Alternate Win Cards that are Cheaper Than Ever and Great for Commander
With the upcoming printing of
The following unique “you win the game” cards provide you with a different way to approach piloting your deck that you may have otherwise ignored. In 60-card formats these alternate win cons can appear few and far between, but in Commander, where you have three opponents to distract each other and a larger card pool to choose from, they can thrive. Indeed, these win cons may seem easy to overlook, but if played correctly, they can take your opponents by surprise and win you games in ways you previously would have otherwise written off.
Not all alternate win cons are created equal, however, so I went ahead and compiled the ones I believe are worth considering for your decks that are also currently at their most financially viable prices. These are relatively straightforward in terms of setup, and in the right deck won’t require any additional deckbuilding beyond swapping out one card.
Mechanized Production
When I think of alternate win cons, the one that sticks out as the most cost-efficient and impactful, while not overtly threatening as to attract too much attention, has to be Mechanized Production. This is one that creeps up on you, not registering as a threat to most players until it’s too late. Unlike other alternate win cons, such as
The opportunities here are vast, and with the above token types becoming more and more omnipresent, the chances of winning through Mechanized Production just go up with each new set. Put simply, it’s a value engine that also can close out a game, and a cheap one at that - sitting at less than $2, this is at an all-time low, down from a historic high of just over $16 about two years ago, no doubt thanks to a slew of reprints. If you ever were curious if Mechanized Production could work for your deck, now is the time to pick one up and give it a shot.
| Mechanized Production | ||
| Mechanized Production |
Hellkite Tyrant
This is another personal favorite of mine, one that I feel so strongly about that if you’re running any sort of Dragon synergy or artifact token-based decks in red, this is a must-include.
And as mentioned previously, artifact tokens are more present than ever lately, so you’re bound to get some sort of benefit when you connect - even if they sacrifice all their Treasures or tokens in response you’ll have wiped their board, which can be utterly debilitating. This ability is so powerful I’d even say Hellkite Tyrant is a decent target for
| Hellkite Tyrant | ||
| Hellkite Tyrant (Anime Borderless) | ||
| Hellkite Tyrant (Retro Frame) |
Felidar Sovereign
An old staple that is somewhat overlooked now, Felidar Sovereign is, in my mind, one of the original Commander boogeymen. While the argument can be made that this card isn’t quite as intimidating as it used to be, it’s still an absolute classic that, at the very least, draws attention and forces removal.
If Felidar Sovereign hits the field early on it absolutely must be dealt with, and anything that carries that type of impact is worth considering. Like Hellkite Tyrant, Felidar Sovereign has solid stats that make it especially hard to kill through combat. And while its win condition may be considered straightforward, it simply gets the job done, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Plus, there’s been plenty of newer (relative to Felidar Sovereign’s first printing in
| Felidar Sovereign | ||
| Felidar Sovereign |
Mayael's Aria
While this card’s colors are fairly restrictive, it’s worth mentioning due to the value it does provide if you find yourself playing Naya, especially if you’re leaning into large creatures. And while, yes, it doesn’t necessarily do anything until you have a creature with power five or greater, once you meet that threshold it provides consistent benefits to you and your board. It isn’t deeply threatening to other players until it’s too late, allowing it to fly under the radar.
Mayael’s Aria is also worth bringing up since it’s the most accessible price-wise in a decade after its
| Mayael's Aria | ||
| Mayael's Aria (Foil Etched) |
Surviving to Upkeep
One thing you'll notice that all these cards have in common is they trigger at the beginning of your upkeep, which poses the inherent problem of projecting your win condition to the field potentially multiple turns before you can pull it off. So how do you ensure that you even survive to get to that point? There are a few options.
The first, and I think the best option, is to simply take your opponents by surprise and give them as little opportunity to respond to your threat as possible. This can be done by flashing in these win conditions on your opponent's end step with the help of cards like
Another option is to stack additional upkeep triggers on your turn, though the most glaring downside to this strategy is you pretty much need to be playing blue, unlike the previous approach. If you do find yourself in this color however,
And finally, you can go the extra turns route to just keep taking turns until your winning upkeep trigger. Like the previous one, this strategy is also somewhat shoehorned into blue, however there are some cards, such as
| Vedalken Orrery | ||
| Leyline of Anticipation | ||
| Emergence Zone | ||
| Paradox Haze | ||
| Sphinx of the Second Sun | ||
| Shadow of the Second Sun |
In Conclusion
Alternate win conditions might not always work in your deck, but I implore you to try some out if you think they might. They add a little extra spice to what could be a traditional and straightforward Commander build, and allow you to pilot it or view it in ways that you previously may have overlooked. These are just a taste of the alternate win cons available, and I highly recommend checking the rest out to see if any are up your alley, as there is no greater feeling than cinching the win outright with an unusual “you win the game” ability when others thought you were out of the picture - and what else should we aim for, if not making our games more memorable?
Further Reading:
Jason is a longtime lover of Magic, falling in love with the game at Seventh Edition, as well as an EDH enthusiast for both casual and competitive metas alike. He's also a screenwriter with a produced feature and plans to proceed with many more creative projects in and out of film. His favorite card is Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, but he firmly believes that Mana Drain is the best card.
