While 2023’s March of the Machine was a bit underwhelming narrative-wise, the set was packed with great cards. Though many of these have rightly gone to achieve Commander staple status, there are plenty of hits that still languish in obscurity. Ayara, Widow of the Realm, and its flip side Ayara, Furnace Queen, is one such MTG card, serving as a more-than-capable Commander with serious combo potential.
Ayara, Widow Of The Realm/Ayara, Furnace Queen MTG
Ayara’s front half essentially gives you access to a repeatable Fling effect, albeit one that scales with mana value rather than power. This makes it great alongside pricey creatures that you can cast with a discount, like Imskir Iron-Eater and Metalwork Colossus. Since most of the good Rakdos options in this category scale with artifacts, cards like Myr Battlesphere and Ruthless Technomancer that produce them en masse are great additions.
Another great way to leverage Ayara’s ability is to cheat big creatures into play with Sneak Attack, or reanimate them with Animate Dead. This works particularly well with creatures that offer the bulk of their value on entry or death, like Triplicate Titan and Meteor Golem. Once you build up several such creatures, untappers like Thornbite Staff and Thousand-Year Elixir will let you trade them in for quick bursts of big damage.
Once you flip Ayara, you instead get access to a constant reanimator engine, giving you a strong late game. This lets you recycle any big threats you offered up to Ayara’s front side, and even get attacks in with the likes of Archon of Cruelty. Since it works with artifacts, too, cheating out powerhouses like Coveted Jewel and Portal to Phyrexia is very much on the table here.
While cards reanimated by Ayara are exiled at end of turn, sacrificing them to outlets like Goblin Bombardment will keep them in your graveyard toolbox. You can get around Ayara’s end-of-turn clause, too, using Conjurer’s Closet or Sundial of the Infinite to keep your reanimated goodies around permanently. Closet is also notable for letting you switch Ayara back to her front side if needed.
Stoking The Combo Fires
While it’s great as a fair Commander, Ayara also has a solid suite of combo lines to its name. With Breath of Fury, for example, and two other creatures in play, Ayara, Furnace Queen can create infinite combat phases. If you can get through with the creature enchanted with Breath, you can sacrifice it to take another combat step, then resurrect the first creature with Ayara to create a loop.
Similar infinite combat combos are also possible with Scourge of the Throne and Combat Celebrant, alongside a sacrifice outlet like Viscera Seer. Attacking with either creature will let you put its extra combat trigger on the stack, then you can sacrifice and resurrect it when said combat starts. This also gives you infinite uses of your chosen outlet, letting you win with Altar of Dementia or Goblin Bombardment.
Ayara even lets you take infinite turns when paired up with Magistrate’s Scepter and Coretapper. When resurrected with Haste by Ayara, Coretapper can tap and sacrifice itself to put three charge counters on Scepter. You can then remove these to activate the Scepter and take an extra turn, during which you can reanimate Coretapper again and repeat.
A Spicy Hidden Gem
Despite being a powerful engine and dangerous combo enabler in the command zone, Ayara doesn’t see nearly as much Commander play as you’d expect. According to EDHREC data, in fact, just 1,499 players run Ayara in the command zone, which feels low given its power level. While it fares better in the 99, with around 18,700 players including Ayara, this still isn’t as high as you’d expect.
On the bright side, this lack of popularity ensures that Ayara remains incredibly affordable for players to pick up. You can snag a near-mint copy of this banger on TCGplayer for just $0.28, and the Showcase version is even cheaper at a mere $0.20. At those prices, Ayara is a no-brainer purchase, whether you’re looking for a new budget Commander or a great piece for your Rakdos 99.
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