[Official]
The Top 50 List (Indefinite Hiatus)
Poll: Which WHITE CREATURE should be removed from the list?
Ended Feb 16, 2019
Poll: Which BLACK CREATURES should be removed from the list? (Pick 4)
Ended Feb 16, 2019
Poll: Which GREEN NONCREATURE should be removed from the list?
Ended Feb 16, 2019
Poll: Which COLORLESS NONCREATURE should be removed from the list?
Ended Feb 16, 2019
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Please get your nominations in for next week as well.
There are currently no changes to the list, but we have a tie breaker poll for the last slot.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Also, I would never run Krosan Verge anywhere. The effect is very subpar for Gx decks.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
I also support Inventor's Fair.
GWU Derevi, the Prison Queen UWG
Marath, Will of the Wild
Friendly Kess Twin Combo
Tatyova - Sir Bounce A Lot
Gonti's Luxury Pie
Prime (Eldrazi) Speaker Zegana (Retired)
I'm against both Narset and artifact heavy decks very often and I don't even consider either card. I agree that they both need to go. Tec edge is good, and in heavy control lists with Crucible I don't mind having both Tec Edge, Strip Mine, Wasteland and Dust Bowl. I don't think it's among the top 50 though - but it's better than a fair amount of cards on the list and since we're somehow supposed to not put mana-fixing lands there (but Urborg is fine for some reason), it probably deserves a slot.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
If we were to include color-fixing lands in the list (cycles would have 1 slot per cycle, so Fetches would be one slot for example), I don't think I would have Volrath's Stronghold in a top 50 slot, but the other two I would definitely have. But yeah, someone is definitely elevator voting (which won't matter by the end unless a lot of people do it, so it's whatever).
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
Yes it surely doesn't matter...I would just note that Abe Sargent put Volrath's Stronghold as his #1 multiplayer card ever...of any card, not just lands. You may quibble with his rankings but I personally can't see Volrath's Stronghold not being on a top50 list, even one including mana-fixers like you describe.
I have no idea who Abe Sargent is, but I have a hard time taking a top 25 list seriously when it has stuff like Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Plague Wind and Stuffy Doll but no Moxen (among a lot of other stuff that's better Stuffy Doll. There's a lot of stuff I'd take out before Volrath's Strongholdso it'd would probably still make my top 50, but it's not the auto-include stuff like Workshop, Strip Mine, Cradle or Fetches would be.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
If I owned one, I might consider playing it in Karlov, but even there, I don't think it would make the cut. If I wanted a similar effect in any other deck, I'd just play High Market, because it can produce mana. The cut-off bar for a land that doesn't either produce mana or fetch a mana producer is pretty darn high in my decks. Even treating those sorts of lands as a spell rather than a land when calculating land ratios, Maze of Ith sometimes doesn't make the cut in my decks (I run it in two decks, but have an additional copy that isn't currently being played). I don't think I'd even consider Diamond Valley most of the time.
This card is unobtanium for all but the richest or oldest of school, but I've had the pleasure of playing with it online and in my opinion it's a top 10 card in general multiplayer and still at least top 25 in commander. Free sac outlets are everywhere but few give you the benefit that Diamond Valley does alongside its relative immortality, and the fact it can be played in any colour deck.
People take life points for granted but when you're spending them willy-nilly and taking hits in the meantime they can drain pretty fast and then you're vulnerable to getting alpha-striked. Life points are a resource and there are a lot of things to spend them on, particularly when you're black. At the same time, all the colours except white actually have a relatively difficult time gaining life; and besides that white and blue and even green to a lesser extent have few sac outlets. The combination of being free to use, having a relatively strong effect, being colourless and virtually invincible means IMO Diamond Valley would be a much more played card if anyone actually owned one.
I own a copy and have played it in a few decks. Its not a card I run as frequently as High Market but in the decks where I want Diamond Valey its not something I would compare to High Market. I ran it in an Omnath, Locus of Mana deck and it was nice for big value lifegain. Its kind of niche when it becomes relevant because of the fact that it does not tap for mana. I think I ran it in a Derevi, Empyrial Tactician deck as well and it was alright as well.
Overall, its very powerful but its sort of niche as to when its good. I suspect a Child of Alara deck may also run it. I dont think its super frequent that it gets run but it can be kind of huge when it is good.
It really is a good card, its just kind of selective as to when I would play it.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
There's other banned cards on there (Tinker and Fastbond) so I doubt that's the reason. The list seems oriented towards a very casual meta, which is why a lot of cards I consider unplayable is on there. I don't think the list has any merit at all if you were to decide the 25 best cards for multiplayer, even if I agree on some of them.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
His list is valuable for helping new (and possibly more experienced, there's probably a few hidden gems there in 100-26) players card to play with in commander. I don't think the list is meritless overall, but when deciding the best cards in commander a card being on the list doesn't add to it's case.
I do still think Volrath's Stronghold is a really good card, it's just not the cream of the crop landwise and I could see why anyone would vote against it, even if I think there's probably 30 or so worse cards on the list.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
From the tie breaker: Chromatic Lantern managed to keep it's spot, so there will be no further changes to the list.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Changes to the list:
Cut
Tower of the Magistrate
Added
Inventor's Fair
Please submit your nominations for white creatures!
I'll kick this off and nominate Recruiter of the Guard.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
I still think Avacyn is hot garbage. It's nowhere near as impactful as it should be for 8 mana if you're playing it fair, and there's far better options for reanimating things. The only time I've seen her do anything was when she was revealed by Chaos Warp with Mother of Runes protection and then another player cast Armageddon.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
Stonecloaker is fairly good. The biggest strike against it is that it's not very efficient, but it can shine in slower games. I'd say there's better creatures not on the list, but I don't mind it being on there.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
Stonehewer Giant is a card I didn't think much of until I started to play against it. If your opponents don't respect it, it's a card that can win the game on its own along with cards you are probably already playing (eg Swiftfoot Boots, Darksteel Plate, Swords.) There aren't many other 5cc creatures that can make that claim. Once the Giant isn't summoning sick, it can protect itself from any form of removal by flashing in equipment like the aforementioned in response. For this reason, I will almost always kill a Stonehewer Giant on sight if possible. It's a tutor, it casts spells free, and it casts sorcery speed effects at instant, and I hear those are all good in commander.
For the record, I consider Stonecloaker close to auto-include in W. Reusable, targeted, instant-speed grave hate? Bouncing an ETB creature or saving a key creature from an exile effect while also messing with a graveyard? Worst-case scenario, it's an instant-speed, flying blocker. What's not to like about that?