The 10 Best Reprints In The Living Energy Commander Deck

There’s energy in all things both biological and artificial in the world of Magic: The Gathering. That’s especially true in the Living Energy Commander Deck, where living creatures produce a special kind of energy that can be harnessed to empower incredible acts of artifice. Sort of like having a hamster power a lightbulb, except that the hamster has the potential energy of uranium.

There are a ton of new cards to get excited about in Aetherdrift‘s Living Energy, but there are also a bunch of older cards that have been reprinted as well, and some of those cards are real bombshells. Here are ten of the best.

10

Chromatic Lantern

Never Have Mana Problems Again

The more colors your deck runs, the harder it is to ensure you’ll have the mana you need when you need it. Two colors aren’t too hard to manage, but three colors? Four colors? All five colors? It can be a real pain to ensure you’ve got the full spectrum available at all times.

Chromatic Lantern is the one-card solution to all your mana problems. Not only does it produce any color you want, but it also filters your lands to produce any color of mana you need. This card is a staple of multicolor Commander decks for a very good reason.

9

Conjurer’s Closet

A Cool Magic Trick

Another Commander staple, Conjurer’s Closet gives you the ability to repeat whatever beneficial entrance effects one of your creature’s provides every single turn. In Living Energy, that might mean repeatedly searching out lands thanks to Solemn Simulacrum (a card that just didn’t quite make the cut for this list), making Thopters with Pia and Kiran Nalaar, or tons of energy with Aethertide Whale.

Outside of Living Energy, you can use Conjurer’s Closet to do all sorts of busted things. How about infinite turns with Aerchaeomancer and Time Warp or Temporal Manipulation?

8

Retrofitter Foundry

Give It Enough Power, And It’ll Make An Army

As token generators go, Retrofitter Foundry isn’t winning too many trophies. A 1/1 Servo for two mana is fine, and being able to replace it with a 1/1 flying Thopter for one more mana is also just okay. A final turn to upgrade that Thopter into a 4/4 Construct is just gravy.

What makes Retrofitter Foundry great is what you can do once you feed it a ton of mana. If you’ve got the mana to burn, suddenly you can start paying the untap cost to make multiple Servos, Thopters, or Constructs per turn. Give it infinite mana (perhaps thanks to a Conjurer’s Closet combo) and you’ve got an infinite artifact army.

7

Blasphemous Act

The Best Solution To A Numerical Problem

One of the most important spells any Commander deck can have is a board sweeper. Cards like Wrath of God or Damnation can turn a losing game into a winning one, so long as you play your other cards right. At the very least, board sweepers remove a big problem and reset the game.

Blasphemous Act is perhaps the best board sweeper you’ll find in the color red. Nine mana might look steep, but keep in mind that the more critters running around the battlefield, the cheaper Blasphemous Act gets. It’s not uncommon to pay just two or three mana to cast Blasphemous Act in multiplayer Commander games.

6

Lightning Greaves

Flashy Sneakers Make You Go Faster

For two mana, Lightning Greaves ensures whatever creature you cast can attack the turn it comes into play and can’t be targeted by opposing kill spells. That’s a lot, and is one of the reasons why you’ll see Lightning Greaves in almost every Commander Deck ever built.

The Lightning Greaves found in Aetherdrift Commander are especially stylish, with lovely blue gems storing power and lighting-bolt designs to imply their extreme capacity for speed. Definitely worth grabbing these booties even if you’ve already got a pair.

5

Druid of Purification

Fair’s Fair

It’s a little bit weird for a deck as artifact-heavy as Living Energy to have a card that invites destruction of your own artifacts, but for decks that aren’t overly laden with enchantments and artifacts, Druid of Purification is a great way to blow up a bunch of cards.

Especially if you’re playing multiplayer Commander. Since each player gets to pick an enchantment or artifact to destroy, the more, the merrier. Just be sure to have a deck full of creatures and planeswalkers to avoid catching flack from vengeful players.

4

Panharmonicon

I’m Hearing Double

Where Conjurer’s Closet lets you get more from creatures that have comes-into-play effects, Panharmonicon gives you double the fun from any triggered abilities, provided those abilities trigger whenever a creature or artifact enters the battlefield. You can see why Panharmonicon and Conjurer’s Closet might be best friends.

Much like Conjurer’s Closet, you’ll find Panharmonicon enables silly combos that provide infinite mana, turns, life, or whatever else you can think of thanks to duplicate enters-the-battlefield triggers. Try it with Peregrine Drake and Cavern Harpy.

3

Triplicate Titan

And Now I’m Seeing Triple

The problem with being an artifact creature is that you’re vulnerable to spells that target both artifacts and creatures. However, if your 9/9 flying vigilance trample Golem can turn into three separate 3/3s upon its demise, you can be much less fearful of your big baddie biting a magical bullet.

Admittedly, three 3/3 tokens are far less impressive than a big 9/9 beast, but it’s a consolation prize that still equates to nine power on the board. In certain circumstances, you might even find it beneficial to have several smaller creatures than one big one (for when your opponent only has one blocker, for example).

2

Elder Gargaroth

A Beast For All Occasions

It’s hard to find greater efficiency than Elder Gargaroth. For five mana, you get a 6/6 vigilance reach trample, and every time it either blocks or attacks, you get your choice of a 3/3 Beast, a card, or three life. That’s the sort of value that can get you into any deck—even a deck that’s ostensibly all about powering energy-requiring artifacts.

Elder Gargaroth has remained fairly expensive ever since it first appeared in Core Set 2021, so be sure to grab Aetherdrift’s visually remastered version while you can.

1

Academy Ruins

You Never Know What You’ll Find

Being able to fetch cards out of your graveyard is a potent ability that many Commander decks are built around. But if you’ve got even a hint of blue, and you play with a bunch of artifacts, Academy Ruins is the only land you need to pull off some pretty silly plays.

Start with Solemn Simulacrum, then sacrifice it to Pia and Kiran Nalaar, and then Aacademy Ruins it onto your library so that you draw it again. That’s damage and lands every time you run through the cycle. Or you could just retrieve that Mindslaver to enslave your opponent for yet another turn. Either way, Academy Ruins is great, and more than enough reason to buy Living Energy.