Ten Underplayed Commander cards

There are plenty of cards that are considered staples. Demonic tutor, wheel of fortune, survival of the fittest, mana drain, these are all things we can call staples and budget allowing often make the cut in all the decks they possibly can. I'm gonna take a look at ten cards that I feel don't get enough love in the format. A lot of these cards I consider for every deck I make and can change the game in your favor very easily. All of these cards are also under a budget, give them a try and let me know what you think.


10: CAUSTIC CATERPILLAR



This little guy should really be in every deck that has green in it. Imagine a situation where you land him turn one against a deck that runs enchantments or artifacts, you know, like all of them.
Yes you're looking at a three mana investment much like Reclamation sage, Quasli Pridemage, and Krosan grip. But the difference is this guy comes down turn 1 and is doing relevant work by having opponents think twice if they want to drop that sol ring or if they really can win via Omniscience this turn.










9: TREASONOUS OGRE 

Fun fact: Paying life for effects is often broken. Look at Necropotence and Reanimate. Both of them allow you to pay life in order to have 7 cards in hand at all times or cheat in a fatty without paying it's cost.
This guy is a little different but I can't tell you how often I've gotten a turn 1 Ugin or Karn because of him. Land him with some rocks like Mana vault or ritual effects like Desperate Ritual and then pay just a tiny bit of life and land a dragon planeswalker to end the game. Hope your opponents mulled to a force of will.








8: SIGNETS AND TALISMANS....ALL OF THEM

 If you're building a deck the first few things you'll consider is ramp like sol ring, birds of paradise, mana vault, and whatnot. Ramping into finishers is super important and lets you play powerful spells turns in advance. However a majority of the cards I see used for this are often sorcery/instants like Cultivate or Skyshroud Claim. Now there isn't anything really wrong with that but those guys don't often come down into turn 3 or 4. Why wait that long? Sure signets aren't adding as much mana as boundless realms or whatever but they come down turn 1 or 2 and allow you to play impactful spells directly after. Even better when you have a talisman so you have mana open to cast that top of deck tutor you need to win the game.







7: FRONTIER SIEGE 

 This is way better than Thran dynamo in every way, and yet I never see it in hardly any decks. This card adds 4 green mana to your pool every turn compared to the 3 colorless than Dynamo does. Also it has another mode that I have no idea what it does. I'm sure it's not relevant. Sure Dynamo may be better in artifact decks or not green ones (Probably not) but at that point why not just play Gilded lotus.











6/5: PYROBLAST AND RED ELEMENTAL BLAST

Is having two pretty much the same cards in the list cheating? Yes?...oh well. These guys are 1 mana counters for blue. You know that color that keeps beating your armpit tribal deck. These guys give blue the finger by turning one red source sideways. And if you draw it after the spell resolved just blow it up. Yes for 1 red mana you can blow up Omniscience, JTMS, dream halls, Jin-Gixatias.


Play these cards









4: WEAR/TEAR

Instant speed kill of two threats. Lower mana cost than return to dust. I get that the two color restricts it's play but whenever I ask about best two for one's I always hear return to dust and not this.
Wear/Tear is fantastic if the deck fits.








3: VANDALBLAST

Ah, but what can be better than wiping 2 things off the board super early? How about wiping everything off the board shortly after. It's not secret that Artifacts are powerful in commander. Teferi, Brago, Breya and plenty of other powerful decks all shower the board with ramp and powerful rocks and this card blows them all out of the water. There are plenty of cards similar to this that cost the same mana but they blow up all artifacts. This one keeps yours alive, has a lower cmc so relevant cards like beeseech the queen and dark confidant work better with them and they can be done on turn 1 after an opponent plays a turn one ring or vault. There goes their plans.
I debated putting Nature's claim on this list as well but thankfully that card is getting the love it deserves.






2: MENTAL MISSTEP 

There are few things more satisfying than the "Gotcha Bitch" moment when you counter someone's sol ring before it's even your turn. Too narrow for you? How about countering vamp tutor, enlightened tutor, sensei's top, gamble, worldly tutor, swords to plowshares, mana vault, imperial seal, vandalblast, swan song,  caustic Caterpillar, deathrite shaman, birds of paradise, brainstorm, preordain, ponder, skullclamp, path to exile, and many many more. And all with that smug look on your face. God this card is great.









1: CARPET OF FLOWERS 

Now I can see people arguing over placement of cards on this list and honestly I didn't really put them in order. I feel like all of them are very underplayed and all deserve more attention. I don't think that many of them deserve more recognition than another.


EXCEPT CARPET OF FUCKING FLOWERS.

Are you playing in a group with heavy blue and plenty of dual lands around? This card will often net you 3+ mana a turn. It's a green dark ritual or sol ring for colored mana of your choice. Every single turn.

Imagine magic christmas land.
Your opponent drops an exploration with tropical island and drops another island.
You play carpet of flowers and main phase two you have 2 black mana to entomb and reanimate whatever you want. Or you have two extra mana for flash into academy rector for wins. I know this situation isn't likely but the number of games where this card lands and generates 15+ mana over a few turns is insane. There are plenty of lists I make that a few of these cards may not make the cut.
I always find room for Carpet of flowers.
Always

Play it







So, what's one thing you noticed about these cards? They're all super low in cmc. When you have a vast cardpool you have access to some of the most powerful cards in magic's history. A lot of very powerful plays can be done super early and I feel like these cards can help you in a world like this.

So that's my list. Do you feel like anything is really missing from here? Am I insane for skipping on your golden treasure? Are these cards actually played in your neck of the woods? Let me know and we can start a discussion


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