Table of Contents
The Game Changer list holds the most powerful cards in Commander, holding the most efficient ramp, draw, removal, and combo tools. You can only play up to three of them in a Bracket 3 deck, and in lower brackets, they’re completely banned. Many of these cards are on the Reserved List, which means Wizards of the Coast has promised never to reprint them; some fetch prices of over $500. Most players will never own a Gaea's Cradle, let alone play one in their Bracket 3 deck.
So which Game Changers should you get? All Game Changers are immensely powerful, but some will only work in specific kinds of decks and others cost more than they’re worth. You don’t want to buy an expensive Game Changer for a deck you don’t end up enjoying. If you want to power up your Bracket 3 deck, I would start with the following list. Today, we’re ranking the Top Ten Game Changers, not just by power, but also by price and versatility.
10. Gamble
It’s exhilarating to topdeck the card that wins you the game. Sometimes, Gamble is exactly that. Other times, Gamble fails hilariously. Either way, Gamble can be a fun Game Changer for any red deck.
For one red mana, Gamble gets any card from your deck. The catch is this: you then have to discard a random card in your hand. Sometimes, you lose the card you just tutored for. You could also lose a strong value engine, a big finisher, a pet card you like, or the last land drop you need to cast your commander. When you play it, you’re Gambling on the outcome, but if you have two or three extra cards in your hand and you only need one specific card, the odds are in your favor.
The other two red Game Changers don’t make this list in my opinion. Underworld Breach doesn’t work in as many decks, requiring graveyard support to function well. The third red Game Changer, Jeska's Will, is more powerful than Gamble, but has double the price tag. Gamble gets the #10 spot on this list because for only $10-15 USD, Gamble gives you a chance to find exactly the card you need, and even when it throws that card away, it still leaves you and the rest of your pod with a good laugh.
9. Seedborn Muse
If you’re in green, this is a wonderful card to have in your arsenal, and it costs well under $10 USD. Seedborn Muse is a 5 mana creature that untaps everything you control at each player’s untap step. In a normal commander pod, this means you’ll have four times the mana to spend, and you’ll be able to use your tap abilities four times as often.
This card’s power is most apparent when paired with commanders that have strong activated abilities. Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy and Kenrith, the Returned King can convert that extra mana into an avalanche of card advantage and free stuff. Its most infamous partner is the Partner Commander Thrasios, Triton Hero. With Seedborn Muse in play, Thrasios’ activated ability lets you exponentially ramp and draw lots of cards.
In a typical Bracket 3 green deck, Seedborn Muse is always worth including. It may not give you the same early burst of power as some of this list’s other entries, but this card is well worth the cost. I think its perfect for the #9 spot of this list.
8. Notion Thief
Notion Thief may not be quite as explosive as other cards here, but it only costs $1.50. Any Dimir deck above Bracket 3 can take advantage of this incredible draw/stax piece without paying a premium at all which puts it here on our list.
For four mana, Notion Thief steals all of your opponents’ extra card draw. It has Flash, so you can cast it in response to an opponent’s draw spell to take those cards for yourself. If your opponents have mandatory draw engines like Phyrexian Arena, it’ll keep drawing cards for you.
Don’t forget that in the process it also denies your opponents card draw. Until your opponents can take it out, Notion Thief will give you uncontested card advantage. A full turn cycle with it out can often win you the game. For only $1.50, there’s no reason not to get this Game Changer for your Bracket 3 Dimir decks.
7. Orcish Bowmasters
This is the first particularly expensive card on this list, but it’s well worth the price tag for your black Commander decks. Orcish Bowmasters punishes draw, removes opposing creatures, synergizes with wheels, and makes and grows an Army token to block with or sacrifice.
Orcish Bowmasters is a two mana creature with flash that deals one damage to any target and Amasses Orcs when it enters. If you don’t have an Army, it puts 0/0 Orc Army on the field with a +1/+1 counter, and if you already have in, it puts a counter on that army. It repeats this trigger whenever your opponents draw a card outside of their draw step.
I need to reiterate that this is TWO MANA. Bare minimum, you get two 1/1 creatures and deal one damage to any target. Most of the time, you’ll get much more than that. Alongside you cast a wheel effect like Dark Deal or Winds of Change, you can make the Army token gigantic and take out several threatening creatures.
OBM makes the list because whether or not you plan to synergize with it, it will be effective in every black deck. Cards like Ad Nauseam and Necropotence might give more value over time for a lower price, but they can’t interact on their own and cost more mana. This is worth the premium price if you’re looking for a quality Game Changer.
6. Field of the Dead
Field of the Dead is the first colorless card on this list, meaning it can be played in any Commander deck. If your games go to turn 7, this land can start making 2/2 Zombie tokens practically for free.
This enters as an tapped colorless land, but it makes up for that in the late game. When you control seven lands with different names, it makes a 2/2 Zombie whenever you get a Landfall trigger. In a multicolor deck, this is a trivial requirement to meet by the time you play your seventh or eighth land. You’ll be the first on the board after a boardwipe, and in a control deck, it can give you board presence without much commitment.
It’ll work in any deck, but it works particularly well in green decks. Green has many land tutors and can put multiple lands into play every turn. With Scapeshift, you can make yourself an instant army of zombies. There’s a reason it’s banned in both Pioneer and Modern. Field of the Dead is another premium Game Changer, but you’ll always have a home for it.
5. Cyclonic Rift
Cyclonic Rift wins games for seven mana. Few cards are as effective at dismantling all of your opponents’ boards, and none can match its rate. If you want to have a Game Changer that can go in any blue deck, this is the one you should get.
For two mana, it can ‘return target nonland permanent you don’t control to its owner’s hand.’ That’s a mediocre removal spell, until you cast it for its Overload cost, which changes the word ‘target’ to ‘each.’ For seven mana, it will ‘return each nonland permanent you don’t control to its owner’s hand.’ Clear away your opponents’ creatures, reset their value engines, and win the game uncontested.
Blue has many Game Changers, but only this and one other card make this list. The blue tutors need you to use them carefully, the counterspells aren’t quite impactful enough for their price, and Consecrated Sphinx costs six mana, making it a dead draw if you don’t hit your lands. Cyclonic Rift, meanwhile, is always useful and always a Game Changer.
4. Bolas’ Citadel
Bolas’s Citadel is the last entry on this list to get bonus points for price. It’s in the $10-15 range, a decently expensive single, but it’s cheaper than most Game Changers, and like so many other cards on this list, it can still singlehandedly win you the game.
Bolas’s Citadel lets you play lands and cast spells off the top of your deck, and lets you pay life instead of mana for those spells. It’s one of the most iconic black cards in commander, and the raw card and mana advantage it provides is a bargain for its six mana casting cost.
Where aforementioned cards like Ad Naus and Necro don’t make the list, Citadel does because it can immediately swing the game in your favor without needing any extra mana. It doesn’t matter what else is in your deck– Bolas’s Citadel will play those cards immediately and you can usually win the game off of that.
3. Teferi’s Protection
There are few answers to a Cyclonic Rift. Teferi’s Protection is one of them. For three mana, it will protect you from anything. The price tag is high, but it’s usefulness will be even higher in your white decks.
Teferi’s Protection is an instant that gives you protection from everything and phases out everything you control. Your life total won’t be able to change until your next turn and your opponents won’t be able to target you with effects. Your permanents won’t be affected at all by your opponents until they phase back in at your next upkeep.
Nothing is better for surviving a boardwipe or a scary combat step. If you’re willing to pay ~$40, this is one of the best cards available in white decks.
2. Rhystic Study
We’re up to the classic Game Changer. “Do you pay the one” is a question that has haunted Commander tables for a long time. If you play blue, this is arguably the best Game Changer you can buy.
With this three mana enchantment in play, your opponents are offered a choice whenever they cast a spell: “pay the one,” or let you draw a card. If your opponents don’t pay their taxes, you’ll be swimming in card advantage. If they do pay their taxes, you’re still increasing the cost of all of their spells by 1, maintaining a gargantuan advantage.
Rhystic Study is good in basically any blue deck. Games are won on card and mana advantage, and Rhystic Study will typically put you way ahead on both fronts over the course of a game. Only one card is more universally powerful than Rhystic Study…
1. The One Ring
The One Ring is one of the most legendary artifacts in all of fiction, and in its journey to Magic: the Gathering, it became one of the most powerful colorless cards in the game. It usually costs over $70, but because it draws so many cards in any color identity while protecting you the turn after it enters, this card makes the top of our list.
For four mana, the Ring gives you protection from everything until your next turn when it enters. You can tap it to put a burden counter on it, and then you can draw a card for each burden counter on it. During your upkeep, you lose life for each burden counter on it. Compared to the benefits, that downside is meaningless.
The One Ring fits in any color. It’s card draw and protection rolled up into one perfect Game Changer. If you want a Game Changer that will fit in any deck, this is the one you should get, which is why it makes the number one spot on our list.
Conclusion
Remember, this list ranks the top ten Game Changers for their potential performance in a variety of Bracket 3 and low Bracket 4 decks. Tutors on the Game Changer list may be more powerful in combo decks and CEDH lists, but they won’t be as useful in a creature midrange deck or a slow, controlling deck. It also factors in price, pushing out stronger that may not give as much bang for your buck.
All ten of these Game Changers can power up most decks in their respective colors, or are cheap enough to be worth buying anyway. What’s your favorite Game Changer? Are there any placements you disagree with? Join our Discord and let us know.
