone else’s creature. Additionally, you can use it as a removal spell of sorts. If a creature you don’t like is swinging in, throw Berserk at it and watch it get destroyed later in the turn. Pretty good for a color that isn’t known for the best instant speed spells.

Deathrite Shaman

Deathrite Shaman is a Swiss Army knife when it comes to Commander. Mana ramp? Yep. Life gain? You got it. Life loss from all opponents? It’s got that too. Oh, and it is perfect graveyard hate. It doesn’t make you a cup of coffee, though. Still, that’s a lot of stuff in such a small package. Not to mention that the hybrid mana makes it easier to cast. You would think this thing should be a 0/1 like Birds of Paradise, but nope, it's a ½. This card was so pushed, it got banned in Modern for a reason. Luckily, it’s perfectly ok to play in Commander!

Codex Shredder

Yes, I know colorless spells are packed at 1 CMC. But we all already know that Skullclamp and Sensei’s Divining Top are absolutely nuts. So I decided to give you a less-known 1 CMC artifact. Codex Shredder does more than you think. For one, decks that love self-mill, like Sidisi, Brood Tyrant love effects like this. Other decks that interact with their graveyard can almost see this as “Tap: Draw a card.” Beyond that, it’s a Regrowth effect that every deck can run. In those decks, Codex Shredder will get you 5+ cards at times to chose from later. Additionally, this card messes with anyone trying to use top of the library tutors like Enlightened Tutor.

Mother of Runes

Mom, as everyone calls this card, can do so much for your deck, both on offence and defence. On the aggressive side of things, Mother of Runes allows your best creature to get in without worry of blockers. This is great when you are running a commander like Karlov, where you may not have many Voltron pieces to help push through damage. Mother of Runes it also a great counterspell in a way, seeing as how she can stop harmful spells from touching your creatures. Additionally, she can turn one of your creatures into a super blocker, including herself. That’s a lot of use out a single activated ability.

The combined CMC of all the cards above is 7, which is usually the CMC of most game-warping, or even game-winning, cards in the Commander format. And while the big mana cards may still reign in the end, there is no reason to pass over cards on the small side of the CMC spectrum. In fact, given the right circumstances, these 1 mana cards can win you the game, whether sneakily or overtly. Building a great Commander deck is more about cards that help push your game plan along than it is about casting big, splashy spells.

In the 99 - Hitting the Reset Button

Welcome to In the 99, a series of articles where each time I pick a theme and discuss seven Magic: the Gathering cards, focusing on their uses in the Commander format.

The boardstate’s all gummed up. The other three players have some very serious permanents threatening your ability to stay alive. You could pass the turn and hope for the best, but Player A is one card away from their combo while Player B could just steal this whole game with their army of tokens and Player C, well you’re not certain what they’re doing, but whatever it is, it isn’t good. Wouldn’t it be better if you could just make it all go away? You know, like hitting the reset button on an old video game console?

Sweet, sweet redemption.

Sometimes, you just have to say no to everything and everyone at once, and that’s where sweepers come in. The term sweeper, for the unfamiliar, is used for any card that can deal with a large number of cards all at once. Instead of chipping away at each player’s permanents costing you precious cards and time, opt for some of these choices:

Austere Command

Few sweepers in the game have the level of detailed boardstate sculpting that Austere Command offers. Its four modes allow the caster to keep exactly what they need while getting rid of everything else. Have a ton of tokens and want to get rid of big threats? Done. Don’t like the potential artifact combos on the board? Boom, gone. Some enchantments dragging your game down? Not anymore, they’re not. At its worst, it’s a Wrath of God for 2 more mana, but at its best it’s a massive card advantage swing and can downright win you the game if timed well enough.

Cyclonic Rift

Austere Command can win you the game if it’s well timed, but Cyclonic Rift can win you games most of the time. This card is one that has been up for debate for banning for years, and with good reason. If taking extra turns is one of the most powerful things you can do in Magic, to the point that most new extra turn cards that Wizards of the Coast prints have a self-exile clause to keep from looping the effect over and over again, then Cyclonic Rift can be like taking 5 extra turns. First, you get to keep everything you have in play, unlike most sweepers where you usually give up at least something. Second, you put each opponent much further behind than you, they will most likely have to spend the next 3 or 4 turns just getting back to where they were. Third, it clears your path to victory. Timing this spell at the end of your last opponent’s turn can leave the entire board vulnerable during your turn.

Toxic Deluge

Having options in Commander is a huge plus. The more things a card can do in your deck, the more situations you can get out of with that card. If you pack many of these cards into your deck, you’ll find that you’re never out of fight. We see this implicitly with Austere Command, but Toxic Deluge is bit more subtle. As I have said previously, shaping the way you utilize your sweepers for maximum advantage will ultimately help you win games, and that’s exactly what Deluge does. At the low, low mana cost of 2B, you can kill tokens, deal with indestructible creatures, or just remove everything. You don’t usually get that kind of power even at 4 or 5 CMC. Don’t be worried by the life payment portion, starting at 40 life in a game of Commander makes the payment essentially worth about half what it appears.

Warp World

Spin the wheel! A lot of players don’t embrace the chaos that red can provide, but Warp World can be a surprisingly smart card. This isn’t a card you instantly put into any deck that fits its colors, like you can with this article’s other examples. You have to plan around it, and make sure its weaknesses are minimized. Essentially, you need to limit the number of non-permanent spells and Planeswalkers in your deck. Cards that produce more than one permanent are great too, especially creatures that make creature tokens, because Warp World allows you to get more value out of these “army in a can” cards. But the true beauty lies in the fact that your opponents are more than likely not on the same plan as you and will probably end up with less of a board state than you. Coupled with the total chaos caused by this card, you will completely screw up your opponent's game plan while more than likely getting rid of the problem.

The Great Aurora

Is this green’s version of Warp World? Kinda. There is less you can do with this to maximize your gains, but it has markedly less potential to help out your opponents. The best thing about this card is that you get to essentially play your turn again after you cast this spell. So you can have priority in getting exactly what you want out for that turn. Couple this with tokens and/or cards that give you no maximum hand size, and you have a combination that can be downright devastating. And since you are already playing green, you have access to the be mana ramp spells in the game, especially those that put lands directly into play. This card is like a mix between Cyclonic Rift and Warp World. You get a board reset that is somewhat random and you get to play whatever you’d like after this resolves.


Merciless Eviction

I believe this will be a mantra for all subsequent articles: choice is always a good thing. This card sits right at the top when it comes to choice, similar to Austere Command. Sure, you only get to remove a subset of cards and aren’t able to mix and match like Austere Command can, but you make up for that with the fact that it exiles whatever you don’t like. The hierarchy for removal is as follows: gain control of the permanent > exile the permanent > shuffle the permanent into its library > destroy/force sacrifice the permanent > return the permanent to hand. There are few cards that sit any higher on this hierarchy that can affect as many permanents as this can. Merciless Eviction primary weakness is that it is a two color card, limiting it to fewer decks. However, you should definitely play this if you can.

All is Dust

Our final card can bring finality to most of the board. All is Dust can be a be all, end all when it comes to sweepers. Only most artifacts and most Eldrazi can survive the resolution of this card. The best thing about this card is that it forces sacrifices and does not destroy anything, which gets around indestructibility without issue. Control decks want this card more than others since they care less about permanents on the board, and this card is a shoe-in for any colorless Commander deck, as you completely maximize your gains on casting this spell.

So there you have it, seven ways to clear the board and inch you much closer to victory. But remember, simply jamming these cards into your deck won’t automatically make it better. Sweepers require a great sense of timing to utilize the card to its utmost ability. When in doubt, my advice is to wait until you are absolutely certain that you won’t make it to your next turn.