Aetherdrift Commander Set Review: Top Commanders & Cards

Aetherdrift is here and ready to take your commander decks up a gear! With plenty of new legends and exciting new cards for the other 99, it's time to see what upgrades you might want to make to your decks – as well as brand new ones to build.

The Aehterdrift commander set has a lot of power under the bonnet, with some interesting new mechanics. Ready, set, let’s go!

Full Set List & Key Commanders

Let’s start with the new commander options who can lead new decks, or be folded into existing decks.

Mono coloured commanders:

• Basri, Tomorrow’s Champion – Basri has cycling, but really is all about the cats. As the cats he creates are tokens and have lifelink, he could also be considered in a token deck, and ones that want to gain life. A strong build around and inclusion in existing decks
  
  
• Mu Yanling, Wind Rider – Mu Yanling is everything you could want from a mono-blue vehicle commander, providing all your vehicles with flying and a card drawing engine, as well as giving you a vehicle token as she enters. The only downside is that she’s mono blue, limiting your options to just that colour with her at the helm. Therefore she may be better as part of the 99 with a commander that has access to more colours
  
  
• Vnwxt, Verbose Host – impossible to say, but a great commander option for decks that will deal damage, probably with small evasive creatives considering it’s mono blue. Once you hit max speed, you have your own personal howling mine, as well as no maximum hand size to make sure you can keep them all!
  
  
• Gonti, Night Minister – Gonti is back, and still stealing things from your opponent. This Gonti wants to deal damage to the opponent to access the card advantage engine, so small evasive creatures work well, but Gonti also fits into other decks that take advantage of playing your opponents cards (with other versions of Gonti)
  
  
• The Speed Demon – a classic black card that swaps life for cards, both hugely powerful and very dangerous! Speed demon can slot into many black decks, especially those that are already geared-up to offset the life loss with life gain
  
  
• Daretti, Rocketeer Engineer – Daretti is a fantastic commander, providing a ‘Trash for Treasure’ in the Command Zone which enables a mono-red artifact reanimator strategy. I can see him being hugely popular
  
  
• Hazoret, Godseeker – an undercosted creature with the catch it needs max speed to attack and block, really Hazoret is more of a constructed (i.e. Standard) card that Commander, but still a fun option for anyone wanting to make an aggressive mono red commander deck
  
  
• Oviya, Automech Artisan – I love this one, an Elvish Piper in the Command Zone! A hugely powerful effect, so long as it can stick around, Oviya works well both as a mono-green/artifact commander with plenty of huge creatures, or in the 99 of similar strategies such as Mayael, the Anima. Giving trample to attacking creatures is a huge upside too, making sure those massive creatures you drop won’t just get chump blocked.

Multicoloured Commanders

• Aatchik, Emerald Radian – there’s a lot to love with this one, fitting well into exiting green/black graveyard based decks, while also giving us an insect commander to go alongside insect/graveyard strategies with cards like Spider Spawning, Izoni, Thousand-Eyed and Grist, The Hunger Tide.
• Caradora, Heart of Alacria – any commander that lets you tutor is always going to be a great option (and only get better as more Mounts and Vehicles are printed), enabling you to find your combo, a toolbox answer, or both! There’s also a nice +1/+1 counter ability that can be built around, too
• Far Fortune, End Boss – very Rakdos indeed, Far Fortune wants you to attack, helping to enable you to increase your speed fast, and then deals extra damage when you reach max speed. A good option for anyone that wants to get in the red zone!

• Ketramose, the New Dawn – no doubt one of the best cards in the set, across many formats. Ketramose is a card-advantage engine that turns into a serious threat later, while being really hard to get off the board. It just needs some help to keep the exile going

• Kolodin, Triumph Caster – not much to say here apart from this being a really great vehicle and mount commander in Boros. Boros wants to attack, and Kolodin lets you get in there immediately with your mounts and vehicles, and it only costs two mana!
• Loot, the Pathfinder – Loot is an interesting card, on the one hard it’s sort of ‘good stuff’ and could go in most Temur decks with it’s universally powerful effects, however given that each of these abilities is an Exhaust (meaning you can use only once) he may benefit from blink effects to reset the abilities to use again, or effects that double the effects of activated abilities
• Mendicant Core, Guidelight – a strong option for artifact decks, and being able to copy artifacts works well in decks that either want to sacrifice artifacts or runs artifacts with ‘enters’ abilities
• Mimeoplasm, Revered One – this new Mimeoplasm provides a fresh take on graveyard decks. You can make this Ooze huge, and can copy creatures with useful effects like trample or flying. It wants to go in a ‘voltron’ direction, so it’s a good job you can run blue for protection spells
• Redshift, Rocketeer Chief – Redshift has two sides to it: one is to pump it to help accelerate your mana, while the other helps dump a load of expensive permanents into play
• Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied – a really nice, albeit ‘fair’ Simic card, which works well with +1/+1 counter manipulation so you can choose when to attack and when to draw. Even without that, you’re not going to be sad to have it in your 99
• Samut, the Driving Force – Samut does a little of everything, but will shine best with a horde of cheap creatures – helping build up speed and then taking advantage of the power boost. This extra power makes vehicles easier to crew, too
• Winter, Cursed Rider – Winter makes another appearance here, this time with blue mana. He’s all about blue/black artifacts, making them harder to target while also controlling the board
• Zahur, Glory’s Past – an interesting new aristocrats option that provides a free sacrifice outlet while also providing zombies to sacrifice once at max speed. Zahur only costing two mana is a big deal

The Best Cards in Aetherdrift for Commander

Now let’s take a look at the best non-commander cards in the set:

White:

• Bulwark Ox – very useful way to give your board indestructible and hexproof for just two mana
• Guardian Sunmare – a white tutor for permanents that cost 3 or less that seems very powerful if let unchecked, although the high mana and also saddle costs may make it difficult
• Periolus Snare – artifact removal for decks that care about that card type, as well as having +1/+1 counter synergies
• Salvation Engine – an anthem and graveyard recursion for artifacts
• Skyseer’s Chariot – a vehicle ‘hate bear’ is interesting, most likely an option for the more competitive minded commander players who love a bit of death and taxes
• Spectacular Pileup – great boardwipe that gets around indestructible and has cycling for when it’s not required
• Valor’s Flagship – a giant vehicle with a handy cycling ability, this card is just asking to be reanimated
   

Blue

• Mindspring Merfolk – solid inclusion in ‘folk decks
• Possession Engine – an interesting combination of a Mind Control effect on a vehicle, which also allows the creature you steal to crew (although not attack or block)
• Repurposing Bay – basically a Birth Pod for artifacts, and a great way to tutor toolbox or combo pieces
• Riverchurn Monument – a potentially powerful milling artifact for mill and graveyard decks
• Thopeter Fabricator – a nice thopter engine for cards that can reliably trigger it, as well as being a 4/4 flier for three mana with crew 2, which should be easy with all those thopters
• Unstoppable Plan – a nice option for decks with lots of flash/instants that want to get all out of their mana that they can, as well as no doubt some busted combo potential by unlocking big mana artifacts
• Waxen Shapethief – a solid flash clone, with cycling too in case there’s nothing good to copy or if you want to load up your graveyard
  
  

Black

• Cryptcaller Chariot – this one is less about behind a vehicle, and more able the static that makes zombies for every card you discard. A strong option for decks that are discarding their hands, whether it’s for reanimator, madness, or perhaps even a zombie deck
• Cursecloth Wrappings – another one for zombie decks, the wrappings are much like a Whip of Erebos, except for making a token that hangs around upon exiling
• Demonic Junker – a great removal option for decks running lots of artifacts that could perhaps reduce the cost of this vehicle all the way to one mana
• Gas Guzzler – nice vampire/aristocrats option
• The Last Ride – it’s Deathshadow on a vehicle, which has the benefit of allowing you to play it early without it dying right away, with a draw engine that helps to get the life title low. I could see this in decks like K’rrik that want to get life down low, although now trample hurts it
  
  

Red

• Boommobile – adding mana when it enters is interesting, going infinite with Deadeye Navigator, for example. Blinking the Boommobile enables you to reuse the exhaust ability too
• Chandra, Spark Hunter – provides both a steady flow of artifacts and sacrifice synergies, working well in Breya, for example
• Count on Luck – nice card advantage option for red, much like Pyrexian Arena
• Full Throttle – that’s a lot of attack steps! Best in decks that want to turn things sideways, obviously
• Howlsquad Heavy – a great one for goblin decks, granting haste, tokens, and a goblin Gaea’s Cradle!
  
  

Green

• Agonasaur Rex – a big beater that can double as a protection spell or a combat trick, looks great
• District Mascot – nice artifact and enchantment removal for just one mana, with counter synergies too
• Lumbering Worldwagon – interesting option for lands and ramp decks
• March of the World Ooze – boosts all your creatures and makes them oozes for typal synergies, as well as discouraging your opponent from casting spells on your turn
• Regal Imperiosaur – a fantastic dinosaur ‘lord’ for dino decks
• Thunderous Velocipede – likes to boost little creatures a bit, and big creatures a lot!
  
  

Multicolur

• Brightglass Gearhulk – super powerful tutor that can dig out a lot of answers, and combos
• Coalstoke Gearhulk – a nice reanimator option for smaller creatures
• Explosive Getaway – a cool boardwipe that allows you to save a creature or artifact, and benefit from ‘enters’ effects too
• Pyrewood Gearhulk – a nice ‘mass pump’ effect that swamps trample for menace
• Riptide Gearhulk – a strong option for ‘tucking’ opponents cards, probably to counter later seeing as its blue

Colourless

• The Aetherspark – a good option for equipment decks, and likely not many other places
• Lifecraft Engine – typal vehicle that will see play in most typal decks
• Marketback Walker – strong card draw option for counters decks
• Monument to Endurance – there’s a lot of value here for decks that want to discard cards, especially if your commander does it
• Radiant Lotus – this looks just bonkers and you’d imagine will be broken in quite a few decks
• The ‘verge’ cycle of dual lands – e.g. Bleachbone Verge – Is completed in the set and worth considering

Conclusion

The Aetherdrift commander set is strong with lots of interesting card options for the Commander format – and everything is available here at Magic Madhouse! You can buy singles, as well as the exciting Aetherdrift preconstructed Commander decks, and sealed products if you just want to crack packs and see what you get. There are plenty of deals, sales, strategy articles and fast shipping to – so fire up your engines and let’s go!