[EDH] Top 50 Cards List

[DalkonCledwin]

There has been some discussion going on about starting a top 50 list. This thread is going to be for that list. I am retiring the old top-35 of each color list. In its place is going to be this new list. This new list will be divided by creature vs. non-creature and then divided further by colors, colorless, multi-colored. Lands will be its own category since it does not have creatures or non-creature versions per se (unless you count man-lands which are not numerous enough to populate there own section of the list).

Anyways the Creature section of each list will be 25 cards each, and the non-creature section will be 25 cards each. There may be some wiggle room such as in the case of Blue where there will likely be more good non-creature spells than good creature spells, or in the case of green where the opposite is true, but on average there will be 25 of each type of card present on the list.

Anyways the first 3 posts of this thread are reserved for my use. The first Post is for me to make any pertinent announcements for this thread. The second Post is for the Creatures List. The Third Post is for the Non-Creatures List. The Lands will be going in the Third Post of this List. Also it should be noted that the Lists are in Alphabetical Order

As my first announcement I would like to invite people to help me flesh out this list, as it is going to need some fleshing out in a considerable way.

[DalkonCledwin]

Top 25 White Creatures

1 Academy Rector 2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath 3 Archon of Justice 4 Aven Mindcensor 5 Baneslayer Angel 6 Deathless Angel 7 Eight-and-a-half-tails 8 Eternal Dragon 9 Felidar Sovereign 10 Hokori, Dust Drinker 11 Iona, Shield of Emeria 12 Karmic Guide 13 Kor Sanctifiers 14 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 15 Magus of the Disk 16 Mirror Entity 17 Reveillark 18 Rune-tail, Kitsune Ascendant 19 Stonecloaker 20 Stoneforge Mystic 21 Stonehewer Giant 22 Twilight Shepherd 23 Weathered Wayfarer 24 World Queller 25 Yosei, the Morning Star

Top 20 Blue Creatures
1 Body Double 2 Clone 3 Draining Whelk 4 Gilded Drake 5 Glen Elendra Archmage 6 Inkwell Leviathan 7 Kederekt Leviathan 8 Keiga, the Tide Star 9 Magus of the Future 10 Mulldrifter 11 Palinchron 12 Sakashima the Imposter 13 Sower of Temptation 14 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 15 Thada Adel, Acquisitor 16 Tidespout Tyrant 17 Trinket Mage 18 Vendilion Clique 19 Venser, Shaper Savant 20 Willbender

Top 25 Black Creatures

1 Avatar of Woe 2 Bane of the Living 3 Bloodghast 4 Braids, Cabal Minion 5 Butcher of Malakir 6 Chainer, Dementia Master 7 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief 8 Dimir House Guard 9 Dread 10 Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder 11 Graveborn Muse 12 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni 13 Kagemaro, First to Suffer 14 Mindslicer 15 Mortivore 16 Myojin of Night's Reach 17 Nezumi Graverobber 18 Nirkana Revenant 19 Puppeteer Clique 20 Reiver Demon 21 Shriekmaw 22 Twisted Abomination 23 Visara the Dreadful 24 Withered Wretch 25 Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

Top 25 Red Creatures

1 Akroma, Angel of Fury 2 Anarchist 3 Anger 4 Avatar of Fury 5 Bogardan Hellkite 6 Dragon Mage 7 Dwarven Blastminer 7 Dwarven Miner (Functional) 8 Flameblast Dragon 9 Godo, Bandit Warlord 10 Greater Gargadon 11 Hateflayer 12 Hellkite Charger 13 Imperial Recruiter 14 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage 15 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs 16 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 17 Knollspine Dragon 18 Magus of the Moon 19 Mordant Dragon 20 Obsidian Fireheart 21 Rakka Mar 22 Siege-Gang Commander 23 Squee, Goblin Nabob 24 Taurean Mauler 25 Viashino Heretic

Top 30 Green Creatures

1 Acidic Slime 2 Ant Queen 3 Arashi, the Sky Asunder 4 Avenger of Zendikar 5 Cloudthresher 6 Dosan the Falling Leaf 7 Deadwood Treefolk 8 Eternal Witness 9 Fierce Empath 10 Genesis 11 Indrik Stomphowler 12 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa 13 Krosan Tusker 14 Loaming Shaman 15 Masked Admirers 16 Multani, Maro-Sorcerer 17 Omnath, Locus of Mana 18 Oracle of Mul Daya 19 Panglacial Wurm 20 Regal Force 21 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary (banned as a general) 22 Seedborn Muse 23 Sakura-Tribe Elder 24 Terastodon 25 Verdant Force 26 Verdeloth the Ancient 27 Vigor 28 Wickerbough Elder 29 Woodfall Primus 30 Yavimaya Elder

Top 25 Multi-Color Creatures
1 Angel of Despair 2 Azorius Guildmage 3 Coiling Oracle 4 Divinity of Pride 5 Gaddock Teeg 6 Hellkite Overlord 7 Izzet Chronarch 8 Knight of the Reliquary 9 Magister Sphinx 10 Meddling Mage 11 Mindleech Mass 12 Mistmeadow Witch 13 Mystic Snake 14 Qasali Pridemage 15 Saffi Eriksdotter 16 Simic Sky Swallower 17 Sphinx of the Steel Wind 18 Thraximundar 19 Trygon Predator 20 Wrexial, the Risen Deep

Top 20 Colorless Creatures
1 Arcbound Reclaimer 2 Darksteel Colossus 3 Duplicant 4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 5 It that Betrays 6 Jhoira's Toolbox 7 Junk Diver 8 Karn, Silver Golem 9 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth 10 Memnarch 11 Platinum Angel 12 Pentavus 13 Scarecrone 14 Solemn Simulacrum 15 Spawnsire of Ulamog 16 Stuffy Doll 17 Sundering Titan 18 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 19 Voltaic Construct

[DalkonCledwin]

Top 25 White Non-Creatures

1 Akroma's Vengeance 2 Armageddon 2 Ravages of War (Functional) 3 Aura of Silence 4 Austere Command 5 Cataclysm 6 Catastrophe 7 Condemn 8 Elspeth, Knight-Errant 9 Evangelize 10 Enlightened Tutor 11 Hallowed Burial 12 Humility 13 Idyllic Tutor 14 Land Tax 15 Luminarch Ascension 16 Martial Coup 17 Oblation 18 Oblivion Ring 19 Path to Exile 20 Replenish 21 Return to Dust 22 Reverse the Sands 23 Rout 24 Sacred Mesa 25 Swords to Plowshares

Top 30 Blue Non-Creatures

1 Acquire 2 Blatant Thievery 3 Bribery 4 Capsize 5 Commandeer 6 Cryptic Command 7 Declaration of Naught 8 Desertion 9 Evacuation 10 Fabricate 11 Fact or Fiction 12 Force of Will 13 Future Sight 14 Hinder 15 Intuition 16 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 17 Mana Drain 18 Merchant Scroll 19 Mind over Matter 20 Mystical Tutor 21 Mystic Rhemora 22 Rhystic Study 23 Rite of Replication 24 Spin into Myth 25 Sunder 26 Time Stop 27 Time Stretch 28 Time Spiral 29 Timetwister 30 Treachery

Top 25 Black Spells

1 Ambition's Cost 1 Ancient Craving (Functional) 2 Ashes to Ashes 3 Beacon of Unrest 4 Cabal Conditioning 5 Damnation 6 Decree of Pain 7 Demonic Tutor 8 Diabolic Tutor 9 Grim Tutor 10 Imperial Seal 11 Infernal Darkness 11 Contamination (debated functional) 12 Insidious Dreams 13 Liliana Vess 14 Necropotence 15 Oversold Cemetery 16 Overwhelming Forces 17 Phyrexian Arena 18 Pox 19 Profane Command 20 Promise of Power 21 Skeletal Scrying 22 Sorin Markov 23 Syphon Mind 24 Vampiric Tutor 25 Yawgmoth's Will

Top 25 Red Non-Creatures
1 Banefire 2 Blood Moon 3 Boom/Bust 4 Demonfire 5 Decree of Annihilation 6 Fault Line 7 Fork 8 Gamble 9 Gratuitous Violence 10 Insurrection 11 Molten Disaster 12 Obliterate 13 Price of Glory 14 Price of Progress 15 Recoup 16 Reiterate 17 Ruination 18 Starstorm 19 Vicious Shadows 20 Wheel of Fortune 21 Wildfire 21 Burning of Xinye (Functional) 22 Wild Ricochet 23 Word of Seizing

Top 20 Green Non-Creatures

1 Abundance 2 Berserk 3 Chord of Calling 4 Constant Mists 5 Doubling Season 6 Earthcraft 7 Exploration 8 Garruk Wildspeaker 9 Greater Good 10 Krosan Grip 11 Life from the Loam 12 Mana Reflection 13 Momentous Fall 14 Mystic Melting 15 Natural Order 16 Primal Command 17 Regrowth 18 Relic Crush 19 Restock 20 Survival of the Fittest 21 Sylvan Library 22 Tooth and Nail 23 Vernal Bloom 24 Wild Pair 25 Worldly Tutor

Top 25 Multi Colored Non-Creatures
1 Aura Shards 2 Bant Charm 3 Crime/Punishment 4 Cruel Ultimatum 5 Death Grasp 6 Decimate 7 Debtor's Knell 8 Eladamri's Call 9 Hull Breach 10 Lim Dul's Vault 11 Maelstrom Pulse 12 Memory Plunder 13 Mirari's Wake 14 Mortify 15 Naya Charm 16 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker 17 Pernicious Deed 18 Privileged Position 19 Putrefy 20 Sarkhan Vol 21 Vengeful Rebirth 22 Vendicate 23 Voidslime 24 Wargate

Top 30 Colorless Non-Creatures

1 All is Dust 2 Coalition Relic 3 Crucible of Worlds 4 Expedition Map 5 Extraplanar Lens 6 Gauntlet of Power 7 Gilded Lotus 8 Helm of Possession 9 Lightning Greaves 10 Loxodon Warhammer 11 Mana Crypt 12 Mana Vault 13 Memory Jar 14 Mind's Eye 15 Mindslaver 16 Mirari 17 Nevinyrral's Disk 18 Oblivion Stone 19 Planar Portal 20 Pithing Needle 21 Relic of Progenitus 22 Scroll Rack 23 Sensei's Divining Top 24 Skullclamp 25 Sol Ring 26 Sunforger 27 Sword of Fire and Ice 28 Sword of Light and Shadow 29 Umezawa's Jitte 30 Vedalken Orrery

Top 50 Lands

1 Academy Ruins 2 Ancient Tomb 3 Bojuka Bog 4 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 5 Cabal Coffers 6 Creeping Tar Pit 7 Dust Bowl 8 Emeria, the Sky Ruin 9 Eye of Ugin 10 Gaea's Cradle 11 High Market 12 Kor Haven 13 Lavaclaw Reaches 14 Maze of Ith 15 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 16 Miren, the Moaning Well 17 Mishra's Factory 18 Mistveil Plains 19 Mouth of Ronom 20 Mutavault 21 Nantuko Monastery 22 Raging Ravine 23 Reliquary Tower 24 Riptide Laboratory 25 Scrying Sheets 26 Serra's Sanctum 27 Shizo, Death's Storehouse 28 Strip Mine 29 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion 30 Tectonic Edge 31 Temple of the False God 32 Thawing Glaciers 33 Tolaria West 34 Treetop Village 35 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 36 Vesuva 37 Volrath's Stronghold 38 Wasteland 39 Yavimaya Hollow

[Sharpened]

If you divide by creature and noncreature, then the communists win.

Seriously though, that part is a bad idea. It doesn't serve the purpose of the list (compiling the best cards) as it much as it serves peoples misguided sense of order.

Expanding the list to 50 each is a fine idea, arbitrarily splitting into creature/noncreature is not.

[TrollmenX]

My proposition of white creatures:

deathless angel
Eight-and-a-half-tails
kor sanctifiers
Twilight Shepherd
adarkar valkyrie
Felidar Sovereign
Magus of the disc
exalted angel
reya dawnbringer
blazing archon
Iona, shield of Emeria
Benalish Commander

btw. why angels are so powerfull in white???

If you divide by creature and noncreature, then the communists win.
Seriously though, that part is a bad idea. It doesn't serve the purpose of the list (compiling the best cards) as it much as it serves peoples misguided sense of order.
Expanding the list to 50 each is a fine idea, arbitrarily splitting into creature/noncreature is not.

there are two type of cpells in EDH.
Creatures and non-creatures. 90% of non creature spells are removal to enemy creatures. Mass remowal is alvays better in multiplayer than single creature. Now we have split list so we can chose best creatures, and best non-creatures easy.

[Donald]

Originally Posted by TrollmenX

My proposition of white creatures:

deathless angel
Eight-and-a-half-tails
kor sanctifiers
Twilight Shepherd
adarkar valkyrie
Felidar Sovereign
Magus of the disc
exalted angel
reya dawnbringer
blazing archon
Iona, shield of Emeria
Benalish Commander

btw. why angels are so powerfull in white???

Missing from that list is:

Stoneforge Mystic
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
Hokori, Dust Drinker
Stonecloaker
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant
I'd exclude Blazing Archon, Benalish Commander, Reya Dawnbringer, Exalted Angel and Adarkar Valkyrie.

EDIT: Arbiter of Knollridge should also be considered.

EDIT #2:

Blue creatures is a real stretch, here's what I have:

Good ones
Vendilion Clique
Inkwell Leviathan
Tidespout Tyrant
Thada Adel, Acquisitor
Body Double

Maybe
Kederekt Leviathan
Willbender
Clone
Sakashima, the Imposter
Mulldrifter
Sower of Temptation

EDIT #3 (slow day at work):

Black creatures
Nirkana Revenant
Bane of the Living
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
Chainer, Dimentia Master
Kagemaro, First to Suffer
Dimir House Guard
Graveborn Muse
Dread
Shriekmaw
Twisted Abomination
Withered Wretch
Braids, Cabal Minion

[bitterroot]

Question: is there any particular order to the cards? Are you trying to "rank" them in any sense within their groups? If you are, I think there's a strong argument that Path to Exile is weaker than Swords to Plowshares, or at least an argument that they can almost be considered functional reprints for EDH purposes.

Furthermore, Mulldrifter seems to make his way into a lot of blue lists. He's not gamebreaking, but he carries a Jitte/SoFI/SoLS like a pro. I think he breaks top 50.

For Black non-creatures, consider the card I posted that got the whole "Hidden Gems" thread started: Ashes to Ashes.

Also, I strongly second Magus of the Disk for white. A very powerful yet underplayed card.

[Surging Chaos]

This should have just been a straight up top 50 for each category, instead of giving each section an appropriate number of creatures and noncreature cards.

If this is going to be a top 50 list, then it should legitimately be one, with the best possible cards that can be placed on the list, regardless of their card type.

[ImAChampion]

Why not just do the top 20 Creatures for each color...and the top 20 Non-Creatures for each color? Each color clearly has 20 good creatures and 20 good spells.

I agree that taking the top X cards for a color and then splitting them up seems a little...odd. Just do a double Top 20 to hit everything. I would very much like to see that. Most of the Top 35 are non-creatures anyway. Mass Removal, Utility, etc...I would love to see a list that had the best of both worlds.

[DalkonCledwin]

Originally Posted by Surging Chaos

This should have just been a straight up top 50 for each category, instead of giving each section an appropriate number of creatures and noncreature cards.

If this is going to be a top 50 list, then it should legitimately be one, with the best possible cards that can be placed on the list, regardless of their card type.

the reason I decided to split this into creatures and non-creatures is because as the list stood prior to this, there was an obvious top-heaviness towards non-creatures. Even in colors such as Green where Creatures should be the more dominant card played. As such I felt that it would be important to give both card types their own section so that they could be represented individually.

EDIT: I have edited the first post to reflect the order in which the lists are represented.

[Amadi]

If anything, I feel that different lists for 1n1 and Multiplayer are in order. The differences in those lists are very significant, even to the point that looking at the multiplayer top-50 list will give new players zero idea about the quality of cards in 1n1. If a different list is not to be made, at least make a disclaimer about the fact that this list is for multiplayer, to avoid misleading new players.

If such list is to be made, I am willing to assist in the creation process, although a lot of the cards for it will be obvious. Mind Twist, anyone?

[DalkonCledwin]

Originally Posted by Amadi

If anything, I feel that different lists for 1n1 and Multiplayer are in order. The differences in those lists are very significant, even to the point that looking at the multiplayer top-50 list will give new players zero idea about the quality of cards in 1n1. If a different list is not to be made, at least make a disclaimer about the fact that this list is for multiplayer, to avoid misleading new players.

If such list is to be made, I am willing to assist in the creation process, although a lot of the cards for it will be obvious. Mind Twist, anyone?

at the moment the list is for the default EDH environment, which unfortunately in most locations is going to be multiplayer. If at some future time the default becomes 1v1, then a further 1v1 list will become necessary, however at the moment the list for multiplayer takes precedent. However many of the cards on a multiplayer list are also viable in a 1v1 environment as well.

EDIT: I still need help fleshing out the list

[Toxic78]

A few for blue non-creature: Ancestral Vision, Time Stop, Commandeer, Propaganda. Oh, and Timetwister is only one word.

[Meritocracy]

Black creature: Visara the Dreadful - reusable creature destruction (and it hits black ones, too!)
Multicolored creature: Azorius Guildmage - messes up combat steps and is just a thorn in your opponents' sides overall

[Randomsmo]

Woodfall Primus for green.
Saffi Eriksdotter for for multi-colored.
It That Betrays for for colorless (since this is a multiplayer list).