A certain curmudgeonly wizard, accompanied by a merry spirit, are infiltrating the Commander format. The card’s presence has been rather inconspicuous thus far, but the sheer number of decks it’s included in is growing, and fast.
Not many people have picked up on Malevolent Hermit’s potential in Commander. But it plays a crucial role in the format. It is an especially key player in cEDH, a sub-genre of Commander where only the most competitive decks are played.
Malevolent Hermit & Benevolent Geist
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast
You may have seen Malevolent Hermit in Standard sideboards and in decks like Izzet Turns. In Standard, the card serves as an early form of disruption, and is later used to ensure your
Alrund’s Epiphany
Alrund’s Epiphany
Create two 1/1 blue Bird creature tokens with flying. Take an extra turn after this one. Exile Alrund's Epiphany.
Foretell {4}{U}{U} (During your turn, you may pay {2} and exile this card from your hand face down. Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost.)
resolves.
But it turns out that Malevolent Hermit may be a multi-format performer, as it is popping up in tons of cEDH decks. For that reason, it would be wise to pick up a few copies now while the card is still relatively cheap.
The regular art version of Malevolent Hermit is currently selling for about $2.00 on TCGPlayer. The extended art copy, however, has seen recent upwards price momentum as depicted in the graph below and is currently around $4.00-$5.00.
Read More: This Card PLUMETTED In Price…Is Now a Good Time to Buy?
What is Malevolent Hermit’s Role in Commander?
Just as it is used in Standard, Malevolent Hermit can be used as a form of disruption in Commander. But the bigger selling point of the card in Commander is actually Benevolent Geist.
Benevolent Geist makes all of your noncreature spells uncounterable. This is fantastic insurance for resolving your deck’s best spells like Ad Nauseum and combo pieces like Demonic Consultation.
Wizards of the Coast 
Wizards of the Coast
Read More: Best Cards to Buy For Eruth, Tormented Prophet in Commander
What Decks Are Using Malevolent Hermit?
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast
I’ve scoured through every deck in the cEDH Decklist Database (a compilation of tried and true, competitive EDH decks) and put together a list of every Commander deck including Malevolent Hermit:
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Urza, Lord High Artificer
Urza, Lord High Artificer
When Urza enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
Tap an untapped artifact you control: Add {U}.
{5}: Shuffle your library, then exile the top card. Until end of turn, you may play that card without paying its mana cost. -
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Tap an untapped Wizard you control: Draw a card.
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Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each artifact you control.)
When Emry enters, mill four cards.
{T}: Choose target artifact card in your graveyard. You may cast that card this turn. (You still pay its costs. Timing rules still apply.) - Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
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Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Each opponent can't cast noncreature spells with mana value greater than the number of lands that player controls.
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, if no mana was spent to cast it, counter that spell. - Kels, Fight Fixer
- Nymris, Oona’s Trickster
- Araumi of the Dead Tide
- Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
- Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
- Aminatou, the Fateshifter
- Kess, Dissident Mage
- Animar, Soul of Elements
- Tasigur, the Golden Fang
- Jorn, God of Winter/Kaldring, the Rimestaff
- Plenty of 3-5 color ‘Farm’ Decks featuring partner commanders
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If you’re playing any of the above commanders, you might want to consider buying a copy of Malevolent Hermit for your deck.
But I’d recommend picking up copies of Hermit even if you’re playing a different commander than in the listed ones above. Hermit clearly has potential in the Commander format. Many blue decks are going to want access to this effect. So, for the low price of $2.00, Malevolent Hermit could make a good long-term investment.
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