Top Trades: March 17 - March 24

Twilight Diviner | Illustrated by Pauline Voss

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to Top Trades, the weekly series where we break down the hottest cards moving through Cardsphere. This week's list features a blend of cards new and old, utility lands, and an odd outlier. Curious? Well, then, let’s dive in!

Honorable Mention - Mutable Explorer

Number of Trades: 5 --- Number of Cards Traded: 5

Bringing back the nostalgia from Magic's first forays in Lorwyn is Mutable Explorer, a 1/1 Shapeshifter for with changeling that, when it enters, causes you to create a tapped Mutavault token. (For those unacquainted, Mutavault is a land that taps for and can become a 2/2 creature with all creature types for until end of turn.)

All in all, this guy is a whole lot of value nestled in to a pretty playable package. As a changeling itself, Mutable Explorer fits into any of the typal decks that already benefit from the very same strategies in which Mutavault naturally fits. Meanwhile, as a green three-drop, it's on par with plenty of slow-but-playable ramp spells with their own storied histories in Commander, giving this card all the allure of a popular pickup and all the playability of a long-time favorite.

#5 - Hedge Maze

Number of Trades: 6 --- Number of Cards Traded: 6

Moving on to our main list for the week, it's time to talk about our first of two (or three, depending on how you count it) lands: Hedge Maze.

A member of Murders at Karlov Manor's notorious surveil land cycle, Hedge Maze is a Forest Island that enters tapped and, when it enters, causes you to surveil 1. Between being fetchable, setting up your next draw, and sometimes feeding the graveyard, Hedge Maze has gone on to be a staple in just about every Simic deck that can play it. These lands really are no joke: being fetchable already boosts a land's stats. Adding pseudo card advantage, meanwhile, makes that appeal sky high.

#4 - Wastes

Number of Trades: 6 --- Number of Cards Traded: 35

Next up on our list is another land, albeit one with decidedly less text: Wastes.

Aside from Sol Ring, Wastes is the poster child for colorless mana. Despite lacking a land type, Wastes is a basic land that taps for and can be included in any number in Constructed decks. Just enough power to be playable, just enough mystique to be alluring, and just enough of a fan base to always be popular in Commander: take a basic's land type, and that's what you're left with.

#3 - Cool but Rude

Number of Trades: 6 --- Number of Cards Traded: 7

On to our first (and only) pick from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it's time for the return of Classes thanks to Cool but Rude.

First off, level one. Without investing anything other than the mana cost of , Cool but Rude starts off as a Class enchantment with the static ability "Whenever you attack, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card." A solid way to keep card selection strong while also synergizing with graveyard strategies, the base level is already valuable for plenty of aggressive decks out there.

Moving to level two with a level up cost of , Cool but Rude gains another static ability. "Whenever you discard a card, this Class deals 2 damage to each opponent." Easy to access thanks to the low mana investment and the built-in discard trigger from level one, level two is a solid way to compound value and close out games.

Finally, at level three, Cool but Rude gets its one-and-only level up trigger. "When this Class becomes level 3, search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, shuffle, then discard a card at random." While it may be blocked by a level up cost of another , make no mistake: red will take any tutor it can get.

#2 - Twilight Diviner

Number of Trades: 7 --- Number of Cards Traded: 7

Coming in at second place - and nearly tying with our most traded card for the week - is Twilight Diviner, a value engine that makes reanimator strategies truly unstoppable.

For , Twilight Diviner is a 3/3 Elf Cleric that lets you surveil 2 when it enters. Additionally, whenever one or more creatures you control enter, if they were cast from your graveyard or they entered from your graveyard, create a token copy of one of them. This ability triggers only once each turn.

Twilight Diviner is one of the first graveyard-doublers we've seen before. Magic has given us plenty of trigger-doublers - enters triggers, dies triggers, cast triggers, etc. Twilight Diviner, meanwhile, takes the already powerful world of reanimation and gives it a shot in the arm, letting it double up on all the horrendously powerful reanimated threats it can find.

#1 - Fell the Profane

Number of Trades: 7 --- Number of Cards Traded: 8

Last but not least, we come to our most traded card for the week: Fell the Profane.

Part of Modern Horizons 3's mono-color MDFC cycle, Fell the Profane is an instant for that destroys target creature or planeswalker. While unplayable (competitively, at least) on its own, Fell the Profane's flexibility is what has made it a staple: on the back side, it's an untapped land.

If you play the reverse side of Fell the Profane, you have Fell Mire, a land with ": Add " that enters tapped unless you pay three life as it enters. So, if you were going to play a basic Swamp, Fell the Profane is (absent Blood Moon and the like) essentially a strict replacement, a story that continues to unfold across formats.

Wrap Up

Well, folks, that does it for the week. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is starting to settle into the background and it looks like we're returning to a world of staples stealing the spotlight once again. Check in next week for another Top Trades, and thanks for reading!