Get This Sleeper cEDH Powerhouse From Midnight Hunt While It's Still Cheap

A certain curmudgeonly wizard, accompanied by a merry spirit, are infiltrating the Commander format. The card’s presence has been rather inconspicuous thus far, but the sheer number of decks it’s included in is growing, and fast.

Not many people have picked up on Malevolent Hermit’s potential in Commander. But it plays a crucial role in the format. It is an especially key player in cEDH, a sub-genre of Commander where only the most competitive decks are played.

Malevolent Hermit & Benevolent Geist

• 

• 

• 

• 

You may have seen Malevolent Hermit in Standard sideboards and in decks like Izzet Turns. In Standard, the card serves as an early form of disruption, and is later used to ensure your Alrund’s Epiphany Alrund’s Epiphany Create two 1/1 blue Bird creature tokens with flying. Take an extra turn after this one. Exile Alrund's Epiphany.
Foretell {4}{U}{U} (During your turn, you may pay {2} and exile this card from your hand face down. Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost.) resolves.

But it turns out that Malevolent Hermit may be a multi-format performer, as it is popping up in tons of cEDH decks. For that reason, it would be wise to pick up a few copies now while the card is still relatively cheap.

The regular art version of Malevolent Hermit is currently selling for about $2.00 on TCGPlayer. The extended art copy, however, has seen recent upwards price momentum as depicted in the graph below and is currently around $4.00-$5.00.

Read More: This Card PLUMETTED In Price…Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

What is Malevolent Hermit’s Role in Commander?

Just as it is used in Standard, Malevolent Hermit can be used as a form of disruption in Commander. But the bigger selling point of the card in Commander is actually Benevolent Geist.

Benevolent Geist makes all of your noncreature spells uncounterable. This is fantastic insurance for resolving your deck’s best spells like Ad Nauseum and combo pieces like Demonic Consultation.

• 

• 

Read More: Best Cards to Buy For Eruth, Tormented Prophet in Commander

What Decks Are Using Malevolent Hermit?

• 

• 

• 

I’ve scoured through every deck in the cEDH Decklist Database (a compilation of tried and true, competitive EDH decks) and put together a list of every Commander deck including Malevolent Hermit:

• Urza, Lord High Artificer Urza, Lord High Artificer When Urza enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
  Tap an untapped artifact you control: Add {U}.
  {5}: Shuffle your library, then exile the top card. Until end of turn, you may play that card without paying its mana cost.
• Azami, Lady of Scrolls Azami, Lady of Scrolls Tap an untapped Wizard you control: Draw a card.
• Emry, Lurker of the Loch Emry, Lurker of the Loch Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each artifact you control.)
  When Emry enters, mill four cards.
  {T}: Choose target artifact card in your graveyard. You may cast that card this turn. (You still pay its costs. Timing rules still apply.)
• Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Grand Arbiter Augustin IV White spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
  Blue spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
  Spells your opponents cast cost {1} more to cast.
• Lavinia, Azorius Renegade Lavinia, Azorius Renegade Each opponent can't cast noncreature spells with mana value greater than the number of lands that player controls.
  Whenever an opponent casts a spell, if no mana was spent to cast it, counter that spell.
• Kels, Fight Fixer Kels, Fight Fixer Menace
  Whenever you sacrifice a creature, you may pay {U/B}. If you do, draw a card. ({U/B} can be paid with either {U} or {B}.)
  {1}, Sacrifice a creature: Kels gains indestructible until end of turn.
• Nymris, Oona’s Trickster Nymris, Oona’s Trickster Flash
  Flying
  Whenever you cast your first spell during each opponent's turn, look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of those cards into your hand and the other into your graveyard.
• Araumi of the Dead Tide Araumi of the Dead Tide {T}, Exile cards from your graveyard equal to the number of opponents you have: Target creature card in your graveyard gains encore until end of turn. The encore cost is equal to its mana cost. (Exile the creature card and pay its mana cost: For each opponent, create a token copy that attacks that opponent this turn if able. They gain haste. Sacrifice them at the beginning of the next end step. Activate only as a sorcery.)
• Derevi, Empyrial Tactician Derevi, Empyrial Tactician Flying
  When Derevi enters and whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may tap or untap target permanent.
  {1}{G}{W}{U}: Put Derevi onto the battlefield from the command zone.
• Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign Flying, vigilance, menace
  Whenever Yennett attacks, reveal the top card of your library. You may cast it without paying its mana cost if its mana value is odd. If you don't cast it, draw a card.
• Aminatou, the Fateshifter Aminatou, the Fateshifter +1: Draw a card, then put a card from your hand on top of your library.
  −1: Exile another target permanent you own, then return it to the battlefield under your control.
  −6: Choose left or right. Each player gains control of all nonland permanents other than Aminatou controlled by the next player in the chosen direction.
  Aminatou, the Fateshifter can be your commander.
• Kess, Dissident Mage Kess, Dissident Mage Flying
  Once during each of your turns, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from your graveyard. If a spell cast this way would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead.
• Animar, Soul of Elements Animar, Soul of Elements Protection from white and from black
  Whenever you cast a creature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Animar.
  Creature spells you cast cost {1} less to cast for each +1/+1 counter on Animar.
• Tasigur, the Golden Fang Tasigur, the Golden Fang Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
  {2}{G/U}{G/U}: Mill two cards, then return a nonland card of an opponent's choice from your graveyard to your hand.
• Jorn, God of Winter Jorn, God of Winter Whenever Jorn attacks, untap each snow permanent you control. / Kaldring, the Rimestaff Kaldring, the Rimestaff Whenever Jorn attacks, untap each snow permanent you control.
• Plenty of 3-5 color ‘Farm’ Decks featuring partner commanders

—

If you’re playing any of the above commanders, you might want to consider buying a copy of Malevolent Hermit for your deck.

But I’d recommend picking up copies of Hermit even if you’re playing a different commander than in the listed ones above. Hermit clearly has potential in the Commander format. Many blue decks are going to want access to this effect. So, for the low price of $2.00, Malevolent Hermit could make a good long-term investment.

Read More: Standard Zombies Could Crawl Out of the Grave and Up in Price