Getting rid of opposing Commanders permanently is always a struggle. Thanks to the command zone mechanic, it’s quite difficult to deal with players’ key cards for an extended period of time. Because the command zone comes to the rescue whenever a commander changes zones, there are very few ways to truly play around this.
Gaining control of a Commander is one of the few ways to create a delayed issue. While this means that many gain control cards are popular, as always, there are some forgotten cards that unexpectedly slip through the cracks. Charisma, a three-mana enchantment from MTG’s Mercadian Masques released in 1999, is exactly this.
MTG Charisma
Taking control of any creature on damage is a really terrifying ability. There are a fair few different creatures that can deal minimal damage to a lot of targets, making Charisma a remove-on-sight threat. Considering how powerful this effect is, it’s extremely shocking to see Charisma only being played in about 2860 different decks according to EDHREC. With this in mind, there’s a real opportunity to take advantage of this unknown card.
The easiest way to use Charisma is to attach it to a Pinger effect, like Prodigical Sorcerer or Rootwater Hunter. When used together, this essentially allows you to take control of a new creature each time you use these cards’ activated ability. Combine those with untap effects, like Seedborn Muse, and it won’t take long before Charisma has charmed your opponent’s entire army.
Taking this idea further, there is a subset of Commanders that can deal small amounts of damage to multiple creatures at once. Captain America, First Avenger, for example, can take control of three creatures at once, while Tibor and Lumia just need one Red spell to steal every non-Flying creature. This also naturally pairs with the many different Niv-Mizzet Commander variants, who all tend to deal a point of damage to anything when you draw a card.
Combined with these Commanders, Charisma is extremely hard to stop, which means that your opponents will do everything in their power to get rid of them. Because of this, including protection effects like Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, and Lightning Greaves is mandatory to succeed. Fortunately, some of the stronger Commander options, like Captain America, already synergize with equipment, making this a bit easier.
Of course, pairing Charisma with Indestructible Commanders completely sidesteps this problem, allowing Commanders like Kotis, the Fangkeeper to put opponents in very difficult binds. They can either block Kotis and lose control of their creature, or let him connect and get free value.
This idea can be expanded to make all of your smaller creatures difficult to block in the right deck. Three Dog, Galaxy News DJ can do this, copying Charisma to attach to all of your other creatures. Sadly, because Three Dog is not a Blue creature, you’d need to do this in another Commander deck, like Captain America, First Avenger.
Forgotten, But Not Cheap
Considering Charisma’s use cases, there are a few Commander decks that seem like natural inclusions for the card. Pinger decks, like Ghyrson Starn, Kelemorph, for example, fit Charisma like a glove. Despite this, outside of a few older Commanders that don’t really see play themselves, Charisma sees far less play in any of these focused decks than it probably should.
While this means that it should be easy to catch players off guard with Charisma, there is still one downside for the card. Despite its lack of play, Charisma is surprisingly expensive. Even though it’s not on the Reserved List, heavily played copies of this card start at $6.66, while most near-mint copies cost about $10. This is largely due to the card’s limited supply, as it was only printed once as a rare in Mercadian Masques.
Despite this, for the decks that obviously want it, Charisma is more than worth the cost. Combine this with the shock factor of your opponents, and this forgotten MTG card can easily set up some memorable moments.
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