Spell Sharing Mystery Booster Commander Creates Two-Card Instant Win Combo

As soon as the first cards from Mystery Booster: Commander Edition were spoiled, it was clear this set would be a fan favorite. On top of many of the new Commanders having powerful and wild new abilities, there are some real oddballs. New MTG cards like Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle are so unusual, in fact, that they seem almost bad on the surface.

Thankfully, while Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle does require some specific support, it has tons of exciting potential. Between breaking parity and going for a two-card combo win, Elda can easily hold its own.

MTG Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle

At the very least, Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle is effectively a Group Hug Commander on steroids. Unlike Ms Bumbleflower Ms Bumbleflower Vigilance
Whenever you cast a spell, target opponent draws a card. Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. It gains flying until end of turn. If this is the second time this ability has resolved this turn, you draw two cards. , who just gives out card draw, Elda provides actual cards for your choice of opponent. Thankfully, not only is this a may ability, but since it’s a Demonstrate trigger, you’ll get an extra copy, too.

If nothing else, this makes Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle perfect for politicking at the Commander table. You can easily forge alliances by giving out useful cards, like Sakura-Tribe Elder Sakura-Tribe Elder Sacrifice this creature: Search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. , while getting two copies for yourself. Notably, since Elda lets you Demonstrate any non-legendary spell, you can even double up on non-creature spells like Secret Rendezvous Secret Rendezvous You and target opponent each draw three cards. .

While Elda can be effective on its own, there are tons of support to tip the scales. For starters, cards like Silverquill Lecturer Silverquill Lecturer Creature spells you cast have demonstrate. (Whenever you cast a creature spell, you may copy it. If you do, choose an opponent to also copy it. Each copy becomes a token.) will give you even more Demonstrate triggers, while Nesting Dovehawk Nesting Dovehawk Flying
At the beginning of combat on your turn, populate. (Create a token that's a copy of a creature token you control.)
Whenever a creature token you control enters, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. lets you duplicate your tokens. Speaking of which, the Commander classics of Parallel Lives Parallel Lives If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead. and Anointed Procession Anointed Procession If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead. turn token generation up to 11, letting you surge ahead.

When it comes to copying creatures, Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle goes in a bit of an unusual direction. There are plenty of strong enters effects, like Eternal Witness Eternal Witness When this creature enters, you may return target card from your graveyard to your hand. and staples like Esper Sentinel Esper Sentinel Whenever an opponent casts their first noncreature spell each turn, draw a card unless that player pays {X}, where X is this creature's power. to consider. For the most part, however, Elda is secretly a Sliver-focused deck, as the abundance of lords and bodies quickly gets out of hand.

Alongside Hivestone Hivestone Creatures you control are Slivers in addition to their other creature types. , a single Demonstrated Might Sliver Might Sliver All Sliver creatures get +2/+2. will net your entire board a +6/+6 buff, since your opponent’s copy counts, too. While this is incredibly powerful, especially with a board built out by Brood Sliver Brood Sliver Whenever a Sliver deals combat damage to a player, its controller may create a 1/1 colorless Sliver creature token. , it’s equally dangerous. After all, with your opponents also getting the effects of Gemhide Sliver Gemhide Sliver All Slivers have "{T}: Add one mana of any color." and Harmonic Sliver Harmonic Sliver All Slivers have "When this permanent enters, destroy target artifact or enchantment." , you’re dishing out seriously powerful Slivers.

A Dangerous but Dastardly Combo

Thankfully, if your opponent’s boards are getting out of hand, Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle does have an ace up its sleeve. Alongside Leveler Leveler When this creature enters, exile all cards from your library. , Elda can exile the entire library of one opponent, effectively guaranteeing their death. Notably, unless you drop Hushbringer Hushbringer Flying, lifelink
Creatures entering or dying don't cause abilities to trigger. afterward at instant speed, your own two Levelers will exile your library, too.

With this in mind, you only really want to use Leveler as a last-ditch attempt to finish off your final opponent. Provided you play Leveler after your upkeep, you don’t have to worry about running something like Hushbringer, either. Realistically, the only thing you need to watch out for with this combo is that it’ll technically make your deck Bracket 4+. 

Builder’s Choice

Realistically, the best bit about Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle is that Demonstrate should always push you ahead when used correctly. With this in mind, you don’t need to build around Slivers if you don’t want to, especially since they’re quite contentious. Realistically, any synergistic archetype, ranging from typal strategies to themes like go-wide, can work with Elda.

Essentially, this makes Elda a fantastic Commander to brew with, especially if you like the more political side of Commander. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle is already fairly popular in Commander. According to EDHREC, Elda is the 6th most popular Mystery Booster: Commander Edition card, though the set isn’t out yet.

Sadly, since this set hasn’t been released, it’s unclear how much Elda will cost. Hopefully, once the set’s release date rolls around on November 13th, things should become clearer. Even then, prices may be very high to start, since supply will be at its lowest, but we’re getting plenty of MagicCons in 2027.

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