<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tiamat" href="#" target="_blank">Tiamat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.rahnart.com/">Chris Rahn</a></em></p>
<p>Hey, everyone! After spending two weeks on <em>Innistrad</em> covering <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-top-10-most-played-innistrad-crimson-vow-cards">Crimson Vow</a> </em>and <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-top-10-most-played-innistrad-midnight-hunt-cards-2"><em>Midnight Hunt</em></a>, you might understand if this beleaguered list writer said no to yet another adventure packed with strange creatures and sketchy humanoids. But then, you would not know that list writer well, because he is absolutely excited to brandish his keyboard at <em>Adventures in the Forgotten Realms</em> and bring you another list of most played Commander cards as a result. Let's get right to it!</p>
<h2>10. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mantle of the Ancients" href="#" target="_blank">Mantle of the Ancients</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 112,162 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mantle of the Ancients"></div></div>
<p>Artifacts and enchantments are harder than creatures to get off the board, but they're also tougher to recur, making this something of a luxury addition to aura theme decks. A card that can <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Replenish" href="#" target="_blank">Replenish</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> your lost augments is therefore pretty good, especially when it can also threaten to kill an opponent out of nowhere with its second ability. Mantle also gives you outs to assemble infinite combos from your graveyard, so check out this article by Ethan Coover on some of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-best-aura-combos-in-commander-part-two">best aura combo options</a> in the game.</p>
<h2>9. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Circle of Dreams Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Circle of Dreams Druid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 138,747 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Circle of Dreams Druid"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on a dork is pretty insane, though you are investing a significant amount of mana for this type of creature and hoping its single point of toughness won't spell its doom. It's very good in Elf decks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lathril, Blade of the Elves" href="#" target="_blank">Lathril, Blade of the Elves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marwyn, the Nurturer" href="#" target="_blank">Marwyn, the Nurturer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, while also putting in a big shift in heavy-<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> go-wide decks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shroofus Sproutsire" href="#" target="_blank">Shroofus Sproutsire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. And, as with any permanent that makes multiple mana pips, you can go infinite, commonly with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Staff of Domination" href="#" target="_blank">Staff of Domination</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>:</p>
<div id="1526-2645" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
<script id="1526-2645" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/embed.js?v=1&uses=%5B%22Staff%20of%20Domination%22%2C%22Circle%20of%20Dreams%20Druid%22%5D&requires=%5B%5D&produces=%5B%22Infinite%20card%20draw%22%2C%22Infinite%20draw%20triggers%22%2C%22Infinite%20lifegain%22%2C%22Infinite%20lifegain%20triggers%22%2C%22Infinite%20mana%20creatures%20you%20control%20can%20produce%22%2C%22Infinite%20untap%20of%20creatures%20you%20control%22%2C%22Infinite%20green%20mana%22%5D&id=1526-2645&color=G&extraRequirementCount=2"></script></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>8. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teleportation Circle" href="#" target="_blank">Teleportation Circle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 151,819 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teleportation Circle"></div></div>
<p>In decks focused around the blink mechanic, you're really going to want a critical mass of two types of cards: enablers that get stuff to blink and payoffs with powerful enters abilities. Circle is one of a handful of enablers alongside <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conjurer&#039;s Closet" href="#" target="_blank">Conjurer&#039;s Closet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa, Deep-Dwelling" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa, Deep-Dwelling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soulherder" href="#" target="_blank">Soulherder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and more that necessitate an investment up front but that give you free triggers every turn.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Conjurer&#039;s Closet"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa, Deep-Dwelling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soulherder"></div></div>
<p>They may not threaten to win the game on the spot as often as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eldrazi Displacer" href="#" target="_blank">Eldrazi Displacer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and other enablers that you can activate yourself instead of waiting to trigger at the end of your turn. But they get you through grindy games by generating continuous value. Circle can still go infinite; it just does so over the course of many turns:</p>
<div id="2493-2963-4872" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
<script id="2493-2963-4872" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/embed.js?v=1&uses=%5B%22Teleportation%20Circle%22%2C%22Archaeomancer%22%2C%22Time%20Warp%22%5D&requires=%5B%5D&produces=%5B%22Infinite%20turns%22%2C%22Lock%22%5D&id=2493-2963-4872&color=WU&extraRequirementCount=0"></script></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>7. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Old Gnawbone" href="#" target="_blank">Old Gnawbone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 159,195 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Old Gnawbone"></div></div>
<p>How much mana ramp is <em>too much </em>mana ramp? For Dragon typal decks led by the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Ur-Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">The Ur-Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm" href="#" target="_blank">Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tiamat" href="#" target="_blank">Tiamat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this 7/7 is well within reasonable bounds, given her impressive play rate.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Ur-Dragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tiamat"></div></div>
<p>The fact that she makes Treasures, too, imbues her with relevancy in decks that can't get enough of the stuff, from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Korvold, Fae-Cursed King" href="#" target="_blank">Korvold, Fae-Cursed King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sacrifice builds to more aggressive <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jolene, the Plunder Queen" href="#" target="_blank">Jolene, the Plunder Queen</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> piles.</p>
<h2>6. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xorn" href="#" target="_blank">Xorn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 162,906 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Xorn"></div></div>
<p>If you're running a Treasure theme deck, then making your existing generators more efficient is a great way to enable your game plan, though nothing is wrong with running a seven-drop that drops seven tokens on your board in one go. Xorn's fairly unique ability — shared or approximated by Jolene and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Academy Manufactor" href="#" target="_blank">Academy Manufactor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> — is an absolute staple in the archetype's most popular commanders, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mr. House, President and CEO" href="#" target="_blank">Mr. House, President and CEO</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magda, Brazen Outlaw" href="#" target="_blank">Magda, Brazen Outlaw</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jolene, the Plunder Queen"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Academy Manufactor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mr. House, President and CEO"></div></div>
<p>It even gives you outs to draw your whole deck alongside Prosper and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Professional Face-Breaker" href="#" target="_blank">Professional Face-Breaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, another archetype mainstay:</p>
<div id="967-2815-5078-5184" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>5. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Hireling" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Hireling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 163,963 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grim Hireling"></div></div>
<p>Here's the sketchy character I was talking about! I judged the book by its cover, though: Hireling is a dependable companion on the board, accruing you value in the form of Treasures before sacrificing itself to protect you from an opposing threat. While you could, theoretically, run this in an aggressive <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> deck without a ton of Treasure generators and use it as a bit of mana ramp plus insurance, I think you still want to give this the best shot at being an awesome hire right off the bat. So, like the last two items on this list, Hireling is well-suited to a deck built around tokens.</p>
<h2>4. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wizard Class" href="#" target="_blank">Wizard Class</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 209,777 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wizard Class"></div></div>
<p>Class is in session! This enchantment subtype has had a pretty strong showing in Commander since its debut, putting two cards into the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-top-10-most-played-commander-cards-from-blb">top 10 of <em>Bloomburrow</em></a> and now (or earlier, because we're working our way backward) this. It's pretty simple: they tend to be cheap, and they're like harder-to-kill planeswalkers that tend to have very powerful static effects alongside a handy trigger or two.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caretaker&#039;s Talent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Innkeeper&#039;s Talent"></div></div>
<p>They also tend to make certain archetypes or typal strategies stronger, as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caretaker&#039;s Talent" href="#" target="_blank">Caretaker&#039;s Talent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does for tokens and Innkeeper's does for counters. You don't <em>have </em>to play this in a Wizard deck, but it sure does complement one of that deck's likely game plans or subthemes. This puts you up a card before turning any creature into a big threat after you just do what your deck is built to do if you're running this: draw lots of cards!</p>
<h2>3. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treasure Vault" href="#" target="_blank">Treasure Vault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 271,834 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Treasure Vault"></div></div>
<p>It enters untapped and, while it doesn't produce colored mana by itself, it can certainly help you get a ton of pips when you activate its second ability. This is great in many different types of decks. Treasure and sacrifice decks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vihaan, Goldwaker" href="#" target="_blank">Vihaan, Goldwaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imskir Iron-Eater" href="#" target="_blank">Imskir Iron-Eater</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> appreciate having a ton of material to work with. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rendmaw, Creaking Nest" href="#" target="_blank">Rendmaw, Creaking Nest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> triggers right when you play this artifact land. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doubles mana produced by Treasures, giving you the opportunity to turn this into a potent mana generator. The Vault is such a flexible card that offers many interesting ways to unlock its potential.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Imskir Iron-Eater"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rendmaw, Creaking Nest"></div></div>
<h2>2. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unexpected Windfall" href="#" target="_blank">Unexpected Windfall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 387,532 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unexpected Windfall"></div></div>
<p>This is a great card to copy, because you only need to discard a card once as part of the original spell's additional cost. Subsequent copies just go on the stack, netting you two cards and two Treasure each time. That interaction makes this so powerful in decks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire Lord Azula" href="#" target="_blank">Fire Lord Azula</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alania, Divergent Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Alania, Divergent Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Even when you're not trying to abuse the Comprehensive Rules, this gives you so much material to work with that you can just run this in spellslinger or artifact/Treasure decks and not worry about it too much. If your deck touches <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, the discard even becomes another bit of upside for reanimation shenanigans!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fire Lord Azula"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Alania, Divergent Storm"></div></div>
<h2>1. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadly Dispute|AFR|94" href="#" target="_blank">Deadly Dispute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - 645,311 decks</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deadly Dispute|AFR|94"></div></div>
<p>What I wrote about Windfall giving you material is basically true here as well. For just two mana, you get two cards back plus a handy Treasure token. But the part about the additional cost being upside applies <em>much </em>more in this case, because you actively want this in sacrifice theme decks, which tend to run creatures with abilities that trigger when they die. Glue cards like this are so indisputably crucial for sac decks, because I think they need more moving pieces to work well than, say, the blink archetype I discussed earlier. Blink decks need enablers and payoffs. These decks need enablers like this and payoffs like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <em>plus </em>cards that you actively want to sacrifice or that generate fodder for that purpose. This is kind of all three rolled into one!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Artist"></div></div>
<h2><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winged Boots" href="#" target="_blank">Get Carried Away</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>It's hard not to when I've been on such a fantastic streak of great Commander sets. What's your favorite card from <em>Adventures in the Forgotten Realms </em>that didn't make the cut? Let us know!</p>


afr

The Top 10 Most-Played Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Cards

Archetune-Up - Lolth Be Praised!

Archetune-Up - The Hunter's Blades