Plea for Guidance is reminiscent (both in form and function) of old Morningtide-favorite Idyllic Tutor. For the upgrade price of 3 mana, Plea grants an additional card instead of just replacing itself; a rarity among tutors. This is especially good at setting up two-card combos like Energy Field/Rest in Peace, Greater Auramancy/Sterling Grove, or Ghostly Prison/Propaganda. What's more, true to the flavor of Theros block, Plea can even search out Creature spells like Archetype of Imagination to combo with the Moat you just searched for.
At 5/4, Forgestoker Dragon does not immediately cause opponents to quake in their boots, but he does a marvelous job getting attackers through waves of blockers. Generals like Kaalia of the Vast and Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge who insist on attacking despite their small stature will have an easier time surviving when flying alongside this dragon. Forgestoker also makes "slith" abilities (abilities that trigger when a creature deals combat damage to a player) more reliable. Cards like Ashling, the Extinguisher, Balefire Dragon, and Quietus Spike (bonus for granting Deathtouch to our pinger!) increase in value when opposing blockers become invalidated.
6. Fated Return
We've already seen my penchant for Reanimate spells. Fated Return comes at a high premium, but leaves your creature with some serious power in gaining indestructible. Imagine recurring a creature like Sigarda, Host of Herons with indestructible; how does your opponent deal with that?! Creatures like Living Inferno and Pestilence Demon also become more threatening when they are no longer a threat to themselves. Scry 2 on your turn is just icing on the cake, but works if you're trying to slip the spell past counter-magic. Oh yeah, did I mention this spell can be cast at Instant speed? Well it's true, and it brings your dude back unconditionally (unlike Necromancy or Goryo's Vengeance).
The chaotic prince of parties in ascended form. Xenagos, God of Revels is a persistent threat that can turn even small creatures into formidable threats. Functioning like a high-octane In the Web of War, Xenagos's ability also turns big creatures into absolute monsters. What's scarier than a Worldspine Wurm? A 30/30 Worldspine Wurm with Haste! What's more, Xenagos's ability checks only a creature's power, which gives normally frail attackers like Kamahl, Pit Fighter or Nova Chaser a little more staying power. Seven devotion is also easier to achieve than it sounds in Commander, so this God will even join the fray on many occasions.
Although not obviously powerful, Heroes' Podium has the potential to provide some serious card advantage. In decks featuring a high density of Legendary creatures like Karador, Ghost Chieftain, Kaalia of the Vast, or (quite obviously) Captain Sisay, Heroes' Podium will net its controller a card more often than not. The legendary-based anthem can be relevant in decks like these as well, and becomes just plain silly with Leyline of Singularity. Even at its worst, the Podium allows a player to use leftover mana to dig for a general that may have been tucked by Oblation or Hinder.
Do you play control? Lots of counter-magic? Do cards like Boseiju, who Shelters All and Cavern of Souls give you a headache? Then does BotG have the Enchantment Creature for you! Perplexing Chimera provides a unique effect that does not immediately threaten the board, but causes opponents to think twice before slamming powerful spells like Time Stretch, Comet Storm, or Genesis Wave. Obviously the downside to this effect is that opponents gain control of it afterwards, but this can be mitigated with effects like Homeward Path or Venser, the Sojourner. In any event, when this creature hits the battlefield, decisions become... confusing (bet you thought I'd say perplexing =P)
Yet another reanimation spell, but just hear me out! Champion of Stray Souls is like a selective Living Death that keeps on giving. As long as its controller has fodder to feed to its ability, Champion of Stray Souls can continuously use "enters the battlefield" and "leaves the battlefield" abilities to generate huge advantage. Imaging setting up a huge graveyard with Survival of the Fittest, casting Champion of Stray Souls, casting Prossh, Skyraider of Kresh for a bundle of tokens, then bringing back all of your huge creatures in exchange for expendable Kobolds. Cards like Blood Artist and Death Match add even more value to the exchange. This creature's ability to pseudo-Disentomb itself adds another layer of inevitability to its graveyard strategy.
Frankly, all of the Archetypes are powerful. Denying opponents acces to an evergreen ability is almost as powerful as granting it to your entire team; and the Archetypes do both of these things. Archetype of Endurance earns the top slot because of the prevalence and power of Hexproof. Between powerful generals like Geist of St. Traft and the ubiquity of Swiftfoot Boots, removing opposing threats can be difficult at times. Archetype of Endurance allows you to ignore that hurdle, provides a sizeable body to attack with, and protects itself all at once. Asceticism in creature form is pretty robust and you can bet I'm jamming this into Mayael the Anima to give my beefy beaters an extra layer of protection.
Honarable Mentions:
Astral Cornucopia - Worst-case scenario it's a Manalith, which ain't bad. Improves significantly with Surge Node or Proliferate effects.
Whims of the Fates - I like... the IDEA of chaos decks. Whims of the Fates is a chaos kind of card. Could even work well with Barren Glory.
Well that's the list and I'm stickin' to it. I hope you enjoyed this edition of commander top 8 and would love to hear your stories of BotG cards. Good luck on the battlefield, fellow Commanders!
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-Javier Remy
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