For the most part, winning a game of Magic without reducing an opponent’s life to zero is not easy. While these aren’t always the most effective strategies, they can be some of the most fun. Beyond just being fun, many of these unique win conditions are remarkably cheap, thanks to being forgotten over time.
MTG Biovisionary
Biovisionary is a niche MTG win condition that has become significantly easier to use recently. Cards like Mirrormind Crown, Moonlit Meditation, and Mirrorform are relatively recent releases that can create a Biovisionary win on their own. Since this creature’s effect triggers on your endstep, you can easily create a win in just one turn, giving opponents little chance to respond.
If you want to use these cards to create a win, you’ll need token creators that can make enough Biovisionaries in one go. Rite of Replication, Scute Swarm, and Avenger of Zendikar can all easily make enough Biovisionaries with a replacement effect like Mirrormind Crown. Regular copy effects, like Clone and Spark Double, can also get you part of the way there.
While these make a Biovisionary win possible in any Simic Commander deck, there are still a few Commanders that can make your win condition easier. Adrix and Nev, Twincasters and Jackal, Genius Geneticist can easily double up on Biovisionary immediately. That said, of all your options, Esix, Fractal’s Bloom is the best, thanks to being a Mirrormind Crown on a stick. With all the major upgrades Biovisionary has recently received in Commander, it’s surprising that the card is still only $0.45.
MTG Zenos Yae Galvus
Considering how widely applicable Zenos Yae Galvus is, it’s surprising that this card isn’t seeing more play in black MTG Commander decks. Unlike a lot of alternate win conditions that require a lot of focus, Zenos Yae Galvus fits in any black Commander deck.
Once you’ve wiped the board of smaller creatures, a single piece of targeted removal allows you to focus all of your efforts on just one opponent. This makes the card particularly appealing in Voltron decks like Skullbriar the Walking Grave and Kotis, the Fangkeeper, who can blitz down one opponent quickly, but commonly fail to kill everyone.
Considering how easy it is to use this card, it’s rather surprising that Zenos Yae Galvus is still a budget pick. This Final Fantasy rare only goes for about $0.28 at the time of writing, but is unlikely to stay at this price forever. Thanks to being a Final Fantasy card, Zenos Yae Galvus should prove difficult to properly reprint in future sets.
MTG Azor’s Elocutors
Azor’s Elocutors is so innocuous that there’s a decent chance your opponents might just ignore it. While it takes a long time for this creature to win the game on its own, there are a decent number of ways to accelerate Azor’s Elocutors and make it a decent threat.
Running this card in a deck that cares about extra Upkeeps can accelerate how quickly this card wins the game. Sphinx of the Second Sun and Paradox Haze decks like The Prismatic Bridge can essentially double up on Filibuster Counter triggers, winning the game in three turns. Combine this with Proliferate effects like Contagion Engine, and you can easily win the game after getting just one counter on Azor’s Elocutors.
Outside of extra Upkeeps, this card commonly appears in decks that are interested in taxing and slowing down the game. Sokrates, Athenian Teacher, and Angus Mackenzie take combat damage out of the equation, making Azor’s Elocutors’ win condition a lot more deadly. Should the card pique your interest, Azor’s Elocutors is available for just $0.35.
MTG Chance Encounter/MTG Amulet of Quoz
If you want to bet your entire Commander game on a literal coinflip, these two MTG cards let you do that. Amulet of Quoz will only end the game for one player, but Chance Encounter will win you the game if you can win ten coin flips while it’s in play.
Thanks to coin flipping becoming a larger theme in MTG Commander, it’s surprisingly easy to fix these flips in your favor. Krark’s Thumb gives each and every coinflip an opportunity for a do-over, for example. Replicating that effect with something like Clever Impersonator will make your coinflips virtually impossible to fail.
From there, all you need to do is flip a lot of coins in rapid succession. Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom and Okaun, Eye of Chaos can commonly satisfy Chance Encounter after just one coin flip. In spellslinger decks Ral, Monsoon Mage and Krark, the Thumbless can easily wrack up a ton of coin flips. Fortunately for you degenerate gamblers out there, both of these cards are available for around a dollar or less. Instead of gambling with your money, you’ll just be taking a chance with your Commander win percentage.
Stick with us at mtgrocks.com: the best place for Magic: The Gathering coverage!