6, Jul, 23

The MTG Best Changeling Cards for Commander!

Commander, and Magic: the Gathering, in general, has a lot of cards that feature payoffs that care about a certain creature type. Whether you want to adhere to a certain payoff, like the Eminence ability of The Ur-Dragon, or you just want to play a silly Crab Typal deck, Changeling cards can be the glue that helps fill in some of the holes in your Commander decks.

Of course, Changeling cards can also be an opportunity to create a rather unique Commander take on various favorites. I’ve seen The Ur-Dragon as a Dragon deck a lot, but I do have a friend who enjoys running Changelings instead. This allows you to use other specific Typal payoffs from cards like various Sliver creatures to create a bizarre combination of effects.

The purpose of this article, however, will be suggesting some Changeling cards to help shore up the more niche archetypes with less playable on-theme threats. Wraith Typal, for example, appears to be quite popular, but does not have a lot of in-theme threats.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best Changeling cards in Commander, in no particular order, that could help you find the missing pieces that you need for your deck, regardless of what it is!

A small caveat here: we will only be looking at Changelings that are actively creatures, or cards that create Changeling creatures. There are a lot Tribal instant/sorcery cards out there with the Changeling subtype, but those do not necessary create Changeling creatures.

Black Market Connections

I literally cannot think of a better placeholder for black ‘creature type matters’ decks. Forget Black Market Connections being the best Changeling card out there, its just one of the best black Commander cards out there.

Creating a 3/2 Changeling every one of your precombat main phases is just one of the things that Black Market Connections can do. You can also Create a Treasure Token if you need mana, and draw a card if you’re short on things to do. This is a ton of value for a three-mana enchantment.

The downside is that doing these things will cost you life. Creating a Changeling is the most expensive of the options, requiring three life as an exchange. Drawing a card will cost you two life, while creating a Treasure costs one life. You have 40 life in Commander, so there’s a lot of wiggle room to play with. Just know that paying seven life per turn, while definitely being worth it, will add up quickly.

Mirror Entity

This Changeling creature doesn’t just want to be in Typal decks, it just wants to be in any white Commander deck that cares about creatures. If you have mana to invest, Mirror Entity can turn your entire board into gigantic threats. This is great for a deck trying to go wide by generating a ton of small creatures.

Morophon, the Boundless

This is one of the coolest Commander cards ever printed. Morophon, the Boundless offers the opportunity for players to play any Typal deck they may desire. Want to try Octopus matters? Morophon can do that!

The card is also a decent inclusion in other decks that want to abuse the mana reduction ability on Morophon. One example that really sticks with me is the interaction between this card and The First Sliver. Morophon literally makes that card free to cast, which can lead to a disgusting sequence of Cascading Slivers.

Because Morophon itself is a Changeling, you can cheat it out with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord, which can then cheat out The First Sliver. This can easily lead to a turn three, or earlier, win, if you so desire.

If interested, here is a list of cards you can cast for free with Morophon over on Scryfall.

Orvar, the All-Form

Orvar, the All-Form sees a good amount of Modern play, but it has nothing to do with the card being a Changeling. This card solely sees play in Modern because its a good sideboard option against one of the more popular archetypes in the format. This card is great discard hate.

If a permanent is causing you to discard a card in a powerful way, Orvar is great at flipping the script and turning that discard into a copy of a permanent – generally the thing causing you to discard Orvar. Archon of Cruelty is the general target for Orvar in Modern, with the idea being that your copy of the Archon will cause your opponent to sacrifice theirs. This was also a popular sideboard piece in MTG Arena’s digital-only formats when Citystalker Connoisseur was one of the better things to be doing.

In Commander, Orvar can easily be your Commander with its primary abilities. Creating a copy of things you target with instants and sorceries, especially when those things are lands, is an incredibly powerful and unique ability.

Sadly, this card isn’t a great ‘Changeling’ if you have a Typal deck. Sure, if that deck also has a theme that can utilize Orvar’s ability, this could be a strong inclusion. Generally, however, Commander decks that want Orvar are ones that can utilize the first ability on the card.

Realmwalker

Realmwalker offers the exact opposite type of payoff that Orvar does. This card goes all-in on being whatever Typal card advantage you need it to be. Besides being a Changeling itself, Realmwalker allows you to cast cards with the creature type of your choice from the top of your library. This can generate a surprising amount of advantage if the game goes long.

Read More: Common LOTR Cycle Elevates Mana Fixing Across Formats!

Taurean Mauler

Taurean Mauler is an example of a Changeling that gets much better in a Commander setting. When facing three opponents, this card threatens to get big fast. Even if each opponent only casts one spell in a turn cycle, the Mauler will become a 5/5 for three mana after one turn, which is great value, especially when you have Typal payoffs.

More often than not, however, Taurean Mauler will end up being a much bigger threat than just a 5/5, begging your opponents to spend something to deal with it. For just three mana, this seems pretty great.

Read More: Top 10 Most Expensive Cards in an LOTR Collector Booster!

Unsettled Mariner

Unsettled Mariner is at its strongest when your Commander table is trying to end the game quickly. That way, the tax that this card requires when opponents try to target your permanents with a spell or ability is a lot more impactful. Giving all your permanents Ward 1 may not seem too strong at first glance but, if this is played early alongside other powerful threats, it can seriously slow down your opponent’s development.

Like all the other Changelings on this list, Unsettled Mariner may do its best in decks where it can benefit from other synergies. While this card is definitely better suited for a constructed setting, it can still be rather powerful in Commander.

Read More: A Guide on How to Draft the Worst Color in MTG Lord of the Rings

Masked Vandal

A seemingly innocent uncommon from Kaldheim, Masked Vandal can pack a punch. As long as you have enough creatures to consistently trigger its enter the battlefield ability, Masked Vandal can become an excellent answer to a threatening artifact or enchantment while keeping your board presence rolling along.

Interestingly, thanks to a new powerful addition to Magic, Masked Vandal may be a lot better in the game’s current environment. This is, notably, one of the cleaner answers to a resolved The One Ring. The card is taking over Modern and Legacy at a fast rate, and is basically an auto-include in every single Commander deck. The card is also Indestructible, which requires unique answers from other players to deal with it. For two mana, Masked Vandal does a great job at answering The One Ring, especially if it has other synergies with your strategy.

Read More: Top 11 MTG Most Expensive Mythic Rares: July 2023

Keep Looking!

If this list doesn’t address the Changeling card you need for your Commander deck, there are more out there! Maskwood Nexus can turn all your creatures into every creature type while pumping out Changelings on its own. It may not be what every deck is looking for, however, since the card itself doesn’t do very much on its own.

Either way, hopefully this Changeling list was of some help to you. Its good to remember that, if you’re trying to feature a wonky MTG creature type with few playables, Changeling effects can be used to help fill the gap.

Read More: MTG Lord of the Rings Limited Has Massive Balancing Problems!

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