Magic: the Gathering has been around for over 25 years. There are a lot of sets and a lot of cards floating about which makes it hard to separate the good ones from the bad. This can make deck building in eternal formats such as Commander hard due to vast majority of card to pick and play with. Due to the overwhelming nature of Magic’s vast card pool, it does get to a point where so many good cards get shadowed due to certain cards being “staple” cards taking most of the main spots in deck lists. There are a lot of cards that I believe should see more play and people should own in their collection! The reason that I wanted to write an article like this is because there are some cards that I want players to play as they are strictly better cards or have a cheap price tag as of writing this. What I hope to achieve is to have more people opting to play cards that they would not originally consider when brewing new decks or looking at ways to upgrade their existing decks.
1. Void Shatter
Unless you are playing a Mono Blue Counter deck there is no reason you should ever be playing Cancel in any deck you own. Ever. Void Shatter is a shining example of being a strictly better card. Not only is this a 3 mana counter spell that counters anything, BUT, it has the upside of exiling the countered card making sure it is gone for good! If you are running a deck that splashes blue and playing counter magic, consider running Void Shatter. It is an amazing against cards that have a way to return from the graveyard. There are cards that act as another copy of Void Shatter in your deck if you wish to run functionally similar cards. One being Dissipate.
I haven’t seen many people running these cards in their deck lists and I feel like that needs to be changed! Void Shatter is a great little gem from Oath of the Gatewatch that more people need to be aware of.
2. Vendetta
This card is amazing. I wish I’ve heard about it earlier and I want to see more players, especially budget players, playing more often. For one black mana you can instantly destroy any nonblack creature, giving the extra benefit of not being regenerated. This is especially good against Elf tribal decks with Ezuri at the helm. It does have the downside of you taking damage equal to the destroyed creature’s toughness, however I want to highlight why this is not as scary as it sounds. Swords to Plowshare gives your opponent’s life equal to target creatures power, Path to Exile lets the creatures' controller search for any basic land and put it on the battlefield. Vendetta does not deny your opponent any positive outcome from losing their creature, but any experienced player knows that your life is a resource and managing it correctly means this should not be an issue.
This is a fantastic and cheap removal spell. I can’t understand why this card gets overlooked. I guess maybe it’s because people are still scared about losing life by their own hand. Remember kids, your life total is also a resource.
3. Dark Tutelage
Dark Confidant is a very expensive card. However the card advantage is really good. Being a creature also makes it very easy to kill as creature removal is the most commonly used removal in every format. If you want to play with Bob but can’t afford the price tag, Dark Tutelage is the same card but a hell of a lot cheaper. Dark Tutelage doesn’t get enough credit for what it does, it lets you draw an extra card on your upkeep which is fantastic in making sure you have a loaded hand ready for battle. It costs one more mana but comes with the upside of being an enchantment. It is less likely to be removed due to its' card type and there will definitely be other cards that are more game threatening which will be the target of those spells.
This card really helps Black decks, especially mono Black decks with card advantage which can be hard to consistently achieve in certain colour combinations. I urge more people to check this card out and test it in decks because as of writing this article, it is dirt cheap. Also, it arguably has one of the best artworks in Magic's vast repertoire of cards!
4. Throne of the High City
This card is amazing. Everyone should play this in at least one of their decks. It’s an Instant speed and uncounterable way to make yourself the Monarch. I feel like Monarch does not get played as much in EDH and I’m hoping that the new Monarch cards from Commander Legends will change that. Currently this card is dirt cheap and it’s really worth owning at least one copy in your collection. There are so many way to get lands/cards back from the graveyard, so this card is easily abusable. Lost your monarch and finding it hard to reclaim your spot on the throne? Use Eternal Witness to return Throne to your hand and usurp all over again!
Monarch makes games fun and interesting for everyone and adds a little bit of spice to the mix. I love it when lands do more than just tap for mana. Utility lands are great. However Throne of the High Key completely changes the game completely which not many lands, or cards do. So, if you enjoy changing the dynamic of the game, this card is definitely for you!
5. Winds of Abandon
I feel like the text of this card deters a lot of people from playing it, but hear me out. A lot of players do not run a lot of basics, especially with the amount great and popular three coloured commanders. I can guarantee you that not many people will be pulling out that many basics for it to be a problem. Also, the basic lands they’re allowed to fetch up come into play tapped, meaning they cannot use their shiny new lands to stop you from winning. This is also very a kin to Cyclonic Rift meaning when you cast it, it’s because you are going to be winning either that turn or the next one. Another fantastic point to remember is that Winds of Abandon exiles the creatures it targets. Meaning that n their next turn they cannot use graveyard shenanigans to bring back the creatures targeted by this severely underplayed board wipe.
Give Winds of Abandon a go. You’ll surprised how good it is and easy it is to turn the game in your favour.
I hope that you will consider playing these cards in your next or current decks. I want to help people find cards that do not typically get the first pick. So many good cards do not get a chance to shine and I hope to shed a bit of light on their existence. Are there any cards you play that not many people consider putting in their decks? Do you have any pet cards that don’t see a lot of play? Let me know in the comments below. Perhaps I can make this a series and help spread the word on so many good underrated cards!