Phyrexia: All Will Be One has given MTG players plenty of new Commanders and Commander cards. The set contains 28 new legendary creatures, alongside six additional choices released in the pre-constructed decks and in set boosters. The communities delight over the new Myr commander Urtet, Remnant of Memnarch Urtet, Remnant of Memnarch Urtet, Remnant of Memnarch Whenever you cast a Myr spell, create a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, untap each Myr you control.
{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}, {T}: Put three +1/+1 counters on each Myr you control. Activate only during your turn.
is mirrored by the wary caution with which the Rules Committee are regarding Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Vigilance
If a permanent entering causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.
Permanents entering don't cause abilities of permanents your opponents control to trigger.
.

Amidst all of this, one new commander is quietly rising in popularity: Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Juggernauts you control attack each combat if able.
Juggernauts you control can't be blocked by Walls.
Other creatures you control have base power and toughness 5/3 and are Juggernauts in addition to their other creature types.
. According to data on the Commander deckbuilding website EDHREC Graaz is, at the time of writing, the fifth most popular Commander from the main set. With The pre-release just over a week ago, 393 decks are already listed with Graaz as their commander. This is somewhat surprising as Graaz is an eight-mana colorless card, making it a costly card in a niche archetype. Nevertheless, players seem to have taken a shine to this unstoppable juggernaut and are excitedly brewing decks around the gigantic Mirran menace.

An Unstoppable Strategy

Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut

Juggernaut Juggernaut Juggernaut This creature attacks each combat if able.
This creature can't be blocked by Walls.
is a card that has been a part of Magic: the Gathering since the beginning. Introduced back in Alpha in 1993, Juggernaut Juggernaut Juggernaut This creature attacks each combat if able.
This creature can't be blocked by Walls.
is a four-mana 5/3 artifact creature. Juggernaut must attack every turn it is able to and cannot be blocked by walls. Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Juggernauts you control attack each combat if able.
Juggernauts you control can't be blocked by Walls.
Other creatures you control have base power and toughness 5/3 and are Juggernauts in addition to their other creature types.
takes all of your other creatures and turns them all into Juggernauts. Every other creature you control while Graaz is in play becomes a 5/3, that must attack each turn and cannot be blocked by walls. Graaz even provides all of your other creatures with the Juggernaut creature type.


The implied strategy is clear. Fill your deck with colorless creatures which are either mana dorks, like Palladium Myr Palladium Myr Palladium Myr {T}: Add {C}{C}. , or provide ramp, like Solemn Simulacrum Solemn Simulacrum Solemn Simulacrum When this creature enters, you may search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
When this creature dies, you may draw a card.
. Cards which generate a large number of small artifact creature tokens are also useful. This is especially true if those tokens have flying, or other relevant keyword abilities, like the ones generated by Thopter Assembly Thopter Assembly Thopter Assembly Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control no Thopters other than this creature, return this creature to its owner's hand and create five 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature tokens with flying.
. Once you have reached eight mana, bring out Graaz and turn your board of unassuming utility creatures and 1/1 tokens into an army of 5/3 battering rams to overwhelm your opponents.


Cards that can help you get Graaz into play are in high demand here, due to the Juggernaut Commander’s high mana value. Ugin, the Ineffable Ugin, the Ineffable Ugin, the Ineffable Colorless spells you cast cost {2} less to cast.
+1: Exile the top card of your library face down and look at it. Create a 2/2 colorless Spirit creature token. When that token leaves the battlefield, put the exiled card into your hand.
−3: Destroy target permanent that's one or more colors.
makes all colorless cards, in other words, all of the cards in your deck, two mana cheaper which is hugely helpful. Forsaken Monument Forsaken Monument Forsaken Monument Colorless creatures you control get +2/+2.
Whenever you tap a permanent for {C}, add an additional {C}.
Whenever you cast a colorless spell, you gain 2 life.
provides an absolutely immense amount of value. The monument gives all of your colorless creatures +2/+2 and gives you an additional colorless mana every time you tap a Waste or another permanent that generates colorless mana. As a bit of extra icing, the monument also gives you two life whenever you cast a colorless spell.


Other useful cards include: All Is Dust All Is Dust All Is Dust Each player sacrifices all permanents they control that are one or more colors. a board wipe that only wipes out colored permanent, leaving your board unharmed whilst setting all of your opponents back hugely. Commander’s Plate Commander’s Plate Commander’s Plate Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has protection from each color that's not in your commander's color identity.
Equip commander {3}
Equip {5}
gives the equipped creature protection from every color and War Room War Room War Room {T}: Add {C}.
{3}, {T}, Pay life equal to the number of colors in your commanders' color identity: Draw a card.
allows you to draw cards without paying any life as your Commander has no colors in their identity. Stonecoil Serpent Stonecoil Serpent Stonecoil Serpent Reach, trample, protection from multicolored
This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
also shines in this deck. Since the card has default stats of 0/0, Graaz is essentially providing it with a +5/+3 buff, on top of the counters the card gains as it enters play. Trample also allows the serpent to push damage through.

If you’re feeling particularly devilish you can even include a few infect cards like Plague Myr Plague Myr Plague Myr Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
{T}: Add {C}.
and Ichorclaw Myr Ichorclaw Myr Ichorclaw Myr Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
Whenever this creature becomes blocked, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
. Being buffed to 5/3 means with your commander in play means that these cards can finish off any opponent in two hits.

Quirks of a Colorless Commander

Forsaken Monument

One of the most notable things about Graaz is that it is a Colorless card. Colorless Commanders present an interesting deckbuilding challenge as they significantly limit the cards you can use. While this may seem like a negative thing it also presents an inviting challenge, asking you to make the best deck possible out of a limited pool of cards. In the words of Magic’s chief designer Mark Rosewater, “restrictions breed creativity”.

Your removal options are highly limited, and you’ll need to rely on cards like Meteor Golem Meteor Golem Meteor Golem When this creature enters, destroy target nonland permanent an opponent controls. , Scour from Existence Scour from Existence Scour from Existence Exile target permanent. , and Introduction to Annihilation Introduction to Annihilation Introduction to Annihilation Exile target nonland permanent. Its controller draws a card. to get rid of problematic cards.

Colorless decks have their own basic land type in Wastes Wastes Wastes {T}: Add {C}. . The best land bases for Colorless decks often don’t feature many Wastes though. The game has several powerful utility lands which provide colorless mana alongside a positive effect. Examples include Rogue’s Passage Rogue’s Passage Rogue’s Passage {T}: Add {C}.
{4}, {T}: Target creature can't be blocked this turn.
, Thespian’s Stage Thespian’s Stage Thespian’s Stage {T}: Add {C}.
{2}, {T}: This land becomes a copy of target land, except it has this ability.
, and Reliquary Tower Reliquary Tower Reliquary Tower You have no maximum hand size.
{T}: Add {C}.
. In most decks, the colorless mana they generate is a downside. In colorless decks, however, these cards are just as good at generating mana as your Wastes once they are in play.

You also have the option of including the famous “Tron lands“: Urza’s Mine Urza’s Mine Urza’s Mine {T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Power-Plant and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead. , Urza’s Factory Urza’s Factory Urza’s Factory {T}: Add {C}.
{7}, {T}: Create a 2/2 colorless Assembly-Worker artifact creature token.
, and Urza’s Power Plant Urza’s Power Plant Urza’s Power Plant {T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Mine and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead. and the new Brothers’ War addition Urza’s Workshop Urza’s Workshop Urza’s Workshop {T}: Add {C}.
Metalcraft — {T}: Add {C} for each Urza's land you control. Activate only if you control three or more artifacts.
. These lands can generate colorless mana incredibly quickly if they are all in play together, enabling you to race Graaz out. Just make sure you don’t include Command Tower Command Tower Command Tower {T}: Add one mana of any color in your commander's color identity. in any colorless decks you build. Your commander having no colors in their identity, means that the tower cannot generate any mana.

Conclusion

There are many popular colorless commanders. The Eldrazi titans are probably the most famous, although Emrakul, the Aeons Torn Emrakul, the Aeons Torn Emrakul, the Aeons Torn This spell can't be countered.
When you cast this spell, take an extra turn after this one.
Flying, protection from spells that are one or more colors, annihilator 6
When Emrakul is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles their graveyard into their library.
is banned in the format. EDHREC data indicates that Kozilek, the Great Distortion Kozilek, the Great Distortion Kozilek, the Great Distortion When you cast this spell, if you have fewer than seven cards in hand, draw cards equal to the difference.
Menace
Discard a card with mana value X: Counter target spell with mana value X.
commands over 5000 decks, as a giant 12/12 which lets you draw a huge number of cards as it enters play it’s easy to see why. Traxos, Scourge of Kroog Traxos, Scourge of Kroog Traxos, Scourge of Kroog Trample
Traxos enters tapped and doesn't untap during your untap step.
Whenever you cast a historic spell, untap Traxos. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
is another popular choice, with over 2000 decks to its name. Even the very recent card Liberator, Urza’s Battlethopter Liberator, Urza’s Battlethopter Liberator, Urza’s Battlethopter Flash
Flying
You may cast colorless spells and artifact spells as though they had flash.
Whenever you cast a spell, if the amount of mana spent to cast that spell is greater than Liberator's power, put a +1/+1 counter on Liberator.
which debuted in The Brothers’ War already leads more than 1000 decks.

Whether Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut Juggernauts you control attack each combat if able.
Juggernauts you control can't be blocked by Walls.
Other creatures you control have base power and toughness 5/3 and are Juggernauts in addition to their other creature types.
will rise up to join these titans and become a popular colorless commander for the ages, or will eventually peak and drop off in popularity is an open question. One thing is for certain though, Graaz is certainly off to a promising start.

Read more: New MTG EDH Staple Passes $50! This Needs a Reprint!

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