Commander Quest — Judgment

Graveyard Love and Hate with THB

Photo by Echo Grid on Unsplash

Continuing to examine the impact of Theros Beyond Death on the landscape of Commander, I wanted to look for some more unappreciated or underappreciated cards (played in under 1% of decks on EDHrec) to fight back against escape mechanics, which have further bolstered some already-dominant commanders like Muldrotha, Kess, and Meren. Judgment, with its strong graveyard and anti-graveyard synergies seemed like a great set to revisit.

If you haven’t already checked out my examination of Ice Age and Bant enchantment synergies with THB, make sure to take a look at that, as well.

The Love

#2 — Toxic Stench

Obviously the most situational on the list, but if you’re piloting a deck that wants lots of cards in the graveyard, it’s essentially a second copy of Doomblade. Or if your deck just incidentally throws a lot of cards is the graveyard, like the new commander Atris alongside a few dozen Persistent Petitioners.

#1 — Quiet Speculation

There’s certainly a situation where this has applications to be used against an opponent, but the majority of the time, you’re playing this to tutor for three spells you want to cast from the yard. Or in a pinch, it adds up to four cards to your graveyard to fuel an escape for your Uro or set up for your Underworld Breach.

The Hate

#5 — Shaman’s Trance

This one is the most dependent on your playgroup’s meta. If you know you’re going up against a deck with strong graveyard synergies like Muldrotha, drop this on that player’s upkeep to shut down any permanents coming in from their graveyard that turn.