5 Underrated Commander Cards From Visions

Visions is an important set in the history of Magic. Not only was it part of Magic’s very first cohesive Block (Mirage Block), it also introduced enter-the-battlefield abilities. Love them or hate them, these days tons of creatures come with ETB abilities, and it all started with Visions.

However, when it comes to Commander, Visions isn’t exactly a set filled with heavily played cards. There are exceptions to this. Vampiric Tutor is one of the best tutors in the game, Relentless Assault is one of the best extra combat phase cards, Necromancy is a good reanimation spell, and Natural Order is a great way to tutor a big Green monster directly to the battlefield.

But beyond that, you probably aren’t seeing a whole lot of Visions cards when you’re playing Commander. However, there are some cards in Visions that deserve to see more play than they currently do.

Retribution of the Meek

Sweepers are great in Commander. Paying three for one is especially amazing. Obviously, Retribution of the Meek can’t hit all the creatures, and there will be times where small creatures are your biggest problem and it can’t deal with them. But there are also many board states where this does what you need it to.

This is especially true if you play it in a deck that is made up entirely or almost entirely of creatures with less than 4 power. For example, if you’re running a high toughness commander like Arcades, the Strategist or Doran, the Siege Tower, there’s a good chance that Retribution will be hurting your opponents while having very little effect on you.

Crypt Rats

Full disclosure: I’ve been known to find ways to talk or write about rats in Magic content because I have pet rats and I love them.

But I promise Crypt Rats isn’t in this article because I’m biased. It’s actually a super good card that people are overlooking! It is one of the most powerful Commons ever printed, as evidenced by how heavily it’s been played in Pauper since the format was born. And other 60-card formats haven’t been entirely safe from it either.

And it’s great for Commander too. That activated ability is some serious business. It can damage the entire board for each mana you have. It kills itself with the effect, but it does so much damage to the board and all players that it’s worth the price. 

The mana does have to be black, so you’re only going to want Crypt Rats in your mono-black decks, but it should be seriously considered for every single mono-Black Commander deck you build. 

Anvil of Bogardan

Anvil of Bogardan’s effect is symmetrical, and it doesn’t always feel great to shut off maximum hand size for your opponent and let them loot every turn. However, the Anvil can be very powerful in the right deck. The good news is, there are two kinds of popular decks where it really shines – Discard and Wheel decks. 

So, if you’re using Tinybones or Tergrid, suddenly the Anvil isn’t symmetrical at all. You get to dig deeper into your deck while punishing your opponent for the forced discard on their turn. Tinybones will draw you extra cards and Tergrid lets you steal discarded permanents.

And if you’re using a Commander like Sheoldred, you can punish your opponent for the extra draw you’re forcing every turn, while also getting extra value out of your own loot each turn.

Brood of Cockroaches

The art on this card makes my skin crawl, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. Although, you do need the right deck for it. It isn’t like every black deck desperately wants a two mana 1/1 that keeps coming back to their hand. However, there are definitely some Black decks that should be making use of this.

It does have to die for its ability to trigger, and that means you can use it as sacrifice fodder. While I think the Brood is worth a look in any Black sacrifice deck, this is especially true in decks that are interested in the Insect creature type.

For example, in Grist decks, it’s great to sacrifice to her powerful -2 ability. Amzu, Swarm’s Hunger loves insects and when creatures leave the graveyard. So, if you’re sacrificing the Brood every turn, you’re going to get a 3/3 insect token every time you return the Brood to your hand.

City of Solitude

Tired of blue mages countering all your spells? Sick of players comboing off at the end of your turn? Then I’ve got the card for you. City of Solitude completely eliminates the ability of any player to do anything during another player’s turn. 

Obviously, you don’t want to be running this if your deck is super interested in doing stuff at any time other than during your turn. If your deck is perfectly content to only operate during your turn, though, you can really break the symmetry on this and hamstring your opponents.

While there are lots of Green decks out there that can make use of the City, Yurlok of the Scorch Thrash is probably the ideal home for City of Solitude. Yurlok punishes players for being unable to spend their mana, and he comes with the ability to give mana to all players. 

The best Yurlok decks look for ways to make sure that the opponent can’t make use of that extra mana while you can still reap the benefits. City of Solitude is one of the best ways to do that. Because they can’t do anything at all with that mana during your turn, it guarantees that all of your opponents will be losing 3 life each turn and you still get extra mana out of Yurlok.

End Step

I hope I introduced you to some overlooked gems from Visions. Do you think there are any cards that I left out? Let me know over on X.