One of the strongest things any player can pull off in MTG is playing a card way ahead of schedule. There’s all kinds of ways to do this, like using fast mana, an intricate combo, or a reanimation spell. Whatever you decide, getting a massive eight-mana haymaker into play ahead of time is an almost surefire way to end the game.
That said, finding cards that do this, especially on a budget, is easier said than done. Fortunately, there are some forgotten Reserved List cards that do exactly that.
Lure Prey MTG
For four mana, Lure Prey lets you cheat any green creature from your hand into play for free. Needless to say, this is an insane deal, but there is a catch. In order to use Lure Prey at all, one of your opponents needs to have cast a creature spell in the same turn. Thankfully, due to the nature of Commander, waiting for an opponent to cast a creature spell shouldn’t take long.
The only other downside of Lure Prey is that it can only cheat in green creatures. Despite this, the forgotten instant can still deliver ridiculous value. Atraxa, Grand Unifier, for example, will both put a massive threat into play and refill your hand. This is likely the scariest thing you can cheat in, but even if your color identity is mono green, you still have strong choices available, like Ancient Adamantoise and Worldspine Wurm.
If you’re dead set on using Lure Prey to cheat in non-green creatures, there is a way to accomplish it. Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant will put all creatures in your hand into play on entry, allowing you to put your whole board into play with Lure Prey. For that reason, Lure Prey is an incredible upgrade to any green Commander deck that’s trying to get massive haymakers into play ahead of time.
Commanders like Kona, Rescue Beastie, Cirdan, the Shipwright, or Jadzi, Oracle of Arcavios can easily employ Lure Prey to increase their consistency. If you’re looking for multiple effects like this, Dramatic Entrance, recently reprinted in the Avatar Secret Lair Drop, accomplishes the same thing for an extra mana.
Considering that Lure Prey could essentially see play in any green Commander deck, it’s incredibly shocking to see how underplayed the card is. The Reserved List card sees play in a startlingly low 0.03% of decks on EDHREC. It’s not like the card is expensive, either. You can find Damaged copies of the card on TCGplayer for just $1.50.
Zirilan of the Claw MTG
Zirilan of the Claw’s applications are a bit more on the nose, but it’s no less powerful. Capable of putting any Dragon from your deck directly into play for three mana, this is an incredible upgrade to Dragon Typal decks. Despite this, Zirilan sees almost no play at all in Dragon Typal. The card bizarrely only appears in 0.8% of The Ur-Dragon decks and 1.1% of Miirym, Sentinel Wurm lists.
Thanks to Miirym creating a nonlegendary token copy of any Dragon that enters play, Zirilan’s low play rate there is exceptionally bizarre. Miirym can copy any creature that Zirilan tutors into play, setting up massive value potential. Finding Terror of the Peaks, for example, and following that up with Scourge of Valkas will deal absurd amounts of damage each time a Dragon enters play. The tokens created by Miirym from Zirilan’s searches won’t die at the end step, either.
Even outside of Dragon decks, Zirilan of the Claw has a surprising amount of versatility. Some Commanders, like Obeka, Brute Chronologist, can end the turn early to avoid Zirilian’s downside of sacrificing whatever Dragon it tutored for. Similarly, in a five-colored deck designed to cheat permanents into play, like The Prismatic Bridge, Zirilian can put an early Ur-Dragon into play and attack with it immediately.
Otherwise, Tannuk, Steadfast Second offers a lethal combination of abilities that enable Zirilan. Warp both reduces this creature’s casting cost, and Tannuk’s Haste clause allows it to activate on the same turn it enters play.
The only plausible reason for Zirilan’s low play rate in Dragon Typal decks, despite people just not knowing about it, might be its price point. Near mint copies of Zirilan go for about $10, but as far as Dragon Typal is concerned, that’s a pretty cheap number. If you’re looking to save more money, worse condition copies of Zirilan go for about $4.
Because the play rate of both these Reserved List MTG cards is surprisingly low, they present an opportunity. Both cards should perform far above their price points, especially when placed in focused archetypes. Zirilan, in particular, seems like an old card that might spike in price if it’s ever discovered on a larger scale. For now, however, feel free to pick up these forgotten gems and surprise your friends.
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