Top Trades: September 22 - September 29

Growth Spiral | Illustrated by Nicholas Gregory

Howdy, folks, and welcome to Top Trades, Cardsphere's weekly column where we check out some of the site's most popular picks. So, what are people trading? Let's take a look!

Honorable Mention - Flashback

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

Starting things off for today is a card that does exactly its namesake, and that's Flashback. For just , this instant grants any instant or sorcery card in your graveyard flashback until end of turn, with the flashback cost being equal to its mana cost. Pick up a counterspell in the nick of time, the tutor you just cast that same turn in order to compete a combo, a ritual to explode your mana pool, or anything else: this card's low cost and flexible nature make it a premium for competitive Commander players and more.

#5 - Watery Grave

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

Speaking of flexible cards adored by competitive players, our first main list pick for the week is Watery Grave. Originally printed way back in Magic's first trip to Ravnica, this card - alongside the other nine shock lands - remains the default dual land for the vast majority of Magic players. Each shock land enters untapped unless you pay two life and can add one mana of either of two colors - in this case, or - thanks to the fact that each land carries two basic land types. Fetchable, synergistic with many a land-based-strategy (in case anyone remembers Liliana of the Dark Realms), and oh, so powerful.

#4 - Elvish Mystic

Number of Trades: 7 --- Number of Cards Traded: 12

Our list of ubiquitous playables just keeps growing, and now it's Elvish Mystic's turn.

For , this 1/1 Elf Druid brings with it a single, valuable activated ability - ": Add ." While it might not be Standard-legal, like its near-twin Llanowar Elves, there will always be demand for this card as another source of green mana in Elf kindred decks near and far.

#3 - Growth Spiral

Number of Trades: 7 --- Number of Cards Traded: 15

We've covered a land, we've covered some cheap ramp, now let's get to a card that covers both at once: Growth Spiral.

For , Growth Spiral is an instant that draws you a card and lets you put a land from your hand into play.

Overall, Growth Spiral is an excellently flexible card thanks to the card draw stapled on, but its capacity for ramp is limited by the fact that you actually need an extra land in hand in order to take advantage of it. One land in hand? That's just your fair land play for turn. Two lands in hand? You're basically getting next turn's land a little early. Three? Now you're actually taking the most advantage of Growth Spiral.

#2 - Liliana the Faultless

Number of Trades: 8 --- Number of Cards Traded: 9

Here at our penultimate pick for the week is the one new card on our list, courtesy of Reality Fracture, and that's Liliana the Faultless.

For , this 1/1 legendary Human Cleric creature has "Whenever another creature or planeswalker you control enters, you gain 1 life," and ", , Discard a card: Another target creature you control gains hexproof until end of turn."

First off, the obvious: Lilliana the Faultless is another copy of Soul Warden for all those Lifegain players out there. That's already valuable. Where things get a lot more interesting, however, is that activated ability. Saving a creature in a pinch is handy, sure, but Liliana is also a discard outlet. A downside to some, an exploit to others; jam her into Orzhov+ Reanimator strategies and you've got yourself an all-upside inclusion.

#1 - Farseek

Number of Trades: 8 --- Number of Cards Traded: 21

Last but not least, another classic Commander ramp spell, Farseek. For , this sorcery searches your library for a Plains, Island, Swamp, or Mountain card, puts it onto the battlefield tapped, then causes you to shuffle.

This is ramp, pure and simple, but importantly it's diversified ramp. Farseek requires that you grab a land with a basic land type but, thanks to how it is creatively worded, can't grab a land that is purely a Forest, making it a go-to for multicolored decks only. Sure, it can grab a Forest, but only Forests with at least another basic land type, such as Breeding Pool.

Wrap Up

Well, folks, this week was a list of staples, pure and simple. We saw a little bit of new stuff - namely Liliana the Faultless - but by all accounts this is classic Commander pulling its weight. Check back in next week for another Top Trades, and thanks for reading!