Edge of Eternities singles, for the most part, are absurdly cheap. Maybe it’s because the set follows in the footsteps of the record-setting MTG Final Fantasy set, but there are a lot of impressive cards in this set that are only worth about a dollar. On top of that, these cards are seeing very little Commander play, presenting an opportunity for players to snatch up some great cards for cheap.
There will always be exceptions, of course, like how Icetill Explorer is already seeing play in over 11,000 decks according to EDHREC. Thankfully, there are a ton of incredibly valuable gems in Edge of Eternities to power up all kinds of Commander strategies.
Starfield Vocalist
Some readers may be confused to see a Panharmonicon effect on a list like this. Replacement effects that create exponential value have always been incredible in Commander, and, as a result, they commonly ask big prices right out of the gate. That’s why when we saw that Starfield Vocalist is only $1, we were quite confused.
There may not be any super obvious homes for Vocalist, but it fits into all kinds of different strategies. Any blue Commander that cares about permanents entering play, or has a strategy that has triggers related to that, will be interested in what Starfield Vocalist has to offer. The Warp effect on this card allows you to set up powerful sequences without exposing Starfield Vocalist to removal and can synergize even further with decks that care about exile. This card is very unlikely to stay at $1 forever.
Haliya, Guided by Light
Haliya, Guided by Light is a bit different from the other mentions. It’s a fantastic budget card for your Commander deck, only running 78 cents, but this card is seeing a lot more play than the other cards on this list. Haliya is a fantastic card for any Commander deck that can satisfy her card draw condition.
The card is an obvious add to any lifegain decks, and also works in decks that want to go wide, but it’s easy to miss that Haliya triggers whenever an artifact enters, as well. This allows the card to work well with decks that generate a lot of artifact tokens, like Clues, Food, and Treasure can also create a lot of value with Haliya. This could make the Human Soldier an underrated pick for the popular Ragost, Deft Gastronaut Commander deck.
So, Haliya, Guided by Light probably fits in a lot more decks than it may seem. It’s surprisingly easy to trigger her draw effect, and the extra life can really help in scrappier games of Commander.
Mutinous Massacre
For players looking for a win condition for their Rakdos decks on a budget, Mutinous Massacre should do exactly what you want. This 50-cent card can act as both a boardwipe and an Insurrection depending on the board state. More often than not, you’ll end up far ahead of your opponents, and you may even get to knock one out for good measure. On a particularly massive board, you’ll end the game outright.
The flexibility of Mutinous Massacre makes this card even better than it looks. While Insurrection, for example, has a higher chance of killing players, it will also be a dead card in more situations. If the cards in play are creatures with nasty abilities instead of stats, Insurrection doesn’t really do the trick. Mutinous Massacre can create tons of value on a bunch of different board states, making it stronger than an average board wipe.
Mutinous Massacre is seeing play in a whole bunch of newer Commanders that can support it in their color identity, but the card has some stronger synergies with specific ones. Kardur, Doomscourge, recently reprinted in Duskmourn Commander, for example, is interested in using Goading effects and profits from creatures dying when attacking. Mutinous Massacre plays into that role perfectly.
Starwinder
Starwinder seems like the perfect type of card to get overlooked absolutely everywhere. The card was considered terrible in Edge of Eternities Draft upon release as well, but thanks to its slower nature, the card is actually a great bomb.
For 40 cents, Starwinder is a fantastic draw engine for go-wide decks in Commander. Bonus points if you can use Flicker effects to turn its Warp mana cost into a stark discount. It doesn’t take much to turn Starwinder into a fresh seven cards in the right strategy.
While Starwinder’s Warp effect is rather situational, it is a decent seven-mana creature, as long as you can draw a decent amount of cards on the same turn you play it. It’s not as impressive as Starfield Vocalist, but for 40 cents, you should certainly get your money’s worth.
Zookeeper Mechan
A lot of MTG commons, especially in recent sets, don’t really get considered for Commander. These cards are usually created with solely Limited in mind, so that isn’t too shocking. Zookeeper Mechan, however, seems to be seeing a surprising amount of play out of the gate.
For the most part, Zookeeper Mechan is being used as a ramp piece in Mono Red Commander decks due to red mana dorks being rather rare. It also has secondary synergies in a lot of the more popular Commanders in that color identity. The card is only worth seven cents and is a neat inclusion in decks with smaller card pools.
Zada, Hedron Grinder is a fantastic home for this creature. You ramp into your Commander on turn three, and in the late game, Zookeeper Mechan’s activated ability pumps your entire team. The card plays a similar role in Daretti, Scrap Savant decks, where it ramps into your Commander, then Daretti can trade it in for a bigger artifact. Shadow the Hedgehog can use Mechan to make your spells uncounterable, and Sami, Wildcat Captain can use this to get it into play early, as well as make all your other artifacts cheaper.
A particularly interesting mention outside of mono-red is Dr. Eggman from the Sonic Secret Lair. Zookeeper Mechan is a Robot, which allows Dr. Eggman to cheat it in as part of his Villainous Choice ability. This isn’t exactly a powerful Robot from that perspective, but it does, at least, give the trigger some value if you have no other options. Mechan doubles as ramp in that deck in the early game.
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