When infinite combos get involved, games of Commander can end extremely quickly. Even if you aren’t playing cEDH, it’s not uncommon for bracket 4 Commander games to end around turn four. Thanks to this, if you want high-bracket games of EDH to last longer, you’ll often need to play some mean cards.
Fortunately, from slowing lands down to preventing attacks, there are a ton of forgotten MTG cards that can totally shut common Commander strategies down. White certainly has the strongest cards for this, offering multiple forgotten cards to catch your opponents off guard. Just don’t be surprised if you’re public enemy number one for the rest of the game.
MTG Hokori, Dust Drinker
To the displeasure of many, Hokori, Dust Drinker shuts down almost every MTG deck equally. Unless you’ve specifically built your deck to function without lands, they end up being a core part of every deck’s functionality. This does mean that finding a home for Hokori can be difficult, but there are a few strategies that can turn it into a one-sided blowout.
Blink decks like Roon, the Hidden Realm can get around Hokori by exiling it right before your turn starts. Alternatively, decks that focus on having lots of untapping tools, like Derevi, Imperial Tactician and Sword of Feast and Famine, ignore Hokori outright.
Considering how severely Hokori shuts your opponents down when built around, it’s shocking that this card doesn’t see more play. According to EDHREC, only 5000 decks currently use Hokori in the 99. On the bright side, despite very limited reprintings, Hokori remains a budget pickup at $1.50.
MTG Magus of the Tabernacle
Part of an iconic series of cards that reimagine busted effects on creatures, Magus of the Tabernacle is an absolute nightmare for creature token decks. Since everyone has to pay one mana for each creature they control, it will be impossible for your opponents to go wide. Use this Magus with cards like Mana Short, and you can essentially turn this card into a one-sided board wipe.
Fortunately, so long as you aren’t playing a creature-heavy plan, Magus of the Tabernacle is an easy card to use. Thanks to this, Commanders like Zur, the Enchanter, and Shorikai, Genesis Engine, which naturally have creature-light plans, can easily add the card. In some cases, Commanders like Myrkul, Lord of Bones, and Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher will actively want to sacrifice their creatures to Magus. Considering all of this, Magus of the Tabernacle’s low play rate seems criminal, especially for a $2 card.
MTG Peacekeeper
While a bit more expensive financially, Peacekeeper is a massive upgrade for the vast majority of passive white Commander decks. While cards like Ghostly Prison and Propaganda are incredibly popular below cEDH, neither of these cards stops attacks completely. Peacekeeper does exactly this, shutting down any creature strategies before it gets removed. You do need to pay two mana each turn to keep Peacekeeper around, but this is a rather cheap price all things considered.
Sadly, because Peacekeeper is a creature, it is a bit easier to remove than desired. Cards like Swiftfoot Boots and Asceticism can protect it, but it doesn’t save Peacekeeper from board wipes. To that end, Commanders like Pheldagrif and Kenrith, the Returned King make for the best homes for Peacekeeper.
At worst, however, Peacekeeper should buy your passive decks some time while drawing some removal that could have hit your Commander. Considering that, $9 for this Reserved List card seems like a bit of a steal. That could change in the future if Peacekeeper starts to see more play, but, for now, this looks like an incredible addition for all kinds of Commander decks.
MTG Damping Field
If artifact decks are giving you a bad time, Damping Field can put a hard stop to those strategies. Essentially offering Hokori, Dust Drinker but for artifacts, Damping Field will outright shut down any player that’s overly reliant on mana rocks or artifact creatures.
This makes the enchantment an easy addition to any artifact light deck, but a few Commanders want this over others. Zur, the Enchanter is likely the biggest one, thanks to tutoring Damping Field into play on attack. Ironically, Hokori, Dust Drinker can use this card to shut down fast mana, allowing very few ways to get around the Commander’s land lock abilities.
This, and the Reserved List card’s $5 price tag, contribute to its extremely low 377-deck play rate. Still, if you’re looking for a way to shut down artifact decks permanently, this is a very difficult card for them to deal with.
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