In addition to introducing a bold new setting to Magic, Duskmourn was also one of the better Commander sets we’ve seen in recent memory. From the Enduring cycle to the allied Verge lands, there was no shortage of bangers here. The set’s Commander precons were similarly stacked, featuring some excellent MTG newcomers like Phenomenon Investigators. By bringing two powerful passive effects together, this creature enables all manner of shenanigans.
Phenomenon Investigators MTG
Though both of Phenomenon Investigators’ abilities are useful in their own right, Believe is the star of the show. This makes Investigators a very serviceable token generator, particularly alongside recursive creatures like Reassembling Skeleton and sacrifice outlets like Altar of Dementia. Since the tokens are also enchantments, you can get extra value from cards like Entity Tracker and Helm of the Gods, to boot.
While it’s the lesser ability, Investigators’ Doubt option has plenty to offer too, serving as a free, unconditional bounce effect once each turn. You can use this to get more mileage out of value creatures like Mulldrifter, or to bounce interactive creatures like Ravenous Chupacabra in more controlling lists.
Whichever way you use Phenomenon Investigators, you’ll get much more out of it with triggered ability doublers like Gogo, Master of Mimicry. Additional tokens will help fuel Blood Artist wins, while additional bounces will let you spam cheap value permanents like Hopeless Nightmare to great effect.
Hunting Down Some Combos
Phenomenon Investigators is more than capable of pulling off infinite combos, too, with each ability offering some of its own. Pick Believe, for instance, and you can make infinite mana with Phyrexian Altar and Nether Traitor. Simply sacrifice Traitor to make a token, then sacrifice the token to reanimate Traitor, looping infinite times for a Walking Ballista or Torment of Hailfire win.
Believe also lets you create infinite tapped 2/2 tokens, alongside The Last Ride and Salvaging Station. With 13 or more life, you can Crew The Last Ride with Investigators to have it die as a state-based action. This will make a token and untap Station, which you can then tap to bring The Last Ride back. Tap the new token to Crew it, and you can repeat for an easy Altar of the Brood win.
If you’re more of a Doubter, you can harness this ability to take infinite turns with Ugin’s Nexus and an artifact copier like Ultron, Artificial Malevolence. By casting and copying Nexus, you can immediately kill the copy with the legend rule to get an extra turn. Then, at the end of your turn, bounce the original Nexus with Investigators to dodge the ‘skip extra turns’ clause.
Hiding In The Darkness
With its flexible pair of abilities, Phenomenon Investigators makes a great addition to a wide range of MTG Commander decks. Despite this fact and its ample combo potential, it’s actually not very widely played in the format at all. According to EDHREC numbers, around 3,650 players run the card, which feels low. While it is relatively new, only arriving in 2024, it still feels underplayed in the format.
On the bright side, Investigators’ lack of buzz means it’s very affordable for a single-printing card. You can nab near-mint copies of the base version on TCGplayer for as little as $0.10, and the fancier extended art printing for just $0.20. At these prices, it makes a great pickup that will serve you well in all manner of Dimir Commander decks.
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