Anyone at my LGS or who reads this site should be able to tell that one of my greatest obsessions is all things EDH. I've done several articles including tournament reports and different ways to build decks but today I thought i'd do something a bit different and maybe a bit clickbait-y - a top 10 list. These cards all do see play but it's no where near the level of play I feel they deserve to see. In no particular order -
Word of Seizing - I feel like other split second cards like Wipe Away could also be on this list but Word of Seizing does something unique, it effectively uncounterably steals a permanent at instant speed without using the stack. This can lead to absolutely massive plays like - stealing an opponents Planeswalker when they have enough loyalty to use the ultimate ability, stealing one opponents creature to block another opponents creature (hopefully having them trade), stealing a key combo piece like Rings of Brightearth to prevent a combo kill etc. etc. This is a card that is on my short list to add into almost any EDH deck using red but despite a reprint in a commander product it's still pretty uncommon to see one.
Grab the Reins - From one instant speed steal effect to another one, Grab the Reins is a combination of an instant speed Threaten effect and/or a Fling effect, there is a crazy amount of utility in this card you can do the same steal and block trick I mentioned with Word of Seizing, you can fling your largest creature to kill something (or someone), you can steal and fling the biggest creature on the table (killing the 2nd biggest creature) etc. etc. This card can single handedly turn combats around for you, one of the plays I like to do with it is to attack with my own creatures then when I receive the inevitable attack back I can entwine it stealing the most advantageous target and sacrificing my biggest creature to kill something else.
Erratic Portal - With an identical effect to Crystal Shard the OG Erratic Portal (which can be abused even in non-blue decks) maybe because of the age or the smaller number of reprints sees surprisingly little play. If you haven't played with them before both of these cards serve a few useful functions - saving your creatures from targeted effects, bouncing creatures with 187 (enters play) effects to reuse their abilities and finally taxing your opponents, the threat of Portal bounce can force opponents to delay a turn before playing their big creature/commander.
Imp's Mischief - I love effects that break the MTG color pie and this is a great one, for the low cost of 2 mana and some life (not that painful in the 40 life EDH format) you get a redirect effect outside of blue and red. This can completely take opponents by surprise when an Abzan etc. opponent with only 2 untapped mana derails their plans.
Withering Boon - Speaking of color pie breaking effects here's another one at pretty much the same cost (2 mana + some life). While some people might shy away from the card on the basis that black already has access to some of the best removal options the value of being able to counter a creature instead of killing it shouldn't be underestimated especially in EDH where creatures with 187 abilities, death triggers and all sorts of protection abilities are very common. I don't know about you but i'd prefer to stop the Avenger of Zendikar or Thassa's Oracle preemptively if I can.
Magewright's Stone - A lot of powerful commanders including my personal favorite (OG Captain Sisay) have strong tap abilities and can abuse cards like Staff of Domination and Thousand-Year Elixer. For the more budget minded (or people wanting extra redundancy) this cheaper option is also worth a look.
Into the North - Land ramp is fantastic in EDH since unlike mana rocks or mana dorks it's much harder to deal with and Into the North is an oft forgotten premium option (maybe because the entire Cold Snap set is oft forgotten). At the low cost of using snow basic lands it's another Rampant Growth but one with the upside that it can also fetch any of the allied colored snow duals, Dark Depths (finisher), Mouth of Ronom (removal), Frostwalk Bastion (creature) or even Scrying Sheets (advantage engine if you go heavy snow theme).
While the above 7 cards all are to my mind definitely underutilized these last 3 are on a different level (clocking in at 0% or less than 500 decks on EDH Rec) these are in my opinion criminally underutilized EDH cards -
War Tax - Propaganda effects like the original, the color shifted Ghostly Prison etc. are all powerful and heavily played for their ability to pillow fort. War Tax isn't as good at pillow forting as those cards but where it shines is in the political game. With a land tax in play and a heap of mana untapped you get to decide if and when players can make attacks and offers deals in relation to the ability. "If I save you from being attacked this turn will you leave me alone this round?" is a powerful question as is "If I let you attack will you promise not to attack me?"
Evangelize - Designed as a throwback reference to the card Preacher, Evangelize gives white a unique stealing effect and even has buyback. The cost is high and it's a sorcery but EDH has a lot of fantastic mana ramp and this is a very powerful repeatable effect. It's especially amazing against Voltron or creature light decks where whatever you steal should be good.
Commander Eesha - I love this card, I use her in my main EDH deck (Captain Sisay) and she's always on my short list for any white using deck. Protection from creatures is a rare and powerful ability and she can either play a great defensive role able to block most things thanks to 4 toughness and flying and she can also be used in a Voltron strategy as a great holder of equipment cards/auras including Blackblade Reforged. I was mind blown to see how underutilized she is according to EDH Rec (only 510 decks total).
Thanks for reading, hopefully this article will give some of you some good ideas for future EDH decks. Did you like the article? Would you like to see more top X list articles? I'm trying something new here so please let me know your opinions.