In the world of MTG, there’s no shortage of big bombs that can have a huge impact on Commander games. Getting to attack with massive Dragons or Eldrazi Titans can obviously put you in a strong position to win. The only problem is that these haymakers often require a large surplus of mana to cast. Even with some strong sources of ramp, hard casting expensive creatures can be a daunting task.
Fortunately, there are plenty of underrated cards that can cheat these creatures into play ahead of schedule. These budget gems provide a powerful, repeatable effect that can take over games if left unchecked.
Court of Bounty
Of all the ways to cheat creatures into play, Court of Bounty might have the highest upside. For the small price of four mana, this enchantment has the potential to let you put creatures from your hand into play every turn without requiring any additional mana. All the while, you’ll be drawing extra cards via the Monarch, refilling your hand with more creatures to put onto the battlefield.
The key to maximizing Court of Bounty, of course, is to maintain the Monarch. Going wide with creatures can certainly help stave off opposing attackers. Mass Goad effects, such as Marisi, Breaker of the Coil, work wonders in this department, too. From there, putting any number of large threats from Avenger of Zendikar to Etali, Primal Conqueror into play turn after turn will eventually overwhelm your opponents.
Interestingly, even in the event you lose the Monarch right away, Court of Bounty still has value as a ramp effect. Commanders like Tatyova, Benthic Druid, and any other Landfall payoff can reward you for using Court of Bounty as a pseudo-Exploration. All of this utility makes this card well worth its $1.50 price tag.
Shifty Doppelganger
The options for creature-cheating effects in blue are certainly much narrower than in green, but Shifty Doppelganger offers a unique ability in the right decks. The goal with this Shapeshifter is to exile it, cheat in a temporary premium attacker from your hand, and do it all over again when the Shapeshifter comes back.
While this ability is a bit mana-intensive, it does let you maximize creatures with brutal enters, attack, and death triggers. Threats like Archon of Cruelty and Woodfall Primus immediately come to mind as elite cards to pair with Shifty Doppelganger. This creature also synergizes nicely with Zurgo and Ojutai as a Commander, since the Orc Dragon legend provides consistent fuel for Shifty Doppelganger to cheat in. Even getting to trigger Satoru, the Infiltrator each time you activate Shifty Doppelganger and each time the Shapehsifter returns to play is strong.
Ultimately, while Shifty Doppelganger takes some effort to maximize, it’s definitely more powerful than it’s given credit for. Featured in just 315 decks according to EDHREC, this 25-Year-Old $0.50 creature is the definition of a hidden gem.
Fireflux Squad
Interestingly, there are some neat tools that cheat creatures into play from zones other than your hand, and Fireflux Squad is a great example. Once you resolve this Human Soldier, you’re free to attack right away and exile one of your puny attackers in hopes of “Cascading” into something better. The key to making Fireflux Squad as threatening as possible is to have plenty of fodder worth upgrading.
The easiest way to accomplish this task is just to incorporate mass token producers like Song of Totentanz and Secure the Wastes. Similarly, Kykar, Wind’s Fury and other token-spewing Commanders can also fuel Fireflux Squad singlehandedly. Then, if you want to go above and beyond, you can build your deck to include only a handful of enormous creatures. This guarantees that each Fireflux Squad trigger will yield something game-breaking. In the right deck, Fireflux Squad is easily worth the $0.35 price tag.
Dawn of the Dead
In black, one of the most common ways to cheat creatures into play is to reanimate them from the graveyard, and Dawn of the Dead can do this every single turn cycle. Each creature you resurrect even has Haste, opening the door for you to get value from creatures like Etali, Primal Storm right away.
The downside is that your reanimation target won’t stick around long-term, but there are ways around this. For example, ending the turn with Sundial of the Infinite, or blinking out your behemoth with Conjurer’s Closet, lets you bypass the exile clause.
Dawn of the Dead also has merit in Braids, Arisen Nightmare and Ziatora, the Incinerator archetypes. By using these Commanders to sacrifice whatever creature you reanimate for value before it gets exiled, you can set yourself up to bring back the same creature during your next turn.
Thran Temporal Gateway
For players who want a strong, repeatable cheating effect that can go in any deck, Thran Temporal Gateway is a great colorless option. Considering how many large creatures are legendary, Thran Temporal Gateway’s restriction shouldn’t be too problematic.
If anything, being able to put Portal to Phyrexia or Kiora Bests the Sea God into play in addition to beefy creatures makes this artifact a more versatile Commander card than you might think. From Captain Sisay decks to The Capitoline Triad shells, Thran Temporal Gateway can be a worthy inclusion so long as you include a high density of expensive Historic permanents. Throw in some activation-doubling effects like The Peregrine Dynamo, and you’ll speed things up even further.
If this artifact’s power and flexibility weren’t appealing enough, its budget price tag makes it even more intriguing. With copies available for under $0.50, Thran Temporal Gateway easily provides enough bang for your buck.
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