Over the years, Wizards of the Coast has printed a fair few copy engines in MTG. At the very least, these cards can offer tons of value when copying a massive instant or sorcery that anyone casts. With infinite combo potential on top, it’s no wonder that many MTG players hold these cards in high regard.
While MTG has plenty of spell-copying spells and creatures, few can spread the love like Radiant Performer. Rather than just creating only one copy to retarget, this underplayed card from Commander 2021 makes one spell hit everything. Unsurprisingly, not only does this enable some seriously scary combos, but there’s all manner of shenanigans to enjoy too.
MTG Radiant Performer
Radiant Performer might not be as cheap as some of Magic’s other copy engines, but its potential is absolutely ridiculous. MTG content creator Keeping It Casual recently put this on full display in a recent YouTube short. In the video, Radiant Performer was used alongside Chaos Warp, showcasing one of the card’s most ridiculous possible synergies.
Since Chaos Warp can hit any permanent and only has one target, Radiant Performer can make it hit every permanent. While it won’t get around Hexproof, basically everything is on the table here, including lands. This makes the Chaos Warp combo a terrifying threat, as it basically resets the entire game in the most chaotic way possible.
Realistically, playing Chaos Warp into Radiant Performer isn’t a good idea unless your deck is built around it. The chances of your opponents cheating out a massive threat from this play are far too high, but it’s undeniably funny. Thankfully, this is far from the only way to use Radiant Performer, even if you do have to watch out for it being symmetrical.
While it is a bit expensive, in a pinch, Radiant Performer can follow up a removal spell to turn it into a board wipe. As much as this might be effective, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of possibilities. Since Radiant Performer makes them hit each opponent, cards like Bribery, Acquire, and Stolen Goods have tons of potential.
Alternatively, you can easily use Radiant Performer to draw a whole bunch of cards, potentially your entire deck. Alongside single-target cantrips like Afflict or Into the Roil, you can draw an obscene amount of cards. While this can easily set up a win attempt, using Winds of Rebuke can easily end games, provided there are enough nonland permanents in play.
Chaotic Combo Potential
Given Radiant Performer’s insanely powerful ability, basically any spell or ability you copy feels like a combo. That said, there are a few actual combos that should win you the game on the spot. The simplest option available is by copying Door to Nothingness’ ability, although this is admittedly mana-intensive.
Since Door to Nothingness only targets one player, its ability is fair game for copying. While you do need 15 mana to make this happen, it’s undoubtedly one hell of a play. Notably, you will need to stack the triggers in your favor, so yours resolves last. Alternatively, you can just throw in a Tale’s End to counter the ability aimed at you.
Thankfully, other combos using Radiant Performer are slightly less mana-intensive. It only costs seven mana, for instance, to copy Field of Ruin’s nonbasic land destruction ability with River Song in play. So long as there are 14 or more nonbasic lands in play, you’ll be able to dish out 133 damage as you see fit.
While these combos can result in instant wins, the possibilities with Radiant Performer are practically endless. Even copying a simple single-target effect like Control Magic or Confiscate can end games. Confiscate, in particular, is particularly brutal since it’ll steal all of your opponent’s lands, on top of everything else.
A Sleeper Hit
As if the potential of Radiant Performer wasn’t reason enough to play it, this card has the added bonus of being surprisingly underplayed. According to EDHREC, Radiant Performer is only played in around 7,800 decks at the moment. Thanks to this, there’s a good chance your opponent won’t see these unorthodox combo lines coming, making it even stronger.
Beyond being surprising, the low play rate of Radiant Performer also makes it remarkably cheap. Currently, near-mint non-foil copies of this card sell for around $0.60 on TCGplayer, making it a real budget bomb. With a fair bit of supply being available at the moment, too, there’s a good chance it’ll stay fairly accessible.
All in all, with Radiant Performer having potential in a vast array of MTG Commander decks, this card is definitely worth paying attention to. Whether you want to go full chaos with Chaos Warp or just use it for massive value, the possibilities are endless.
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