Commander MVP from each Magic Set - Poll 6 (Mirrodin and Kamigawa Blocks)
Poll: What is the 'MVP' from Mirrodin?
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What is the 'MVP' from Mirrodin? - Single Choice
- Artifact Lands (Ancient Den, Seat of Synod, etc.) 0%
- Myr Cycle (Copper Myr, Gold Myr, etc.) 0%
- Talisman Cycle (Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Impulse, etc.) 5.8%
- Barter in Blood 0%
- Blinkmoth Urn 0%
- Bosh, Iron Golem 0%
- Chalice of the Void 0%
- Chrome Mox 1.9%
- Confusion in the Ranks 0%
- Crystal Shard 0%
- Disciple of the Vault 0%
- Duplicant 3.8%
- Extraplanar Lens 0%
- Fabricate 0%
- Gilded Lotus 7.7%
- Kark's Thumb 0%
- Lightning Greaves 38.5%
- Mind's Eye 1.9%
- Mindslaver 0%
- Oblivion Stone 1.9%
- Platinum Angel 0%
- Promise of Power 0%
- Proteus Staff 0%
- Sculpting Steel 0%
- Second Sunrise 0%
- Solemn Simulacrum 26.9%
- Thirst for Knowledge 0%
- Tooth and Nail 11.5%
- Vedalken Archmage 0%
- Other 0%
Poll: What is the 'MVP' from Darksteel?
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What is the 'MVP' from Darksteel? - Single Choice
- Aether Snap 0%
- Arcbound Ravager 0%
- Darksteel Citadel 0%
- Darksteel Colossus 2%
- Darksteel Forge 2%
- Darksteel Ingot 2%
- Darksteel Reactor 0%
- Death Cloud 2%
- Genesis Chamber 0%
- Memnarch 2%
- Mycosynth Lattice 2%
- Reshape 0%
- Savage Beating 0%
- Skullclamp 84%
- Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer 0%
- Spawning Pit 0%
- Sword of Fire and Ice 0%
- Sword of Light and Shadow 2%
- Trinisphere 2%
- Viridian Zealot 0%
- Voltaic Construct 0%
- Other 0%
Poll: What is the 'MVP' from Fifth Dawn?
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What is the 'MVP' from Fifth Dawn? - Single Choice
- Acquire 0%
- All Suns' Dawn 0%
- Auriok Salvagers 0%
- Beacon of Creation 0%
- Bringer of the Black Dawn 0%
- Bringer of the Blue Dawn 0%
- Bringer of the Green Dawn 0%
- Bringer of the Red Dawn 0%
- Bringer of the White Dawn 0%
- Clock of Omens 0%
- Condescend 0%
- Crucible of Worlds 16%
- Doubling Cube 0%
- Engineered Explosives 0%
- Eon Hub 0%
- Etched Oracle 0%
- Eternal Witness 70%
- Fist of Suns 0%
- Krark-Clan Ironworks 2%
- Night's Whisper 2%
- Relentless Rats 0%
- Serum Visions 0%
- Staff of Domination 0%
- Trinket Mage 0%
- Vedalken Orrery 8%
- Vedalken Shackles 0%
- Other 2%
Poll: What is the 'MVP' from Champions of Kamigawa?
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What is the 'MVP' from Champions of Kamigawa? - Single Choice
- Honden Cycle (Honden of Life's Web, Honden of Cleansing Fire, etc.) 0%
- Azami, Lady of Scrolls 8.5%
- Azusa, Lost But Seeking 4.3%
- Boseiju, Who Shelters All 2.1%
- Eight-and-a-Half Tails 0%
- Forbidden Orchard 4.3%
- Glimpse of Nature 0%
- Godo, Bandit Warlord 2.1%
- Hinder 0%
- Horobi, Death's Wail 0%
- Keiga, the Tide Star 0%
- Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 6.4%
- Kodama's Reach 21.3%
- Kokusho, the Evening Star 4.3%
- Marrow-Gnawer 0%
- Meloku the Clouded Mirror 0%
- Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4.3%
- Myojin of Cleansing Fire 0%
- Myojin of Infinite Rage 0%
- Myojin of Life's Web 0%
- Myojin of Night's Reach 0%
- Myojin of Seeing Winds 0%
- Night of Soul's Betrayal 0%
- Reweave 0%
- Sakura-Tribe Elder 38.3%
- Shizo, Death's Storehouse 0%
- Through the Breach 0%
- Yosei, the Morning Star 4.3%
- Other 0%
Poll: What is the 'MVP' from Betrayers of Kamigawa?
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What is the 'MVP' from Betrayers of Kamigawa? - Single Choice
- Blazing Shoal 0%
- Disrupting Shoal 0%
- Final Judgment 10.6%
- Genju of the Realm 0%
- Goryo's Vengeance 0%
- Heartless Hidetsugu 2.1%
- Hokori, Dust Drinker 0%
- In the Web of War 2.1%
- Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni 6.4%
- Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 6.4%
- Mirror Gallery 0%
- Patron of the Akki 0%
- Patron of the Kitsune 0%
- Patron of the Moon 2.1%
- Patron of the Nezumi 0%
- Patron of the Orochi 2.1%
- Shining Shoal 0%
- Sickening Shoal 0%
- Umezawa's Jitte 66%
- Other 2.1%
Poll: What is the 'MVP' from Saviors of Kamigawa?
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What is the 'MVP' from Saviors of Kamigawa? - Single Choice
- Death Denied 0%
- Endless Swarm 0%
- Enduring Ideal 2.2%
- Eternal Dominion 0%
- Ideas Unbound 0%
- Kagemaro, First to Suffer 4.3%
- Kami of the Crescent Moon 0%
- Kataki, War's Wage 8.7%
- Meishin, the Mind Cage 0%
- Mikokoro, Center of the Sea 15.2%
- Miren, the Moaning Well 15.2%
- Overwhelming Intellect 2.2%
- Pithing Needle 41.3%
- Reki, the History of Kamigawa 6.5%
- Other 4.3%
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Link to Poll 3
Link to Poll 4
Link to Poll 5
Alpha/Beta/Unlimited - Sol Ring
Arabian Nights - City of Brass
Antiquities - Ashnod's Altar
Legends - Sylvan Library
The Dark - Maze of Ith
Fallen Empires - High Tide
Ice Age - Necropotence
Homelands - Merchant Scroll
Alliances - Force of Will
Mirage - Tutors Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Worldly Tutor
Visions - Vampiric Tutor
Weatherlight - Buried Alive
Tempest - Tied Ancient Tomb and Living Death
Stonghold - Gravepact
Exodus - Survival of the Fittest
Urza's Saga - Gaea's Cradle
Urza's Legacy - Karmic Guide
Urza's Destiny - Academy Rector
Mercadian Masques - Bribery
Nemesis - Skyshroud Claim
Prophecy - Rhystic Study
Invasion - Aura Shards
Planeshift - Tied Diabolic Intent and Eladamri's Call
Apocalypse - Phyrexian Arena
Odyssey - Entomb
Torment - Cabal Coffers
Judgment - Mirari's Wake
Onslaught - Fetchlands
Legions - Seedborn Muse
Scourge - Decree of Pain
The definition of MVP for the purposes of this thread is really up to each person voting, but in general it should be the card you feel is either the best card power-wise, or a card you feel has the most influence on the format, or the card you feel leads to the best games, or your favorite card from the set, or the one you see the most in your playgroup. Just like voting for sports MVP's, the definition of "MVP" is deliberately left open to interpretation to allow for each voter to bring their personal experiences and/or thoughts to the table. My hope is that each person voting will establish their own criteria taking Power, Influence, Ubiquity, Personal Experience, etc. all into consideration and weighing their vote based on several criteria.
This time it's Mirrodin and Kamigawa blocks, which have some sets full of (Mirrodin) and almost bereft of (Saviors) Commander goodies.
Darksteel - Skullclamp : Has some goodies but mostly niche and specific decks. Has the great Swords of wich are solid equipments but they pale to the one and only Skullclamp, the msot broken and powerfull equipment of the game. So busted jesus, hoenstly it din't have competition because its power is absurd. ofcourse it won't go in ALL decks but come on, if you deck has a good number of creatures you most likelly will use it, specially sswarm and sac decks wich are popular. This card is just silly.
Fith Dawn - Eternal Witness : pfffffff!!!! I feel bad for the other cards in thi set because there are a couple of good cards like the great Crucible of Worlds wich is fantastic in Lands Matter, stax and mill decks, Night's Whisper a very splashable black draw spell, Vedalken Orrey that could actually go in alot of decks, sutch a great card. Had to give him a shot since they never stood a chance.
Champions of Kamigawa - Sakura-Tribe Elder : Alot of sweet cards here actually. Suprisinglly alot of them. Azusa, Lost but Seeking is a fantastic "ramp" card, Kokusho, the Evening Star is very powerfull in reanimator decks, used to banend at one point actually, Myojin of Night's Reach is very powerfull it wins games pratically, Kodama's Reach is one of the most played ramp spells of the format and it would ahve been my second pick. But sakura-Tribe Elder is more pwoerfull then it and its another green staple. Been a creature and only 2 mana cost makes it more powerfull then Kodama.
Betrayers of Kamigawa - Umezawa's Jitter : This really is the period of great equipments from the looks of it. Its a fantastic card but isn't a must have like the oens mentioned before. It mostly won because the rest of the cards aren't that exciting for the format, not a single one worth mentioning honestly.
Saviors of Kamigawa - Pithing Needle : Meh it was between needle or the utility lands like Mikokoro and Miren. the rest of very weak. Went with the needle for great utility if you having trouble with a certain card. Isn't a must have tough so this set overral is very weak.
Betrayers of Kamigawa - Shirei, Shizno's Caretaker
Saviors of Kamigawa - Freed from the Reel
I think I see these two cards way more than any of the ones listed.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Darksteel: Skullclamp. It does require some building around, but not to the level of many of the "broken" cards on these polls, and if you do so it's incredible. Bonus points for synergising so well with the colour that most needs it (white).
5th Dawn: Eternal Witness. There are a good number of decks where Regrowth is better, but even most of those can find room for another such effect. And in the decks where being a creature is worth the extra mana, it's just flat out a great card.
Champions: Sakura Tribe Elder. STEve is just a solid card for most green decks. Cheap ramp and fixing is always good, and many decks can benefit from him being a creature despite (or sometimes because of) having to sacrifice him
Betrayers: Jitte. Probably the easiest choice here as this isn't a great set overall, but Toshi's blade is still an extremely strong card in EDH.
Champions: The hardest choice here, and for the wrong reasons - nothing is particularly impactful. Ultimately, I went for Kagemaro, as having a board wipe that can be reanimated is a pretty good yet relatively rare effect, and there are enough decks out there that will want something like this guy.
Darksteel: Skullclamp - once again, a really strong card with a minimal down side that gives a ton of archetypes a strong draw game.
Fifth Dawn: Eternal Witness - Regrowth on a body is great value, and usable in a ton of archetypes. Rarely disappoints.
Champions: Kokusho, the Evening Star - Strong effect on a well costed body that's eminently abusable. There's good reasons it was once banned.
Betrayers: Umezawa's Jitte - Hard choice for all the wrong reasons. These sets are generally pretty underwhelming. Jitte is still a really strong card, so I guess it's a no brainer.
Saviours: Pithing Needle - Even tougher choice. The needle is good, but probably not as valuable as it would be in other formats like modern. It's really the pick of quite a weak set.
Darksteel: Skullclamp. Not even close.
Fifth Dawn: I went with the minority and picked Vedalken Orrery. It's great with Seedborn Muse, or Rule of Law and friends, really great with both. Never underestimate it. This was really close between the Orrery and Eternal Witness, though.
Champions of Kamigawa: Azami, Lady of Scrolls. There's a reason I refer to Symbiotic Deployment as Necropotence and Azami's inbred cousin. Because Azami is totally in the same league as Necro in terms of card draw. And of course, she is useful in some Laboratory Maniac builds. But basically unless you literally build a deck where she's the only wizard, she's great.
Betrayers of Kamigawa: Umezawa's Jitte. Um, yeah. The best card in the set, and it's in a precon.
Saviors of Kamigawa: Pithing Needle. There really isn't much, but Pithing Needle is a great way to hose activated abilities.
On phasing:
Duplicant - There are a lot of good cards in this set and I can't fault the majority who went with Lightning Greaves. But, for me, Duplicant has more than pulled its weight in a number of situations that I otherwise may not have been able to get out of.
Darksteel
Skullclamp - The good options drop off pretty significantly here. Skullclamp almost wins by default but it is such a great card that it would like win even if the options in this set were better.
Fifth Dawn
Eternal Witness - This card makes it into all of my green decks and has so much power behind it that I am never upset to see it at pretty much any stage of the game
Champions of Kamigawa
Sakura-Tribe Elder - I am kind of surprised that Kiki didn't get more votes but Sakura is the best 2 drop ramp spell in EDH in my opinion. There are some that have the card come in untapped, but being a creature is not an insignificant feature.
Betrayers of Kamigawa
Umezawa's Jitte - And here we are back to a set that has almost no other front runners. Jitte is powerful to be sure but this set has very few good cards for EDH.
Saviors of Kamigawa
Miren, the Moaning Well - For me, there is no contest. Miren makes it into a lot of my decks and has become so prevalent that it is actively targeted (along with Diamond Valley) by the other players. It often keeps me in games by gaining me massive amounts of life, or saving my creatures from being exiled, or getting them in the grave so I can use them again. Of all the cards in this poll, this is by far the biggest All-Star
MVP: Lightning Greaves - There are a lot of fine options. I'm partial to Jens (Solemn Simulacrum) but the boots feels more important. In a format structured with a single (usually, I see you Partner) creature, protecting and giving haste to that creature seems and is off the charts important.
EDHREC is broken: Solemn Simulacrum is in 3.8 million decks, per the Mirrodin page. Per the Top 100 cards page, there are probably only around 275,000 decks. Numbers on Fabricate and Chrome Mox seem similarly borked.
Overlooked Gem: Damping Matrix - So good. So disruptive. And since it doesn't disrupt mana abilities, it doesn't accidentally create bad will like so many other disruptive spells.
Synergy Fail: Fiery Gambit - Only 53% of the decks running this card are running Krark's Thumb. For shame.
Darksteel
MVP: Skullclamp - It's obviously this and not close, but it is surprising to me how a card this insane doesn't actually have a warping effect on this format.
Properly named: Savage Beating - Good card, get's some play, but most importantly, fantastically named.
"I saw that. Brick killed a guy": Surestrike Trident - Probably unnecessary. If you get him big enough for this to matter, you likely can use combat with ease.
You're the worst: Trinisphere - But you know that. If you play this card in this format, I would insult you, but you'd take pride in that.
Fifth Dawn
MVP: Eternal Witness - So good. Not much needs to be said.
Yeah, but how many? Relentless Rats - Sure, 804 decks, but in this case, that's not enough info. I want to know how many get played. What do you think is the average number of these guys in a deck? 30ish?
Overplayed: Vedalken Orrery - I'm not saying it's not good. It can be absolutely excellent. But it's played far too often in far too many places without being properly utilized. It's not an every deck card, people.
Champions of Kamigawa
MVP: Sensei's Divining Top - This set is really hard to pick. So many options that feel really close to each other. Sakura-Tribe Elder might be it, and Ghostly Prisonfeels in the ballpark as well.
Looks like an MVP, but isn't: Time Stop - Flashy card. Cool card. Powerful effect. Never feels worth it.
I remember when you mattered: Hinder - another casualty of the tuck rule.
Betrayers of Kamigawa
MVP: Umezawa's Jitte - There's very little that needs to be said.
Worth the Cost: Final Judgment - i get that this is an expensive wrath. But preventing recursion and not caring about indestructibility makes this bad boy worth the extra mana..
Not as cute: Kami of False Hope - Spore Frog gets more love because it's cuter. It's not fair, but appearance matters.
Saviors of Kamigawa
MVP: One with Nothing - This is the equivalent of me writing 'They all suck' on the ballot.
Yes, it is decent: Miren, the Moaning Well - The card is fine, but I'm supposed to get excited about this as the best card in the set?
Underutilized Gem: Manriki-Gusari - All those equipment decks should both love and hate this card. I remember being at a legacy GP back when Stoneblade was the dominant deck and people were looking everywhere to try and ind this one for the sideboard. It's a solid card.
Clamp
Night's Whisper
Boseiju
Jitte
Needle
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Darksteel: Another set loaded with goodies, but with a clear winner in Skullclamp. This card is 100% insane and is also a 9.5/10 - it's clearly at its best in Sacrifice decks, decks that can search it out, and token decks, but any deck with some amount of creatures should appreciate the ability to draw two when they die.
Fifth Dawn: Man Mirrodin block was good for Commander. Eternal Witness is one of those cards that make me love green, a card that should be in every green list always even if you aren't doing stupid things with it and Meren of Clan Nel Toth or Crystal Shard or whatever. I love me a Trinket Mage package with Engineered Explosives as a target, but Witness is best as evinced by me having 1 Trinket Mage in use, but having almost all of my Witnesses in use.
Champions of Kamigawa: Sakura-Tribe Elder is the actual reason I'm a green mage. While the loss of damage on the stack took some spring out of his step, the Elder is a must-run in green lists. He chumps, he chips, he gets land, and he keeps your creature count high, and he does all this while also getting looped with various graveyard synergies. A true hero and my second-favorite card of all time.
Betrayers of Kamigawa: Umezawa's Jitte is significantly less good in Commander than it is in the Standard it was born into or in 60 card formats, but it is still very very good and is clearly the most powerful, useful, ubiquitous, and fun card amid a field of mediocre role-players.
Saviors of Kamigawa: My first time voting "other", as this set is hot garbage and I don't use any of the stuff on this list (except Needle as a Trinket Mage Target). I gave the nod to Sakura-Tribe Scout as the best "put a land from your hand onto the battlefield" creature in the game. That's faint praise, and only dedicated landfall decks need apply, but it is relevant that he can do it at instant speed (unlike Skyshroud Ranger), is a creature (unlike Burgeoning), and is only 1 CMC (unlike Budoka Gardner, Walking Atlas, and Llanowar Envoy). He was a workhorse in Derevi Landfall, and when I dismantled that he found a nice home in Gitrog Monster Undergrowth Landfall.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG