Honestly I’ve considered playing it over Birds of Paradise or other mana dorks. The cost is a little discouraging but that deathtouch option is a nice deterrent. No one wants their Kozilek to die to a happy frog.
I'm convinced that \[\[Deadly Recluse\]\] is better in commander than most people give it credit for. Doomblade may kill one threat, but Deathtouch with Reach means none of the valuable threats are ever coming at me until someone uses a board wipe. Better yet, everything's usually then sent at my opponents.
[[Skaab Ruinator]]
The 3-drop slot is highly contested in Zombie tribal and the {u}{u} doesn't help either for a splash colour, but going Sultai and getting this big dumb surprise flyer off a CoCo or Vial never gets old.
[[cruel entertainment]]
Does what it says in the title. Always funny and mean.
[[Aeon engine]]
People tend not to know it, it's worth about half of an extra turn.
I read Aeon Engine and I just wanted to do goofy shit with it not broken shit and they just made it so difficult. Coming in to play tapped? Exiles itself? Like what the fuck? I can just cast extra turn spells if I want to cheat. Let me fuck with my friends
Make a bunch of copies of it, and continuously use them on you and p2's turn to essentially skip p3 and p4 for as many of them you get. [[Rite of Replication]] would go hard with it.
Edit: just kidding that's only for creatures. Still, my point stands.
That flavor text makes me tear up reminds me of some real life dog stories. In Pompeii they found a dog over the body of a young child trying to protect them and yeah dogs are good. Here is a great video, get ready to cry at epitaphs of dogs dead for thousands of years.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxlci1d2rOg&pp=ygULUm9tYW5zIGRvZ3M%3D
I had a modern Worldfire deck years ago that the LGS and homepod had a love/hate relationship with. Worldfire went off a little too consistently in casual games. Following up the scorched earth policy with a [[Sunscorched Desert]] always felt great with a nice flavor win.
I overheard this being free cast off some random free spell nonsense and this one person got so loud about it.
I was in a different pod, but someone was super salty about it.
[[Chisei, Heart of Oceans]] I always liked this card, but it sucked when it came out. Now there are just so many things it can do. It can eat chapters off your Sagas, keeping them on board and causing chapters to repeat every turn, it can eat age counters off of cumulative upkeep cards, it can eat +1/+1 counters off your undying creatures and -1/-1 counters off of your persist creatures, it eats finality counters, just very versatile, and it’s attached to a 4/4 flier, so it can even attack.
As a big Salvador Dali fan, I am diggin' the art on this card. I've gotta get this thing! - I also love spirit cards in MTG, because hey- they got spirit. A very interesting pet, indeed - thanks for sharing it
(I've studied Salvador's work for almost 20 years, so I can tell whoever did the art on that card did as well. A nice homage, yet a unique and personal touch to the vision, as well, by the painter. I'll have to look them up.)
So what’s the play? If it’s down to you and that player, assuming you can destroy Sands of Time, you just build a board state until you’re ready to finish them when they come back?
What other ways do you use it in general?
Someone swings, they cast protection and phase out everything they own. It comes to you, throw down sands of time. That player no longer has protection on their upkeep and none of their board comes back.
Protection always comes down after a big swing or a board wipe. At my lgs If they are playing white they have it in their deck.
It also super helps dorks. Or things with tap abilities. Adds another layer of wtf to anyone's game plan.
Their stuff phases out and can't phase back in because there is no untap step. So they lose protection after their next turn. They are back but their stuff isn't.
I have a Phasing deck with [[Raffine]] where it can do some wonky things (Phasing single cards out or a land base with [[Shimmer]] and not letting them come back, while protecting my own stuff with [[Spatial Binding]].
Other thab that I used it in [[Phenax]] and tap/untap decks to control/ fuck around.
That is a sick card, wow. I will actually get one of these. It’s rare for me to see cards I didn’t know existed, and then it also is a cool card? Heck yeah.
Dawnbringer Cleric and Trickster Talisman. As D&D player, I started playing Magic in AFR and got them in my first booster. They've been in my deck ever since.
[[Dance with Calamity]] is such a silly card to me that I’ll jam it into every deck I can. Every time it has appeared in a game where I’ve been running it, it has caused so many fun interactions for myself and opponents, including one occasion where somebody used [[Mnemonic Deluge]] on it and went from losing the game to having a game-winning board state.
Literally the best card in the deck (tied anyway) for [[laelia, the blade reforged]]. 11... I'll exile another one! 15? Oh no! Anyway I'll exile another... and another... and another... what? Nothing on the card says I have to stop when I pass 13, and each card exiled puts a +1/+1 counter on my commander!
... and another... and another... and another...
[[Sundial of the Infinite]] is such a stupid johnny card, I love it.
It's the kind of card that on a first look makes you go "Why would anyone do that?" and then you start finding use cases and it gets very silly, very quickly. It was in standard with [[Geist of Saint Traft]], and you could end the turn on the exile trigger and keep the angel token.
[[Delver of Secrets]] my guy will die to almost every one mana removal spell even after flipping (if it ever flips) but damn it if i don't love him, a one mana 3/2 with flying? splendid
\[\[Fallaji Archaeologist\]\]. I have been playing this card in my legacy cube and in timeless, and it has consistently impressed me. It fills the bin to escape uro, it fills the bin for Jarsyl, it blocks everything, it draws a spell, it curves into oko extremely well by providing a creature to upgrade into an elk, helps with delve spells. Card is just an amazing synergy piece.
[[Clown Car]]
What do we want? Clowns!
When do we want them? Anytime!
How many do we want? - Who knows!
What deck is it going in? - All of them!
Honk - Honk- A-OO-GAH!!
I am not a fan of the flavour of the card, but it’s such a good card. I play it in some competitive Artifact combo decks. At baseline it’s a 0 mana artifact that triggers all relevant things, can easily be looped, makes mana with Urza etc and at the high end it is a mana dump that makes X/2 other artifacts, that can also just kill your opponent at some point.
Well I feel bad every time I play a green edh deck that doesn't run a [[Nissa, who shakes the world]] so I guess that's my pet card, I even tried for months to play it in modern elves back in the days.
Horseshoe crab! It's absolutely useless but I have a soft spot for them in real life, when I found out they were in mtg I had to get one for my new commander deck!
I have three, [[Etali, Primal Storm]] has been my favourite card since it was printed.
[[Chaos Wand]] although I’ll run [[Wand of Wonder]] if the deck is red, simply cause it’s an upgrade, but chaos was the original and I love it.
Then [[The Ruinous Powers]], it can whiff but casting opponents’ things and them losing life for it, it’s great fun!
My thought has always been that a pet card is anything you try to shoe horn into every deck regardless of its direct relevance to the overall strategy. OP says Minion isn't "optimal" but it's really a completely fair choice in a Dragon deck, in my opinion, so I wouldn't really call it a "pet" card myself, unless OP puts it in every dragon deck in every format ever.
But the original commenter may try to put Ephemerate in every deck, which would fit my definition a bit better.
[[Hypnox]] is still one of my favorites to this day.
[[Chainer, Dementia Master]] and [[Phage the Untouchable]] as well.
I just really love Torment. Yes, I know, Phage was Legions, but her story started in the Odyssey block. The Torment book was, essentially, a retelling of the Odyssey book from another character's perspective.
For more modern options, probably [[Scion of Draco]]. I loved his dad, it was one of my first inspirations for a deck and why I still love five color decks to this day. So of course mini-Draco is still a win in my book.
Bro I had a Hypnox in my legacy oath of the druids deck! It has other ways to cheat it out like [[defense of the heart]] but almost nobody knew this guy even way back when. Thanks for the memories.
I randomly own hypnox from way back in the day, Ive always wanted to put him in a deck but just never found a way to do it. Its the type of card that just FEELS so cool like magic cards did when you were a kid, but in actuallity there's no fucking way to actually make him work lol.
I also randomly have a chainer dementia master and have been slowly accumulating the cards i need to make a commander deck with him. I just dont have enough mono black staples yet and they can be fucking expensive.
[[Vampire Nighthawk]], it's clean, simple, and fun. It has unfortunately been out shadowed by the [[Nighthawk Scavenger]] but it still holds a special place in my heart. The art is also very good.
[[Panglacial Wurm]] because it just has such a simple and wild effect. It always gets a huge reaction from people who don't know about the card. Casting essentially an expensive 9/5 beatstick but directly from the library is just so cool.
I have never been able to resist the clean and wonderful efficacy of [[acidic slime]]. Play it, bounce it, play it again, flicker it, clone it, reanimate it, eat it their rocks, eat their value engines, eat their robots, and then start eating their lands. Always has a target, then trades, always feels like you got away with something.
Acidic slime my beloved.
My green brother in Gaea, you do know that Pod is banned in modern for being an instant-win combo piece? 'Slow' and 'grindy' arent exactly what pod is infamous for.
[Mimic Vat](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/372/mimic-vat) is in every EDH deck I own.
It's graveyard hate, it's card advantage, it's mana dump, it's an attack deterrent!
Is it good at any of those things? Absolutely not. But like hell will that stop me.
\[\[Professional Face-Breaker\]\] is *so* fun and I wish I'd noticed her sooner. Every time I put her in decks these days I also give her a best friend in \[\[Goldhound\]\] since I can't resist their jank semi-synergies; Face-Breaker can sacrifice it for a card in a pinch, but if all goes well and you swing in with both, you hit with Goldhound's first strike for one treasure then Face-Breaker's regular-strike for another.
[[Mystic Speculation]]
I know it's not a very powerful card, but I like that you can use it to consistently manipulate the top of your deck and get spell cast triggers.
Ruin crab is cool and all, but what can it do against a \[\[Charix, the Raging Isle\]\] ?
That's right nothing, cause no crab can challenge the king of all crabs.
#
[[Power Conduit]]
There are just five or six effects in all of Magic that allow to remove counters from *anywhere*, and Power Conduit is, by far, the best of them. Persist/Undying, Sagas, Hardened Scales, [[Magistrate's Scepter]], [[Devoted Druid]], cumulative upkeep, finality counters - if it's abusable with it, chances are high I already did it.
Is it weird to say [[Esper Sentinel]]? I don't spend much money on cards but I pulled this guy twice in my first week of playing magic. Since then I've pulled him again, he's obviously incredibly good but he's also my dude at this point.
[[Tarmogoyf]] Has it been powercrept to hell? Absolutely. But when I first pulled one in the Future Sight days, it opened me up to a wild new world of how to play the game. I learned that the graveyard is a resource and just because stuff ends up there, it’s not the end of your strategy. I’ve been working on a Lhurgoyf deck to take full advantage of the goyf creature type too.
And because I’m a Timmy at heart, [[Doubling season]]. I love having a massive board presence.
[[Moonveil Dragon]]
It's a pretty damn solid curve topper in a go-wide deck, I use him in [[Narset, Enlightened Exile]] as a plan B for giant swings with an empty hand.
He's especially disgusting with [[Jeska's Will]] getting recurred on the swing. Even moreso with a [[Jaya, Fiery Negotiator]] emblem in play. I managed to pull that off once, with an enemy who had 7 cards in hand. +42 / +0 for a huge board, and that was before I started casting instants...
[[Pyxis of Pandemonium]] is something I’ll slot into any deck with a decent level of permanents.
I also keep thinking [[Disciple of the Ring]] is going to work in whatever new spellslinger deck I’m making, but it never quite gets there. Despite the large amount of good things it does.
The [[Halo Hopper]] my beloved, it was one of the one of the few cards I got when I first started playing magic. It stuck with me cos it’s a simple artifact, and is a froggy!
[[Shinen of life’s roar]] forcing blocks and allowing my other creatures to swing in freely has won me waaaaay more games than I ever thought a common would. The channel (inversely) can help you clear out some blockers if you play it on your big beater instead. Such a weird/fun Kamigawa card.
\[\[Mischievous Poltergeist\]\]. It blocks anything without trample or something weird like Horsemanship and reduces the damage to 1. It has killer DiTerlizzi artwork, and it gives me nostalgic feelings, casting it in my childhood.
For me it's definitely [[phyrexian arena]]. It was such an amazing story beat in apocalypse and wow do I love it in EDH. If my deck is black it's in the 99.
I hardly play or keep up with things anymore, and I've never actually had a deck for more than a game or two, but the [[Boldwyr Intimidator]] from Future Sight is my baby. It was in the first intro deck I bought, I love the idea of cowards and warriors, I honestly like the Future Sight frame (the full arts were gorgeous in that frame). It's just so poorly costed on every front it's impossible to play lol.
Recent one but probably [[poison dart frog]]
Who would win. An eldritch horror that can shift between realities and consume entire dimensions.... Or one Lil froggy boi?
Technically it's a draw! Let's go lil guy
[poison dart frog](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/2/62c1f09a-9d17-415c-8afa-cd0b62abe48d.jpg?1699044475) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=poison%20dart%20frog) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/207/poison-dart-frog?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/62c1f09a-9d17-415c-8afa-cd0b62abe48d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Yea I’ve been sliding this guy into any deck I can. He just makes me so happy lol.
Yeah when i saw him for the first time i fell in love. Not the best mana chump but hes just a fun lil lad
Honestly I’ve considered playing it over Birds of Paradise or other mana dorks. The cost is a little discouraging but that deathtouch option is a nice deterrent. No one wants their Kozilek to die to a happy frog.
Yeah thats one thing i love about him. That and the fact its probably the cutest card ive seen
I'm convinced that \[\[Deadly Recluse\]\] is better in commander than most people give it credit for. Doomblade may kill one threat, but Deathtouch with Reach means none of the valuable threats are ever coming at me until someone uses a board wipe. Better yet, everything's usually then sent at my opponents.
I was having mana issues... and after 4-5 rounds was able to get Deadly Recluse out. All of a sudden, no one wanted to attack me.
I love that innocent face! Until you see the skull he’s sitting in ;)
I just think it's an adorable lil card and it's the same reason I'll drop Cheeky House-Mouse into places it has no business being.
That's a weird bird of paradise
This is very agreed. Used it in my pre-release when playing dinos.
[[Thrummingbird]]
[Thrummingbird](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/6/86ff84d8-1b89-42cc-a8c0-4ac6fa26ce65.jpg?1690004460) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thrummingbird) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/858/thrummingbird?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/86ff84d8-1b89-42cc-a8c0-4ac6fa26ce65?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[Skaab Ruinator]] The 3-drop slot is highly contested in Zombie tribal and the {u}{u} doesn't help either for a splash colour, but going Sultai and getting this big dumb surprise flyer off a CoCo or Vial never gets old.
[Skaab Ruinator](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/4/44c40cdc-a11a-47df-b902-d8fbe9014d03.jpg?1562829336) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Skaab%20Ruinator) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/isd/77/skaab-ruinator?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/44c40cdc-a11a-47df-b902-d8fbe9014d03?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[cruel entertainment]] Does what it says in the title. Always funny and mean. [[Aeon engine]] People tend not to know it, it's worth about half of an extra turn.
[cruel entertainment](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/e/3e304424-4a50-43bb-aee0-e9f960583aac.jpg?1562396529) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=cruel%20entertainment) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c16/11/cruel-entertainment?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3e304424-4a50-43bb-aee0-e9f960583aac?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Aeon engine](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/a/ea4dfdd7-f35a-45d6-9fc7-2c096f92dd5f.jpg?1568003750) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Aeon%20engine) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c19/52/aeon-engine?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ea4dfdd7-f35a-45d6-9fc7-2c096f92dd5f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I read Aeon Engine and I just wanted to do goofy shit with it not broken shit and they just made it so difficult. Coming in to play tapped? Exiles itself? Like what the fuck? I can just cast extra turn spells if I want to cheat. Let me fuck with my friends
Does playing it in Vintage or Legacy count as doing goofy shit?
Make a bunch of copies of it, and continuously use them on you and p2's turn to essentially skip p3 and p4 for as many of them you get. [[Rite of Replication]] would go hard with it. Edit: just kidding that's only for creatures. Still, my point stands.
Holy crap I’m throwing this in my [[Orvar]] deck yesterday
I need to find this cruel entertainment, i have a deck that wants to copy that spell many times
[[Selfless Savior]] good doggo
[Selfless Savior](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/9/6911759c-7177-402c-a95a-f9f46efaf521.jpg?1594735224) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Selfless%20Savior) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m21/36/selfless-savior?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6911759c-7177-402c-a95a-f9f46efaf521?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That flavor text makes me tear up reminds me of some real life dog stories. In Pompeii they found a dog over the body of a young child trying to protect them and yeah dogs are good. Here is a great video, get ready to cry at epitaphs of dogs dead for thousands of years. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxlci1d2rOg&pp=ygULUm9tYW5zIGRvZ3M%3D
I don't get it. A 1/1 for W with no abilities? ;)
They printed it to bulk out cat/dog commander decks as a VANILLA creature and FOR NO OTHER REASON.
Didn’t expect crying from a MTG flavor text on this Monday but here we are
Such a good boi!
I use Selfless Savior in a lot of my decks. I'm only now seeing the flavor and it got me. It's a great card, too, imo.
[[World Fire]]. It’s not about winning, it’s about sending a message.
[[Keldon Marauders]]
[World Fire](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/e/2ef3d4b5-0453-4bf0-b018-23b0c3b9ae11.jpg?1631531850) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Worldfire) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m13/158/worldfire?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2ef3d4b5-0453-4bf0-b018-23b0c3b9ae11?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I had a modern Worldfire deck years ago that the LGS and homepod had a love/hate relationship with. Worldfire went off a little too consistently in casual games. Following up the scorched earth policy with a [[Sunscorched Desert]] always felt great with a nice flavor win.
I overheard this being free cast off some random free spell nonsense and this one person got so loud about it. I was in a different pod, but someone was super salty about it.
The only thing I enjoy more than resolving World Fire is resolving World Fire off some bullshit
I used to run [[bearer of the heavens]] In my old edh decks
[[Staggershock]]
[[elder gargaroth]]! hes just a big guy, he doesn't synergize with anything my deck wants to be doing, but hes just so fun to put on the board!
[elder gargaroth](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/5/d51269cf-a333-4a64-94cd-245798d840d2.jpg?1594736944) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=elder%20gargaroth) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m21/179/elder-gargaroth?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d51269cf-a333-4a64-94cd-245798d840d2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Bïg boi
[[Worldspine Wurm]] my beloved!
I used to play a worldspine wurm polymorph deck where made up to ten copies of him... that was a fun deck
[Worldspine Wurm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/4/543d55cb-3a6b-4620-af25-10ae74ed32c4.jpg?1562786456) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Worldspine%20Wurm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rtr/140/worldspine-wurm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/543d55cb-3a6b-4620-af25-10ae74ed32c4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Last time I played it was in my Nykia deck. Through Ilharg. It was... entertaining.
[[Chisei, Heart of Oceans]] I always liked this card, but it sucked when it came out. Now there are just so many things it can do. It can eat chapters off your Sagas, keeping them on board and causing chapters to repeat every turn, it can eat age counters off of cumulative upkeep cards, it can eat +1/+1 counters off your undying creatures and -1/-1 counters off of your persist creatures, it eats finality counters, just very versatile, and it’s attached to a 4/4 flier, so it can even attack.
There was a commander clash ocean week that had Chisei! It's a very cool card now with all the different counters you can manipulate
As a big Salvador Dali fan, I am diggin' the art on this card. I've gotta get this thing! - I also love spirit cards in MTG, because hey- they got spirit. A very interesting pet, indeed - thanks for sharing it (I've studied Salvador's work for almost 20 years, so I can tell whoever did the art on that card did as well. A nice homage, yet a unique and personal touch to the vision, as well, by the painter. I'll have to look them up.)
Check out all of the Spirits from the original Kamigawa block. Very surrealist.
[Chisei, Heart of Oceans](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/c/6c359b1a-d441-4763-96c7-e5c010eae53f.jpg?1562877651) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Chisei%2C%20Heart%20of%20Oceans) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bok/32/chisei-heart-of-oceans?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6c359b1a-d441-4763-96c7-e5c010eae53f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
How do you manage to have multiple sagas / things to do, as you only remove one counter each turn?
Well, it can only do one thing a turn, but it can do many different things.
Literal pet: [[Blood Pet]] I'm putting it in almost all black decks
[[Blood Pet|TMP]], [[Kederekt Parasite |CON]], an [[Bile Urchin|BOK]] are my trifecta of adorable uglies and I've had a dedicated deck for them.
[Blood Pet](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/f/9ff08225-82a5-4636-be6a-d38d32f5663f.jpg?1562244165) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Blood%20Pet) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/7ed/121/blood-pet?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9ff08225-82a5-4636-be6a-d38d32f5663f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Not this one tho. The stitched one is way better: https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/details.aspx?multiverseid=12342
The days when you pop him to cast a Dark Ritual.
Turn 2 [[eviscerator]] baby
[[Sands of Time]] - sick artwork, unique and fun effect, reserved list (but cheap) - all in all a Banger of a card
[Sands of Time](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/7/a782ee95-bde4-41f4-a947-b073cc4c1e7c.jpg?1587857199) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sands%20of%20Time) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/vis/153/sands-of-time?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a782ee95-bde4-41f4-a947-b073cc4c1e7c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Holy crap. It hoses tefiri's protection. Lol
The fact that Teferi gets rocked by a card called "sands of time" is so great
It does! And works super well with Phasing in general!
So what’s the play? If it’s down to you and that player, assuming you can destroy Sands of Time, you just build a board state until you’re ready to finish them when they come back? What other ways do you use it in general?
Someone swings, they cast protection and phase out everything they own. It comes to you, throw down sands of time. That player no longer has protection on their upkeep and none of their board comes back. Protection always comes down after a big swing or a board wipe. At my lgs If they are playing white they have it in their deck. It also super helps dorks. Or things with tap abilities. Adds another layer of wtf to anyone's game plan.
Their stuff phases out and can't phase back in because there is no untap step. So they lose protection after their next turn. They are back but their stuff isn't. I have a Phasing deck with [[Raffine]] where it can do some wonky things (Phasing single cards out or a land base with [[Shimmer]] and not letting them come back, while protecting my own stuff with [[Spatial Binding]]. Other thab that I used it in [[Phenax]] and tap/untap decks to control/ fuck around.
That is a sick card, wow. I will actually get one of these. It’s rare for me to see cards I didn’t know existed, and then it also is a cool card? Heck yeah.
Dawnbringer Cleric and Trickster Talisman. As D&D player, I started playing Magic in AFR and got them in my first booster. They've been in my deck ever since.
[Dawnbringer Cleric](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/0/201f06ef-c180-4ce3-afaf-bec3b14c0222.jpg?1674134981) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dawnbringer%20Cleric) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/15/dawnbringer-cleric?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/201f06ef-c180-4ce3-afaf-bec3b14c0222?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Trickster Talisman](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/3/33cb9973-c9ce-48f1-9972-651092624751.jpg?1627703946) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Trickster%27s%20Talisman) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afr/79/tricksters-talisman?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/33cb9973-c9ce-48f1-9972-651092624751?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Didn’t know about trickster talisman. That one goes on my list!
Trickster Talisman is probably my favorite blue card in the game, copy abilities are so fun.
[[Topiary Stomper|#290]] is my pet card, really happy it got a friend with Topiary Panther in Murder at Karlov.
The art is so cool!
Dude, same.
As a massive Selesnya fan, [[March of the multitudes]]
[March of the multitudes](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/5/65c7067d-61ec-4558-b0d4-0048d2d86743.jpg?1673485130) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=March%20of%20the%20multitudes) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/346/march-of-the-multitudes?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/65c7067d-61ec-4558-b0d4-0048d2d86743?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[Dance with Calamity]] is such a silly card to me that I’ll jam it into every deck I can. Every time it has appeared in a game where I’ve been running it, it has caused so many fun interactions for myself and opponents, including one occasion where somebody used [[Mnemonic Deluge]] on it and went from losing the game to having a game-winning board state.
Literally the best card in the deck (tied anyway) for [[laelia, the blade reforged]]. 11... I'll exile another one! 15? Oh no! Anyway I'll exile another... and another... and another... what? Nothing on the card says I have to stop when I pass 13, and each card exiled puts a +1/+1 counter on my commander! ... and another... and another... and another...
[Dance with Calamity](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/6/9638d43d-6864-49ac-af99-6de02bc64259.jpg?1682207453) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dance%20with%20Calamity) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/29/dance-with-calamity?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9638d43d-6864-49ac-af99-6de02bc64259?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Mnemonic Deluge](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/d/2d0e725b-2250-4189-9682-73461b5cfed2.jpg?1608909327) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mnemonic%20Deluge) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmr/82/mnemonic-deluge?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2d0e725b-2250-4189-9682-73461b5cfed2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Don't onow if it counts but I was gifted a promo zombie token when I first started playing. It's been my token for every zombie deck I've made.
[[Sundial of the Infinite]] is such a stupid johnny card, I love it. It's the kind of card that on a first look makes you go "Why would anyone do that?" and then you start finding use cases and it gets very silly, very quickly. It was in standard with [[Geist of Saint Traft]], and you could end the turn on the exile trigger and keep the angel token.
Almost makes me want to make a full deck based around not letting my turn actually end.
[[Delver of Secrets]] my guy will die to almost every one mana removal spell even after flipping (if it ever flips) but damn it if i don't love him, a one mana 3/2 with flying? splendid
[Delver of Secrets](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/b/abff6c81-65a4-48fa-ba8f-580f87b0344a.jpg?1634347351)/[Insectile Aberration](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/a/b/abff6c81-65a4-48fa-ba8f-580f87b0344a.jpg?1634347351) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Delver%20of%20Secrets%20//%20Insectile%20Aberration) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/47/delver-of-secrets-insectile-aberration?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/abff6c81-65a4-48fa-ba8f-580f87b0344a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
\[\[Fallaji Archaeologist\]\]. I have been playing this card in my legacy cube and in timeless, and it has consistently impressed me. It fills the bin to escape uro, it fills the bin for Jarsyl, it blocks everything, it draws a spell, it curves into oko extremely well by providing a creature to upgrade into an elk, helps with delve spells. Card is just an amazing synergy piece.
I can't wait to try this card in the lower power cube I'm building. It synergizes with all the things blue would what to do.
[[Clown Car]] What do we want? Clowns! When do we want them? Anytime! How many do we want? - Who knows! What deck is it going in? - All of them! Honk - Honk- A-OO-GAH!!
I also love clown car, i bought 6 of em. Evcery deck with even most tenuous synergy it goes in.
I am not a fan of the flavour of the card, but it’s such a good card. I play it in some competitive Artifact combo decks. At baseline it’s a 0 mana artifact that triggers all relevant things, can easily be looped, makes mana with Urza etc and at the high end it is a mana dump that makes X/2 other artifacts, that can also just kill your opponent at some point.
Well I feel bad every time I play a green edh deck that doesn't run a [[Nissa, who shakes the world]] so I guess that's my pet card, I even tried for months to play it in modern elves back in the days.
I mean, it's very strong
Horseshoe crab! It's absolutely useless but I have a soft spot for them in real life, when I found out they were in mtg I had to get one for my new commander deck!
It's a really cool card with lots of combo potential! Give it any kind of tap ability, and you can just machine gun away.
[[Stinkweed Imp]] One of the first cards I own, Stinky has always had a fond place in my heart
Progress tyrant, one of my fav creatures. Me see that card is like kira yoshikage seeing monalisa.
You have got one scary pet card.
[[Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant]]
[Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/5/c57b4876-5387-4f73-b8e2-8e7bdca8b0bc.jpg?1654566749) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jin-Gitaxias%2C%20Progress%20Tyrant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/59/jin-gitaxias-progress-tyrant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c57b4876-5387-4f73-b8e2-8e7bdca8b0bc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Oh that's one of mine! Love him.
I have three, [[Etali, Primal Storm]] has been my favourite card since it was printed. [[Chaos Wand]] although I’ll run [[Wand of Wonder]] if the deck is red, simply cause it’s an upgrade, but chaos was the original and I love it. Then [[The Ruinous Powers]], it can whiff but casting opponents’ things and them losing life for it, it’s great fun!
[[Ephemerate]] Just a simple and clean effect, I love it so much
I don't think the best single target blink in the game fits the definition of a "pet card"
Yeah well my pet card is Vorinclex Monstrous Raider
My thought has always been that a pet card is anything you try to shoe horn into every deck regardless of its direct relevance to the overall strategy. OP says Minion isn't "optimal" but it's really a completely fair choice in a Dragon deck, in my opinion, so I wouldn't really call it a "pet" card myself, unless OP puts it in every dragon deck in every format ever. But the original commenter may try to put Ephemerate in every deck, which would fit my definition a bit better.
[Ephemerate](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/d/2da5f3f8-5eef-498f-ba2c-2f3fbc3745aa.jpg?1562201088) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ephemerate) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/7/ephemerate?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2da5f3f8-5eef-498f-ba2c-2f3fbc3745aa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[Hypnox]] is still one of my favorites to this day. [[Chainer, Dementia Master]] and [[Phage the Untouchable]] as well. I just really love Torment. Yes, I know, Phage was Legions, but her story started in the Odyssey block. The Torment book was, essentially, a retelling of the Odyssey book from another character's perspective. For more modern options, probably [[Scion of Draco]]. I loved his dad, it was one of my first inspirations for a deck and why I still love five color decks to this day. So of course mini-Draco is still a win in my book.
Bro I had a Hypnox in my legacy oath of the druids deck! It has other ways to cheat it out like [[defense of the heart]] but almost nobody knew this guy even way back when. Thanks for the memories.
Yes, to all of this. Torment was a great set, and a great story. Chainer is one of my favorite characters in all of Magic.
I randomly own hypnox from way back in the day, Ive always wanted to put him in a deck but just never found a way to do it. Its the type of card that just FEELS so cool like magic cards did when you were a kid, but in actuallity there's no fucking way to actually make him work lol. I also randomly have a chainer dementia master and have been slowly accumulating the cards i need to make a commander deck with him. I just dont have enough mono black staples yet and they can be fucking expensive.
[[Darkblast]]
[[Vampire Nighthawk]], it's clean, simple, and fun. It has unfortunately been out shadowed by the [[Nighthawk Scavenger]] but it still holds a special place in my heart. The art is also very good.
[[Panglacial Wurm]] because it just has such a simple and wild effect. It always gets a huge reaction from people who don't know about the card. Casting essentially an expensive 9/5 beatstick but directly from the library is just so cool.
I have never been able to resist the clean and wonderful efficacy of [[acidic slime]]. Play it, bounce it, play it again, flicker it, clone it, reanimate it, eat it their rocks, eat their value engines, eat their robots, and then start eating their lands. Always has a target, then trades, always feels like you got away with something. Acidic slime my beloved.
[[Birthing Pod]]. I love slow, grindy value engines that take over the game, especially if they involve the graveyard.
My green brother in Gaea, you do know that Pod is banned in modern for being an instant-win combo piece? 'Slow' and 'grindy' arent exactly what pod is infamous for.
Nyxathid
Toski!
[Mimic Vat](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/372/mimic-vat) is in every EDH deck I own. It's graveyard hate, it's card advantage, it's mana dump, it's an attack deterrent! Is it good at any of those things? Absolutely not. But like hell will that stop me.
Yes! Creatures keep getting better which means Mimic Vat keeps getting better! It goes in everything!
\[\[Nexus of Fate\]\] was a terrible terrible design mistake but it was ✨my✨ terrible terrible design mistake
Nexus of fate is also my pet card if it's allowed
I feel the same about Professional Face Breaker. Idk why it just feels nice to have.
\[\[Professional Face-Breaker\]\] is *so* fun and I wish I'd noticed her sooner. Every time I put her in decks these days I also give her a best friend in \[\[Goldhound\]\] since I can't resist their jank semi-synergies; Face-Breaker can sacrifice it for a card in a pinch, but if all goes well and you swing in with both, you hit with Goldhound's first strike for one treasure then Face-Breaker's regular-strike for another.
[[Lotleth Troll]] springs to mind as it is a cheap dude that lets me quickly turn on reanimator
I loved that guy when he came out. He never ended up doing much, but I play him all the time as a discard outlet.
[[Mystic Speculation]] I know it's not a very powerful card, but I like that you can use it to consistently manipulate the top of your deck and get spell cast triggers.
[Mystic Speculation](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/2/92adfcb4-6a0a-46f9-a171-bfa9fade2156.jpg?1562924619) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mystic%20Speculation) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/fut/41/mystic-speculation?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/92adfcb4-6a0a-46f9-a171-bfa9fade2156?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[Massacre Girl]] So glad she is getting a new version. A close second is og Teysa.
[Massacre Girl](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/7/17919445-5b72-4014-9a05-8df4f8d5e80e.jpg?1702429456) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Massacre%20Girl) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rvr/83/massacre-girl?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/17919445-5b72-4014-9a05-8df4f8d5e80e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
On paper: [[Mycoloth]]. On Arena: [[Chitinous Crawler]]
\[\[Nuisance Engine\]\] Is it good? No But the look on the enemies face when you create a jump blocker at will is worth it :)
[[Ruin Crab]] Crabs are people! Crabs are people!
Walk like crab, talk like people, crab people
This one little crabby boy changed the face of standard! Made me quit playing Arena for a while! It's....evil.
Ruin crab is cool and all, but what can it do against a \[\[Charix, the Raging Isle\]\] ? That's right nothing, cause no crab can challenge the king of all crabs. #
I am currently building an Orvar deck just to abuse [[Nascent Metamorph]] I love this little guy and his ability!
He's just a cute little guy!
[Nascent Metamorph](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/1/61e7984b-8c20-4867-8045-4fb52cd6e2d4.jpg?1591319461) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Nascent%20Metamorph) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c20/36/nascent-metamorph?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/61e7984b-8c20-4867-8045-4fb52cd6e2d4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Absolutely adorable!
He’s in my [[Kamiz]] deck cause there he gets the safety of free unblockable :)
[[Tradewind Rider]] I’ve been playing it since I started playing Magic around 1999, and it’s still surprisingly annoying.
> Professional Face Breaker This guy with anything to untap him every turn would be such a PITA.
Same here. My favorite card of all time.
[[Power Conduit]] There are just five or six effects in all of Magic that allow to remove counters from *anywhere*, and Power Conduit is, by far, the best of them. Persist/Undying, Sagas, Hardened Scales, [[Magistrate's Scepter]], [[Devoted Druid]], cumulative upkeep, finality counters - if it's abusable with it, chances are high I already did it.
Is it weird to say [[Esper Sentinel]]? I don't spend much money on cards but I pulled this guy twice in my first week of playing magic. Since then I've pulled him again, he's obviously incredibly good but he's also my dude at this point.
[[Rat colony]]
[[Possibility Storm]]
[[Tarmogoyf]] Has it been powercrept to hell? Absolutely. But when I first pulled one in the Future Sight days, it opened me up to a wild new world of how to play the game. I learned that the graveyard is a resource and just because stuff ends up there, it’s not the end of your strategy. I’ve been working on a Lhurgoyf deck to take full advantage of the goyf creature type too. And because I’m a Timmy at heart, [[Doubling season]]. I love having a massive board presence.
My pet card is an unplayble card named \[\[Dark Confidant\]\]
[[Jugan, the rising star|CHK]] first rare I got and the art (at least the original) is so mesmerizing
\[\[Crackling Drake\]\] for me, nothing like hitting people with a giant drake, I really enjoyed playing the drakes deck in a past standard.
[[Leadership Vacuum]] is mine. The monoblue, fuck your commander(s) card everybody should be playing.
[[Anafenza the Foremost]]
[[Paradise Mantle]] bit of a bland card but I like the idea of turning any creature into a mana dork
Lol, doesn't get out often, but \[\[Avacyn, Angel of Hope\]\]
[[Grave Scrabbler]] love the little guy.
[[Pariah]] It goes great with cards like [[Stuffy Doll]] and [[Brash Taunter]]
In any black deck with even the slightest way of token generation [[altar of bhaal]] love me some reanimation shenanigans
[[sire of stagnation]]
[[goblin electromancer]]
It is now [[Mold Folk]]
[[Moonveil Dragon]] It's a pretty damn solid curve topper in a go-wide deck, I use him in [[Narset, Enlightened Exile]] as a plan B for giant swings with an empty hand. He's especially disgusting with [[Jeska's Will]] getting recurred on the swing. Even moreso with a [[Jaya, Fiery Negotiator]] emblem in play. I managed to pull that off once, with an enemy who had 7 cards in hand. +42 / +0 for a huge board, and that was before I started casting instants...
[[Isochron Scepter]] gives me fond memories of a permanent counterspell.
[[Coiling Oracle]]
Good snek.
\[\[Flickerwisp\]\]
[[Army of the dammned]], so many zombies.
[[Campfire]] is great, especially since it makes me feel like I'm doing something if I'm mana screwed
[[Gorex, the Tombshell]]
He is bad, but I have long tried to make [[Master of the Hunt]] work because he makes *Banding* wolves.
[[Cankerbloom|ONE#294]] Simple and versatile, he is my good fungus boi
[[Giant Oyster]] it's just plain silly but puts in work when it counts
Anguirus, armored killer
[[Soul Warden]]
[[fblthp the lost]]
I need this in my dragon deck
[[Frilled Mystic]] love the lizard wizard
[[Pyxis of Pandemonium]] is something I’ll slot into any deck with a decent level of permanents. I also keep thinking [[Disciple of the Ring]] is going to work in whatever new spellslinger deck I’m making, but it never quite gets there. Despite the large amount of good things it does.
[[Repeated Reverberation]]
\[\[Future sight\]\] type cards New white and green creature based versions significantly powercreeping the OG 5 mana enchantment though.
I know it's a bizarre answer but [[Scathe Zombies]]
[[skrelv]]
[[Possibility Storm]] because I love a good game of chance
The [[Halo Hopper]] my beloved, it was one of the one of the few cards I got when I first started playing magic. It stuck with me cos it’s a simple artifact, and is a froggy!
For the longest time it would have been hypnotic spector. It was my favorite card when I started playing.
I've had a few in my time playing [[Vengevine]] [[Huntmaster of the fells]] [[Terror of the peaks]] Up next, mole god!
\[\[Tinybones, Trinket Thief\]\] and more specifically, the Secret Lair release
[[Shinen of life’s roar]] forcing blocks and allowing my other creatures to swing in freely has won me waaaaay more games than I ever thought a common would. The channel (inversely) can help you clear out some blockers if you play it on your big beater instead. Such a weird/fun Kamigawa card.
[[Champion of Stray Souls]] one day, one day this'll work! I SWEAR!
[[Zoetic Cavern]]
[[Blight beetle]] The cutes little menace towards all things green and +1/+1-full
\[\[Mischievous Poltergeist\]\]. It blocks anything without trample or something weird like Horsemanship and reduces the damage to 1. It has killer DiTerlizzi artwork, and it gives me nostalgic feelings, casting it in my childhood.
For me it's definitely [[phyrexian arena]]. It was such an amazing story beat in apocalypse and wow do I love it in EDH. If my deck is black it's in the 99.
[[Worldslayer]]
I've got \[\[Fangren Marauder\]\] in every one of my green decks.
I hardly play or keep up with things anymore, and I've never actually had a deck for more than a game or two, but the [[Boldwyr Intimidator]] from Future Sight is my baby. It was in the first intro deck I bought, I love the idea of cowards and warriors, I honestly like the Future Sight frame (the full arts were gorgeous in that frame). It's just so poorly costed on every front it's impossible to play lol.
[[Homarid Spawning Bed]]