My cEDH Top 10 for 2023
2023 has been a huge year for cEDH. We’re seeing continued growth and evolution and refinement of the meta as new players venture into the format. The number of large cEDH events that were held this year is also unprecedented, to the point that we’re seeing major players such as Star City Games holding competitive events at their conventions. I only expect this trend to continue in the future as the demand for cEDH events keeps growing. Of course, we’ve also seen plenty of great new cards this year…
There were over 1,900 new cards released in 2023. Even with the significantly smaller pool of cards that you’re likely to see in cEDH, you’ve probably run into things that you hadn’t encountered before because there are simply too many new cards for anyone to reasonably be able to keep track of them all. Not to worry. I put in the work so you don’t have to. In this article, I’ll be sharing my top 10 cards for cEDH that came out in 2023. Let’s do this!
10. Dauntlesss Dismantler
Lost Caverns of Ixalan
There’s no shortage of artifacts in cEDH, so it can be a tall task for midrange decks to try to slow things down without also hindering their own artifacts. Dauntless Dismantler allows you to effectively set your opponents one turn behind on mana rocks and Treasure. This can often be more than enough for your opponents to miss key windows of opportunity while you continue to grind out card advantage and advance your gameplan.
I’ve been seeing Blind Obedience in more decklists this year, so I expect Dauntless Dismantler to be a welcome addition for decks that operate on a slower gameplan that wants to mitigate explosive plays from turbo decks and prevent early wins that rely on the efficacy of cards like Dockside Extortionist. In a pinch, it even functions as removal that can scour the board of fast mana and Treasures for a single white mana!
09. Beseech the Mirror
Wilds of Eldraine
This card got a ton of hype early on, only to wind up not being played nearly as much as I expected. This is still an incredibly solid tutor spell that can help you string together a win immediately under the right circumstances. The main drawback is that it costs four mana to get started, three of which is black. It seems like the restrictive casting cost is at least part of the reason that this card hasn’t shown up in more decks.
I feel like Tivit, Seller of Secrets loves this card. The grindier gameplan and ability to generate piles of artifacts makes it easy to cast this and provides fodder to bargain with when looking for a card that can win the game on the spot. K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth will also have an easier time casting this spell than most decks. While Beseech the Mirror hasn’t completely taken off yet, I expect to see it in more decks over time.
08. Flesh Duplicate
Doctor Who
Clone effects feel really good in the current cEDH meta, and this one is no exception. Whether you’re copying a Dockside Extortionist or someone else’s powerful commander, Flesh Duplicate will usually provide plenty of value for just two blue mana. The fact that it has vanishing 3 doesn’t feel that relevant either, because you’ll usually get plenty of value out of it before it goes away (or the game might already be over).
Phantasmal Image is a powerful card in its own right, but there are definitely situations where you won’t want to sacrifice it just because it got targeted by something. This is especially true in decks that can win with Hullbreaker Horror, because you’ll be able to keep bouncing your Flesh Duplicate in order to get more enters-the-battlefield (ETB) triggers from whatever you’re copying in order to help you end the game.
07. Talion, the Kindly Lord
Wilds of Eldraine
Talion is the first commander to make it onto my list, but they’ve also been showing up as a value engine in midrange decks. It turns out that drawing cards when your opponents cast spells is pretty good. You’ll almost always be able to draw several cards during a game by choosing 1 or 2 and the pressure from life loss can add up surprisingly quick if people aren’t careful about pacing themselves when casting spells.
There’s been plenty of discourse in the cEDH community about how game-warping Rhystic Study and Mystic Remora can be. While this commander isn’t quite as reliable as either one, Talion definitely puts in plenty of work and having them accessible from the command zone can be pretty intimidating. I expect to see this card show up in plenty of decks as the current cEDH meta feels fairly centered on midrange strategies.
06. Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
I didn’t notice Lotho during preview season, but I was quickly impressed by how reliably he can provide mana advantage and color-fixing during the average cEDH game. The conditions to create a Treasure are trivial and it’s almost impossible to play around it if your other opponents are choosing to advance their own gameplan. While Lotho doesn’t feel like a good cEDH commander, he’s an excellent piece for the 98/99.
Tymna the Weaver is never unhappy to get new creatures that perform relevant roles in cEDH, so I think that we can expect to see Lotho in nearly every deck where she’s in the command zone. You may remember Monologue Tax from a couple years back and how disappointing it turned out to be. It turns out that having a similar effect on a creature that its controller can also trigger to create Treasures makes all the difference.
05. Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
You’re not dreaming. A seven-mana commander that requires four different colors of mana has put up a solid argument to be considered one of the best new cEDH cards of 2023. It turns out that potentially putting a ton of cards in your hand on ETB is just good even if it costs a lot of mana to cast. In a midrange gameplan, being able to sit back and grind mana and cards before you pull way ahead by casting Atraxa feels pretty slick.
Even without red, I don’t think that there’s a better Food Chain commander in the format at this point. These four colors provide you so many great tools for a grindy gameplan and Displacer Kitten lets you keep getting more Atraxa ETBs while having access to multiple different win conditions. I think that this deck will only get better and better with new cards, especially if a powerful new card type comes along down the line.
04. Agatha’s Soul Cauldron
Wilds of Eldraine
This artifact provides color-fixing for activated abilities on creatures, lets you borrow activated abilities from creature cards in graveyards, and acts as an incidental piece of graveyard hate all for just two mana. That feels like a steal, especially when you consider all of the ways that this card can break things in cEDH. I was impressed by this card as soon as it was previewed, but my estimation of it has only grown since then.
Agatha’s Soul Cauldron is perfect for commanders like Sisay, Weatherlight Captain or Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, simplifying the mana requirements to activate their abilities to make win attempts easier. There are also many great activated abilities on creatures that you’ll be happy to steal if they wind up in the graveyard. I’m also a big fan of this card in my favorite cEDH deck, where it sets up new win lines that didn’t exist before.
03. Borne Upon a Wind
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
Winning consistently in cEDH requires you to be able to identify windows of opportunity and know how to exploit them to your advantage. This is easier when you can cast spells at instant speed, because it allows you to hang back and cast this on top of the stack when someone goes for it and exhausts the resources of other players to clear the way for you. The fact that it replaces itself makes it even better.
Borne Upon a Wind also makes Necropotence feel like a serious threat again, because you can have access to all of those cards right away and likely have enough interaction and fast mana to be able to easily defend a win during your end step. I’ve always been a fan of Emergence Zone as a flash enabler, but it can be hard to justify running a colorless land when you’re playing a deck that needs consistent color-fixing.
02. Orcish Bowmasters
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
Small creatures beware! People love drawing cards in cEDH, so Orcish Bowmasters is a premier hate piece that can be used to ping down small creatures, planeswalkers, or even players while also amassing a pretty big token body that can start to turn sideways and pressure life totals. Wheels were already seeing less play in cEDH and this card will likely help keep it that way because of the threat that it represents.
Since the card draw on Esper Sentinel is compulsory, it won’t last long with Orcish Bowmasters on the battlefield. Green is already generally viewed as the least favorable color in cEDH and the ability to ping down versatile dorks like Birds of Paradise only serves to disincentivize one of the best things that the color has on offer for cEDH. Funny enough, the best answer for Orcish Bowmasters is probably another Orcish Bowmasters.
01. The One Ring
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
When it comes down to it, I picked this card for the top spot because it can go in nearly any deck in cEDH and likely be a welcome addition. Over just a few short turns, this card can draw an impressive number of cards. If the game runs long, there’s a good chance that it might even carry you all the way to victory off of insurmountable card advantage. It can be difficult to remove, so it winds up feeling nearly inevitable.
While Ad Nauseam provides a huge burst of cards all at once, The One Ring can be played in any color identity and also doesn’t make the inclusion of higher mana values feel quite so risky. I’ve been impressed almost every time that I’ve seen it regardless of what deck was playing it, but obviously classic grindy decks with cards such as Seedborn Muse can break this card even further.
Honorable Mentions
With such a stacked top 10, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there were plenty of other cards that nearly made it onto the list. These four cards are just a few of my favorites that nearly made the cut. They simply didn’t feel as impactful and likely to appear in as many decklists as the cards in my top 10. Only time will tell if my estimation of these cards turns out to be correct. I’m sure that I also missed a few cards that could be mentioned here.
Conclusion
I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about my personal cEDH top 10 for 2023. I’ve enjoyed cEDH more this year that I have prior, and I only expect the format to keep getting better in the future. I also wanted to shout out The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth as a particularly strong set, having four entries on my list and occupying the top three spots. It will probably be some time before another set has the same level of impact.
I look forward to the future of cEDH and seeing how the format continues to grow and change in 2024 and beyond. If you’re reading this and you’re considering giving cEDH a try, there has never been a better time to jump in!
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