Summary
Ever wanted to know which planeswalkers could drift? Ever wonder which plane produces the best drivers? With the release of Aetherdrift, Wizards of the Coast has answered these questions and many more, pittingfan-favorite charactersagainst each other in a giant race full of planes, trains, and automobiles. Characters old and new can be seen piloting and saddling a whole host of new vehicles and mounts with new mechanics that make a player feel fast and, undoubtedly, furious.
Here are nine (and a few extra) cards that fit best from this new set intoMagic: The Gathering Arena’sBrawl mode, whether as commanders of their own decks or the latest additions to the main 99 of existing ones. Each card on this list has something unique to offer, ranked by just how impactful they can be on the state of a game.
9Elvish Refueler
Exhaust Without Limits
Elvish Refueler introduces the first new mechanic for Aetherdrift: Exhaust. As written, exhaust abilities are abilities that can only be activated once per game, meaning once they are used, that’s it, unless the card is recast at a later point in the game. Elvish Refueler cheats this system, giving the player a chance to activate exhaust abilities multiple times, so long as it is the first exhaust ability they have activated in a given turn.
While a little confusing on paper, this boils down to allowing the repeated use of exhaust abilities, turning them from a once-per-game affair into a once-per-turn situation, allowing for many of the more powerful abilities using this keyword to be activated again and again. The only trouble with Elvish Refueler is how vulnerable it is to removal, making it a prime target for an enemy spell.
8Chandra, Spark Hunter
Crew Vehicles With Ease
Chandra, a fan-favorite planeswalker, has returned with art that pays tribute to the legendaryAkira. This iteration of Chandra is focused on vehicles, able to create vehicles with her zero-cost ability and turn them into creatures for free in each combat, thanks to her passive ability. Her plus two ability is a source of consistent card draw, and her minus 7 creates a constant source of non-combat damage that is sure to leave any opponent incredibly frustrated.
Chandra can helm a deck, thanks to her Legendary designation. However, she might be better off in amulticolored artifacts deck, as mono red doesn’t have the widest selection of vehicles to choose from. Putting her in the 99 of a Captain Howler, Sea Scourge deck could lead to a powerful combo thanks to her ability to easily discard cards each turn.
7Radiant Lotus
Another Lotus Has Appeared
ManyMagic: The Gatheringplayers will shudder to hear the term Lotus, thanks to the infamy of cards like Black Lotus or Jeweled Lotus. While those cards are notorious, Radiant Lotus is an addition to their ranks that feels a little less menacing and more in line with the fast-mana artifacts widely available and present in most decks.
Radiant Lotus allows the player to sacrifice as many artifacts as they choose and gives them three mana per artifact sacrificed. A potentially powerful ability is held back by the high mana cost of the Lotus itself, as well as the requirement to sacrifice permanents, Radiant Lotus is a great addition to any artifact-heavy deck but isn’t necessarily a MUST include.
6Oviya, Automech Artisan
Like Kona, Rescue Beastie But A Little Different
Back inDuskmourn, the creature Kona, Rescue Beastie, was introduced, which allowed the player to put any permanent onto the battlefield from their hand as long as Kona was tapped in their second main phase. Oviya does something very similar, allowing the player to put a creature or artifact onto the battlefield from their hand for the low cost of a single green mana, and subsequently gives any artifacts put onto the battlefield this way two +1/+1 counters.
Building a mono-green deck around this is an easy way to cheat huge creatures onto the board, with the likes of Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant offering even more value for their entry. The only real downside to this theoretical deck is the color restriction. However, green has so many powerful creatures to cheat into play that Oviya is set up to become a very powerful commander if a player can keep them on the board for long enough.
5Gonti, Night Minister
Steal Cards And Make Treasure
Another returning character, Gonti is here once again to wreak havoc on the libraries of opponents, both as a commander and as a part of the 99 of a deck that utilizes card-stealing mechanics. Gonti, Night Minister allows any player to steal the top card of an opponent’s library when dealing combat damage to them and further allows them to cast the stolen spell with mana of any color. On top of this, any time a player casts a spell that they don’t own, they create a treasure token, giving them even more value for stealing other players' cards.
As a commander, Gonti can take advantage of creatures like Tinybones, all versions of which steal cards from opponents and will easily frustrate an opponent to no end. However, he also shines as a part of a deck that uses these mechanics, and the potential power spike from being put into something like aLaughing Jasper Flint deckis well worth looking at for any player already playing said deck.
4Loot, The Pathfinder
A Versatile Little Beast
This fluffy little creature is Loot, first introduced in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Outside of being adorable, Loot is the key to traversing through the many planes of Magic, thanks to the map of the Omenpaths he has within his mind. Turning from the lore to this specific card, Loot, The Pathfinder is a keyword-stackedcommanderwith Double Strike, Vigilance, and Haste, and also has access to three separate exhaust abilities.
From extra mana to card draw to free damage, Loot can do everything a player could want for the low cost of a single mana and tapping him. This is, of course, balanced out by the fact that these are exhaust abilities, meaning each can only be activated once unless the player can bounce Loot off the battlefield and recast him. Or, thanks to the green in his color identity, the player can combine Loot with an Elvish Refueler and continuously activate an exhaust ability each turn to get the full effects of his value engine.
3Samut, The Driving Force
Fast And Furious
Samut, The Driving Force introduces the second new mechanic for the set, that beingSpeed. Whenever a player casts a spell with the words “Start Your Engines” written on it, they begin to track their speed, starting at one and capping out at 4. They can then increase their speed once per turn by dealing damage to an opponent. Samut takes full advantage of this, granting other creatures the player controls +X/+0, where X is their current speed, as well as making non-creature spells cost X less to cast, where X is their current speed.
Not only this, but Samut is also stacked full of keywords, with First Strike, Vigilance, and Haste making it easy to get the speedball rolling and maintain a steadily building speed. Samut is the perfect example of a commander crafted for this set, taking full advantage of the new mechanic and doing so in such a way that makes any deck helmed by Samut a nightmare to play against.
2Gearhulks
They’re Back And Now They’re Multicolored!
Gearhulks are a creature type last seen in Kaladesh, a set that was released two whole years beforeMagic: The Gathering Arena,meaning many players who exclusively play onArenawill be unfamiliar with them. Unlike their appearances in Kaladesh, however, the Aetherdrift Gearhulks are no longer mono-colored, meaning they are more difficult to slot into decks, but still very worth it.
Each Gearhulk is an expensive yet impactful play, each having its own set of keywords and abilities. From forcing opponents to discard cards to buffing the player’s own creatures, every Gearhulk is a huge problem for an opponent to deal with and is well worth putting into any deck with the right color identity.
1The Aetherspark
Truly One Of A Kind
The final card on this list is the poster card for Aetherdrift, The Aetherspark. The first of its kind as an Artifact Planeswalker Equipment, The Aetherspark attaches itself to a creature with its plus one ability, draws cards with its minus five, and allows the player to generate ten mana of any one color with its minus ten, with its passive giving it extra loyalty counters whenever the attached creature does combat damage.
While it is fun to build a colorless deck with The Aetherspark as the commander, it fits better into a deck with large creatures and expensive spells, supporting the deck’s mana base without restricting it to exclusively colorless cards. The Aetherspark is a fun, unique addition to the game and can easily cause huge problems for an opponent thanks to its ability to generate loads of mana and draw lots of cards.
