Are you a fan of cycling decks in EDH? How about other strategies that thrive off of discarding cards, such as Reanimator shells? In either case, Aetherdrift has an incredible new payoff for you!
This new card is capable of providing tons of value over the course of the game. It’s cheap to deploy, and as long as you have plenty of ways to discard cards, you’re going to want access to this tool at all times.
We are, of course, talking about Monument to Endurance.
Monument to Endurance
Monument of Endurance is a neat design. Each turn, you get your pick of three different modes whenever you discard a card. The “Draw a card” mode is often going to be the strongest, as it allows you to pull ahead on resources very quickly.
Because you can only choose an option you haven’t already chosen this turn, you are limited in how many cards you can draw or Treasures you can create each turn cycle. Nonetheless, this isn’t too big of an issue if you have ways to discard cards at instant speed.
As a result, one of the absolute strongest places for Monument of Endurance is in a Gavi, Nest Warden EDH deck. First of all, Gavi ensures that the first card you cycle requires no mana investment. On your turn, cycling a single card will trigger Gavi’s second ability when coupled with your draw step.
Once you factor in Monument of Endurance, though, things get out of hand quickly. On each of your opponent’s turns, all you need to do is cycle a single card to trigger Monument of Endurance.
By choosing to draw a card with Monument, you’ll trigger Gavi in the process. As long as you have enough cards with cycling at your disposal, you can create a 2/2 and draw an extra card every single turn without investing any mana!
Beyond abusing cycling cards, Monument to Endurance works well with even the simplest of looting effects. Merfolk Looter becomes a card advantage machine. Alongside Necrogoyf, you’ll never risk running low on resources, but your opponents sure will. Any Commander that cares about discarding cards, from Chainer, Nightmare Adept to the new Captain Howler, Sea Scourge, is going to want this card.
Standard Setting
While Monument to Endurance is at its best in Commander, the card does have some appeal in Standard if a cycling deck emerges. We already know this archetype has access to a premium one-drop in Marauding Mako. Clamorous Ironclad and Detention Chariot have been spoiled as one-mana cyclers to enable the deck.
Assuming there ends up being enough support, Monument to Endurance could be an important piece of the puzzle. Not only does it help you churn through your library, but it can also end the game very quickly. Cycling a card on your turn and then on your opponent’s turn can already force the opponent to lose six life. In this sense, Monument to Endurance can do a pretty good Zenith Flare impression.
It doesn’t take much to get this card going, and the payoff is enormous. Monument to Endurance is the ultimate build-around, and we’re excited to see how it in action.