After the absolute deluge of Commander products we received in 2024, Aetherdrift represents a bit of a step down. We’ll only be getting two Commander precons for this set, as opposed to the four we’ve grown accustomed to. Yesterday saw the first of these Aetherdrift Commander decks, Living Energy, revealed in full. Based on the contents, the reduction in overall product may have opened the door to spicier individual lists.
As the name implies, this precon brings back the notoriously broken Energy mechanic. If you run any kind of Energy deck in Commander, perhaps based on the Fallout or Modern Horizons 3 Energy precons, then there are some must-haves here. Even if you don’t, the reprint suite in this list is absolutely stacked, with a number of generic format staples included.
Nissa, Worldsoul Speaker
- Mana Value: 3G
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Legendary Creature – Elf Druid
- Stats: 3/3
- Card Text: Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, you get EE (two energy counters).
You may pay eight E rather than pay the mana cost for permanent spells you cast.
Before we get started, it’s worth noting that we’ve already covered the primary and secondary Commanders from this deck. The new versions of Saheeli Rai and Pia Nalaar are both viable leaders for the deck and great Energy support cards in their own right. Now onto the new stuff.
For all you Vorthos’ out there, The Aetherdrift Living Energy Commander deck has a treat in store. A brand-new Nissa, still desparked after the events of the Phyrexian Invasion. This is actually the second desparked Nissa card we’ve seen after Nissa, Resurgent Animist, and like that card, this is a 3/3 creature with a Landfall effect.
In this case, you’re getting two energy for each land you play with Nissa out. That’s not bad, but not amazing either. Especially given this new version costs four mana to cast. The more interesting part of the card is its second ability, which lets you pay eight energy for any permanent spells you cast.
As we’ll soon see this deck is very capable of generating energy en masse, which means there will definitely be scenarios where you can drop this card alongside one to two ‘free’ permanents from your hand. It’s strange to see such a story-critical character in a Commander deck rather than the main set, but this new Nissa looks pretty great regardless.
Territorial Aetherkite
- Mana Value: 4RR
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Cat Dragon
- Stats: 6/5
- Card Text: Flying, Haste.
When this creature enters, you get EE (two energy counters). Then you may pay one or more E. When you do, this creature deals that much damage to each other creature.
Speaking of powerful energy payoffs, this next one is an absolute doozy. Territorial Aetherkite does it all: it’s a well-statted creature, it generates energy, and it can also serve as a board wipe. Commander players are notorious for not including enough board wipes in their decks, so getting one attached to a big flashy creature helps address that problem.
By itself, you’re only able to Pyroclasm the board with this, but chances are you’ll have some extra energy lying around when you cast Aetherkite. If you do, this can easily be a full board clear strapped to a 6/5 Flying Haste body. It does hit your other creatures too, but in some decks, this can actually be an upside. Build up a critical mass of energy then deploy this next to a Screaming Nemesis and you can take a player out, for example.
Even without combo lines like that, I think Territorial Aetherkite will be a new staple in Commander energy decks. If you’re running red, there’s really no reason not to run this.
Rampaging Aetherhood
- Mana Value: 4G
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Snake Hydra
- Stats: 4/4
- Card Text: Trample, Ward 2.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you get an amount of E (energy counters) equal to this creature’s power. Then you may pay one or more E. If you do, put that many +1/+1 counters on this creature.
Great energy payoffs are nothing without great energy generators. Thankfully the Living Energy Aetherdrift Commander deck has plenty to offer in that area as well. Once you manage to take your eyes away from the sweet Ron Spencer artwork, it’s clear Rampaging Aetherhood is one of the very best cards in this category.
A five mana 4/4 isn’t great by current Standards, but Aetherhood won’t stay that size for long. Even with no other support, you can double the size of this creature every turn by combining its two abilities. You’ll get energy equal to its power at the start of your upkeep, which you can then cash in for +1/+1 counters. This, in turn, will give you more energy on your next turn.
In that sense, Aetherhood is a way to ‘invest’ your energy for big returns later. There are a ton of ways to abuse this, the cards above being just two examples. It’s risky to put so many resources into one card, of course, but Ward 2 helps to protect it nicely. You can also opt to keep the energy it creates instead, building up a steady supply over time rather than a lot all at once.
However you use it, Aetherhood looks like a new energy staple on par with Aetherkite above. Especially when you factor in how well it plays with the likes of Doubling Season.
Peema Trailblazer
- Mana Value: 2G
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Elephant Warrior
- Stats: 3/3
- Card Text: Trample.
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you get that many E (energy counters).
Exhaust — Pay six E: Put two +1/+1 counters on this creature. Then draw cards equal to the greatest power among creatures you control. (Activate each exhaust ability only once.)
On to a slightly less exciting energy generator now. Peema Trailblazer has a lot of text, but it’s held back by its fundamental nature: being a 3/3 for three mana. That’s very weak by modern standards, and without Haste it means there’s a good chance this just eats a removal spell or board wipe before doing anything meaningful.
That said, in slower tables, it’s a powerful self-sufficient energy piece. It grants you three energy each time it connects with an opponent, and can cash in six energy to become a 5/5 and draw you at least five cards. If you have a bigger creature in play, like an Aetherhood, for example, then you can draw a lot more than that. This is an Exhaust ability, so it’s one time only, but it’s so powerful that that doesn’t really matter.
While this is a valid early drop, I think the best line for this card will be to play it later, once you already have six energy to spend. A three mana 5/5 Trample that draws five cards is a very good deal, after all. The energy generation also gets better once the power goes up, letting you rebuild your stash for your other effects.
Aetherflux Conduit
- Mana Value: 6
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Artifact
- Card Text: Whenever you cast a spell, you get an amount of E (energy counters) equal to the amount of mana spent to cast that spell.
Tap, Pay fifty E: Draw seven cards. You may cast any number of spells from your hand without paying their mana costs.
As outlets for your energy go, they don’t come any bigger than Aetherflux Conduit. The option to pay 50 energy for the second ability here is a clear throwback to Aetherflux Reservoir, which let you pay 50 life for 50 damage. That card is still enabling insta-kill Combo decks to this day, and I expect Conduit to do something similar in Commander.
For your 50 energy, you get to draw seven cards and cast as many spells from your hand as you want for free. There’s obviously some luck involved here, but in a lot of decks, this should let you end the game on the spot. Or, at the very least, put you in a position to end it soon. It’s reminiscent of the notorious Aetherworks Marvel, albeit with a much higher cost and a much higher potential impact.
Like Aetherworks Marvel, Conduit also serves as an energy generator itself. A good thing, too: 50 is a high bar to reach, even in a dedicated deck. Getting energy equal to the mana you spend on spells should net you around eight to 10 a turn, which, combined with your other energy generators, will let you activate that second ability reasonably quickly. This one isn’t as flexible as the other new energy pieces in Living Energy, but it’s still a great addition to this Aetherdrift Commander deck.
Stridehangar Automaton
- Mana Value: 3
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Artifact Creature – Construct
- Stats: 1/4
- Card Text: Thopters you control get +1/+1.
If one or more artifact tokens would be created under your control, those tokens plus an additional 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature token with Flying are created instead.
And now for something completely different. Turns out that not every card in this deck is energy-specific. Some are just somewhat-relevant pieces that fit the flavor of the deck, but not its mechanics. Stridehangar Automaton is a prime example. As a card that cares about artifact tokens and Thopters, this almost feels like a card from another deck.
I think it’s a card that will shine brightest in another deck, too. If you’re generating a lot of artifact tokens, this card will swarm the sky with 1/1 Thopters, bumped up to 2/2s while it’s in play. That’s a very powerful combination, letting you go on the offensive in the air or hold off pretty much anything coming at you. There’s no specific requirement on those artifact tokens, either, so whether you’re making Food, Clues, Karnstructs or Golems, you’ll get some nice value here.
Overall, while this is a strange inclusion in an energy deck, I think it’ll make a great addition to countless artifact-based Commander decks. It’s generic, flexible, and potentially very, very powerful.
Aetheric Amplifier
- Mana Value: 3
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Artifact
- Card Text: Tap: Add one mana of any color.
4, Tap: Choose one. Activate only as a sorcery.
• Double the number of each kind of counter on target permanent.
• Double the number of each kind of counter you have.
Aetheric Amplifier is a bit of a strange one. My first instinct is to say this is far too slow. Three-cost mana rocks haven’t really been great in Commander for some time now, and this is a three-cost mana rock first and foremost. It does provide mana of any color, so it’s likely fine in casual brews, but most serious decks have moved onto two-cost rocks by now.
That said, the activated ability on this thing is potentially wild. Doubling the number of counters on a permanent lets you go nuts with the likes of Rampaging Aetherhood. It also greatly speeds up win cons like Helix Pinnacle and The Millennium Calendar. Doubling the number of counters on yourself is also really interesting, and quite unique. Obviously, you can double your energy this way, but you can also double your experience counters, which is massive for some decks.
For this reason, I think Amplifier will be a bit of a role player in specific decks going forward. It feels a bit slow for energy honestly, given how many other ways you have to generate it. For experience decks or those that rely on building up a lot of counters on permanents, however, it can be a solid finisher.
Adaptive Omnitool
- Mana Value: 2
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Artifact – Equipment
- Card Text: Equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control.
Whenever equipped creature attacks, look at the top six cards of your library. You may reveal an artifact card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Equip 3.
Finally, we come to the card from the Aetherdrift Living Energy Commander deck that I see having the widest pool of applications. Adaptive Omnitool is slow to play and equip, but once it’s on the buff it provides will usually be significant. It’s +1/+1 at minimum due to the Omnitool itself, but in a dedicated artifact deck, it could easily hit double digits. If that sounds high, consider all the artifact lands and artifact tokens such decks typically produce in a given game.
As if that wasn’t enough, Omnitool also draws you more artifacts to fuel itself. Each time the equipped creature attacks, whether it deals damage or not, you get to dig six cards deep for an artifact. This is great for assembling combo pieces, or just for developing your board further. Slap this on a Thopter token and you’ll have a legitimate threat that scales up over time. Not only that, but you’ll have a steady source of card advantage, too.
The only real downside here is the steep equip cost, but there are plenty of ways around that in Commander. Keep an eye on this one; I can see the price spiking soon once it becomes an auto-include in most artifact decks.
High-Value Reprints
The new cards are all well and good, but the Living Energy Aetherdrift Commander deck also packs some top-tier reprints. In terms of pure dollar value, this may be one of the juiciest reprint lineups we’ve seen in a while, actually.
Academy Ruins leads the charge here, coming in at $16-20 a copy right now. That value isn’t particularly surprising. The card is a Commander giga-staple, being an auto-include in pretty much any blue deck with a few artifacts in it. Being able to recur your cards for cheap on a land is fantastic, and there are even combo possibilities here too with the likes of Mindslaver.
Second place goes, somewhat surprisingly, to Elder Gargaroth. This isn’t a card many of you will recognize, since it doesn’t see much play outside of Commander. It’s one of the most efficient green creatures of all time, however, and a fine addition to pretty much any deck in the color. I’m not entirely sure why it was included in this deck specifically, but at $17 a copy I’m certainly not complaining.
As if those two heavy hitters weren’t enough, we also have some stellar artifact reprints here too. Lightning Greaves returns, with gorgeous new art might I add, representing a $6-8 value add. It’s playable in pretty much any Commander deck, given how cheaply it protects your key creatures. Conjurer’s Closet also makes an appearance, hot off its reprint in Innistrad Remastered. This is another staple in the $7 range, so it’s great to see it return here.
Overall, whether you’re here for the new cards or the old, Living Energy brings a ton to the Commander table.