Marking the second space-themed Magic set, Edge of Eternities takes us from Planes to Planets, arriving August 1st. As with other sets, you'll be able to abduct your cards a week early at pre-release events. With new card subtypes (Planets, Spacecraft, Jellyfish, Drix, Scientist, and even Lobster) paired with some support for under-represented Creatures like Kavu and Insects, this set breathes new life into typal strategies. Spacecraft and Planets in particular come with a new mechanic called Station, allowing you to tap your Creatures at Sorcery speed to enable new effects. Let's get to exploring and see what goodies for Commander we can find in Edge of Eternities.
Instant speed removal for nonland Permanents is never a bad thing, and White has another option for this effect with the traditional bonus to the targeted player. Similar to Stroke of Midnight, Generous Gift and the like, Emergency Eject will give your opponent a Lander token in exchange for their looming threat.
One of the largest downsides of Token doublers are their higher mana values. Often, you'll want to create Tokens as quickly as you can after your doubling effect has landed and Exalted Sunborn offers a unique way to get that sweet payoff at just the right time. Featuring a new keyword, Warp, you can have some permanents enter play for a turn to be a stable from Exile later. This means you can sneak in a doubling effect for two additional mana. Not to mention this Angel also has Flying and Lifelink, making it a solid Creature on its own.
Efficient mass removal that can be balanced in your favour is always worth a consideration. Pinnacle Starcage is no different. Delaying low cost Artifacts and Creatures typically means slowing down your opponents or removing wide boards of Tokens, which can net you an extra turn or two for setup. This Artifact will draw some removal as a result, which isn't a bad thing either.
Another Token enabler, Moonlit Meditation offers an interesting way to replicate your favourite Creature or Artifact. Yes this can lead to exponential turns and a bit of absurdity with the right amount of creativity. This enables such great storytelling as a result. I can’t wait to get steamrolled by this card.
Omniscience is a very powerful card, ending many games. While Weftwalking doesn’t have the same gravitas, it embodies the spirit of free-casting, but once for each player. Yes, it can be abused and lead to play patterns some dislike, but it has the potential to close games without declaring yourself the winner. Sometimes it’s neat to see the person who’s been behind on Lands get back into the game. I’m excited to try this out in some of my Group Hug decks.
Now, I’m not typically a fan of Grave Pact effects, but Exiling your opponents’ Creatures is very powerful. It will expire if it wipes any board out, so going buck wild with this one is not optimal. If Sothera the Supervoid does get Sacrificed at the beginning of your end step you’ll get a reanimation effect for one of your opponent’s threats.
You may not believe me when I say there were other archetypes that got a lot of support given the amount of Token enhancers that have made the cut for this top ten list, but there were significant boons for +1/+1 counter decks and some select cards supporting Eldrazi and Slivers. Devastating Onslaught doesn’t need to be in a Token deck to be an all-star though. Creating several copies of a Blaster Hulk, Angrath’s Marauders or Borderland Behemoth will end games. Or Dragons, yeah those will work too.
Landfall decks always get wildly pushed cards and Icetill Explorer is no exception. The Graveyard version of Oracle of Mul Daya is no laughing matter, recurring fetch lands to self-mill even more makes this a great engine for decks that care about the Graveyard and Landfall alike. I expect this card will be hard to keep in stock.
It’s not often that powerful cards get functional reprints, but when they do it’s usually with extra steps. This is no different for extra steps Tolarian Academy. Uthros, Titanic Godcore will generate Mana equal to the amount of artifacts you own if you can manage to Station 12 Power worth of Creatures on this Planet. The benefits of this can be astronomical, so I’d expect to see this in every Artifact deck.
Continuing our extra steps theme, we have another highly sought after effect mirroring Gaea’s Cradle. Unlike Three Tree City, there’s no typal restriction limiting this Mana powerhouse. Yes, you will need to Station 12 Power worth of Creatures to turn this on, but if you’re playing a Creature deck that will come naturally. While unlikely won’t see cEDH play, I expect it’ll be a somewhat common appearance at most casual tables.
Well there we have it, 10 cards you should pick up from Edge of Eternities for your Commander decks. Were there any cards you’re excited about that I missed? Let me know in the Chimera Gaming Discord, or reach me directly on Bluesky.
Did you know we usually have 20 pods firing for Commander night on Tuesdays? Tables fill up fast and I hope to see you there!
