Four Underrated $1.15 Gems Are Incredible Superfriends Upgrades

With Planeswalkers being a core feature in Reality Fracture, Superfriends decks have once again come into the limelight. Considering this, players may now be scrambling to put together a Superfriends Commander deck of their own, but doing so on a budget can be quite difficult.

Surprisingly, there are plenty of strong Superfriends support cards that barely cost a thing! If you want to bolster your Superfriends deck without breaking the bank, keep these tools in mind.

MTG Deploy the Gatewatch

While Deploy the Gatewatch is undoubtedly a narrow card, grabbing two Planeswalkers for six mana is an incredible effect. For Planeswalker-heavy Commanders like Commodore Guff Commodore Guff At the beginning of your end step, put a loyalty counter on another target planeswalker you control.
+1: Create a 1/1 red Wizard creature token with "{T}: Add {R}. Spend this mana only to cast a planeswalker spell."
−3: You draw X cards and Commodore Guff deals X damage to each opponent, where X is the number of planeswalkers you control.
Commodore Guff can be your commander. and the new Tam, the Possibility Tam, the Possibility Planeswalker spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}, {T}: Proliferate X times, where X is the number of planeswalker types among planeswalkers you control. (To proliferate, choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) , this is an easy instant-add.

At its absolute best, however, Deploy the Gatewatch can cheat huge Planeswalkers like Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker +3: Destroy target noncreature permanent.
−2: Gain control of target creature.
−9: Nicol Bolas deals 7 damage to target player or planeswalker. That player or that planeswalker's controller discards seven cards, then sacrifices seven permanents of their choice. or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Ugin, the Spirit Dragon +2: Ugin deals 3 damage to any target.
−X: Exile each permanent with mana value X or less that's one or more colors.
−10: You gain 7 life, draw seven cards, then put up to seven permanent cards from your hand onto the battlefield. into play. Library manipulation effects like Vampiric Tutor Vampiric Tutor Search your library for a card, then shuffle and put that card on top. You lose 2 life. or the newly printed Loyal Tutor Loyal Tutor Search your library for a planeswalker card, reveal it, then shuffle and put that card on top. can increase your chances of setting up a blowout with this. Similarly, Brainstorm Brainstorm Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order. or Scroll Rack Scroll Rack {1}, {T}: Exile any number of cards from your hand face down. Put that many cards from the top of your library into your hand. Then look at the exiled cards and put them on top of your library in any order. can put Planeswalkers from your hand on top of your deck, guaranteeing Deploy hits two juicy targets.

Despite its high upside and mythic rarity, Deploy the Gatewatch still costs only $0.35 and appears in under 11,000 decks, according to EDHREC. Fortunately, its low demand keeps copies cheap and easy to find, making it a great budget option.

MTG Oath of Teferi

Oath of Teferi is a unique card that generates both immediate and cumulative value. Right away, this enchantment lets you blink out valuable enters effects on common Superfriends cards like Deepglow Skate Deepglow Skate When this creature enters, double the number of each kind of counter on any number of target permanents. or Urza Assembles the Titans Urza Assembles the Titans Read ahead (Choose a chapter and start with that many lore counters. Add one after your draw step. Skipped chapters don't trigger. Sacrifice after III.)
I — Scry 4, then you may reveal the top card of your library. If a planeswalker card is revealed this way, put it into your hand.
II — You may put a planeswalker card with mana value 6 or less from your hand onto the battlefield.
III — You may activate the loyalty abilities of planeswalkers you control twice this turn rather than only once. . Alternatively, you can always reset a Planeswalker that’s low on loyalty after using one of its minus abilities.

Still, the real prize is activating Planeswalkers’ loyalty abilities multiple times per turn. Some Planeswalkers, like Jared Carthalion Jared Carthalion +1: Create a 3/3 Kavu creature token with trample that's all colors.
−3: Choose up to two target creatures. For each of them, put a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the number of colors it is.
−6: Return target multicolored card from your graveyard to your hand. If that card was all colors, draw a card and create two Treasure tokens.
Jared Carthalion can be your commander. , threaten to ultimate the same turn they come down if you have Oath in play. Others, like Ajani Unrelenting Ajani Unrelenting Whenever you activate a loyalty ability, create a 2/2 colorless Wizard Soldier creature token named Cadet.
+1: Creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain haste until end of turn.
−2: Discard your hand, then draw a card for each creature you control.
−3: Ajani deals 4 damage to each creature except for tokens you control. , pay you off for each extra loyalty ability used.

If you’re fortunate enough to land Oath alongside Teferi, Master of Time Teferi, Master of Time You may activate loyalty abilities of Teferi on any player's turn any time you could cast an instant.
+1: Draw a card, then discard a card.
−3: Target creature you don't control phases out. (Treat it and anything attached to it as though they don't exist until its controller's next turn.)
−10: Take two extra turns after this one. , you’ll get upwards of six loyalty activations in one turn cycle! Having this much impact for just $1.15 is truly remarkable.

MTG Command the Dreadhorde

In Superfriends shells, Command the Dreadhorde solves one of the archetype’s biggest weaknesses. These decks rely on critical mass, and one of the easiest ways to fall behind is to let one big attack kill your entire Planeswalker army. This sorcery completely negates that issue, allowing you to resurrect a boatload of Planeswalkers at once, potentially even post-board wipe.

With this card in hand, you can also pull off some neat tricks, such as using Entomb Entomb Search your library for a card, put that card into your graveyard, then shuffle. to set up returning any Planeswalker of your choice. Notably, you can even return creatures alongside your Planeswalkers, so Entombing Deepglow Skate essentially enables you to bring back a bunch of Planeswalkers at double loyalty.

Considering how versatile this card is, it’s quite surprising that its price tag is just $0.46. Nonetheless, that’s great news for Superfriends enthusiasts looking for strong upgrades.

MTG Onakke Oathkeeper

Most Superfriends decks rely on effects that make it harder for opponents to attack their Planeswalkers, and Onakke Oathkeeper is quite underrated in this department. Traditional Pillowfort cards like Propaganda Propaganda Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays {2} for each creature they control that's attacking you. and Ghostly Prison Ghostly Prison Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays {2} for each creature they control that's attacking you. don’t protect Planeswalkers effectively, so access to this style of effect is a big deal.

The only downside is that as a creature, Onakke Oathkeeper is vulnerable to removal. Yet this card makes up for that with its graveyard-based ability, which comes in handy if one of your Planeswalkers dies. You can even use activation doublers or Pull from Eternity Pull from Eternity Put target face-up exiled card into its owner's graveyard. to get extra value. Altogether, it’s a great deal for only $1.05.

Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!