“Energy can neither be created nor destroyed,” so says the Laws of Thermodynamics. Seems they only got that half-right though, because in the game ofMagic: The Gatheringyou can most certainly create energy. Destroy, not so much. Sorry 19th century physicists, you just weren’t forward-thinking enough.
Energy counters made their Magic debut in Kaladesh, but due to their overwhelming presence in Standard, the mechanic hasn’t made its way into another Standard-release set since.Commander’s given this under-supported mechanic a home though, withentire preconsbased around accumulating and spending energy counters. It makes for a completely niche but novel strategy.
10Aether Hub
That Last Bit Of Energy You Need
Magic’s a game full of ‘justonemore’ statements. One more mana and you had the game. One more turn to stabilize. One more win and you’re in the top eight. It’s ubiquitous, even when you’re talking about something as simple as energy counters.
One more energy could be the difference between making your Electrostatic Pummeler attack for 30 instead of 15. Thankfully, these decks have Aether Hub, which gives them exactly the one more they need. It doesn’t hurt that it helps fix your mana too, since energy decks are often at least three colors.
9Consulate Surveillance
Use Your Energy To Stay Safe And Sound
Consulate Surveillance is absolutely the most undervalued energy card for Commander. It was almost a complete dud in Limited, say zero Standard play, and has fallen off the radar since its initial release. It’s no wonder it’s never really made much of a splash in 100-card formats.
However,the Science! Fallout precongave players a reason to take a second look at white energy cards. And with an emphasis on huge, hard-hitting plays in modern Commander, this is the perfect deterrent to keep your opponents' game-winning creatures off your back.
Consulate Surveillance doesn’t target and can affect any source, so it can stop damage from a hexproof or protection creature, or a burn spell aimed directly at you!
8Brotherhood Scribe
Crafty And Energetic
As evidenced by its metalcraft ability, Brotherhood Scribe’s one of the energy cards that’s only really functional inan artifact-based deck. Assuming metalcraft’s not hard for your deck to achieve, Brotherhood Scribe can simply tap to net one energy per turn.
That alone is worth a free +1/+1 to your team for the turn, thoughthe triggered abilitygets way more interesting when you have multiple sources gaining energy each turn. Combining energy-generation effects in one turn could be good for as much as +3/+3 or greater across your board all at once.
7Whirler Virtuoso
Virtu-Oh-So Good
The best use of energy counters is either using them to draw cards, or producing some sort of on-board advantage. Cards like Bristling Hydra and Servant of the Conduit don’t quite hold up in Commander because they spend your energy for short-term advantages.
Whirler Virtuoso is exactly the kind of energy payoff you want. A single Thopter token won’t get you too far, but multiple Thopters over the course of a game add up. There are even somesimple infinite comboscombining Virtuoso’s token-making ability with Decoction Modules and additional ways to replicate the effect of that artifact.
6Demon Of Dark Schemes
Powerful, But Out Of Place
Dark schemes indeed. ThisDemonlooks tosweep the boardof small creatures and generate energy as creatures die, even beyond its enters-the-battlefield effect. As with all Kaladesh-block cards that use energy, the Demon is capable of producing its own energy and has a way to spend it.
Expending four energy nets you your choice of any creature card back from the graveyard to your side of the battlefield. Considering the Demon wipes out all small creatures on its way in, you should generate enough energy for at least onereanimationactivation, if not more.
While Demon of Dark Schemes is a powerful energy card, black doesn’t appear in the color identity of most energy commanders, leaving the Demon somewhat stranded for now.
5Electrostatic Pummeler
One Punch Is All It Takes
Electrostatic Pummeler is a primary win condition for energy decks, and synergizes perfectly with the artifact-centric Fallout cards. Those who didn’t experience this card’s presence in Standard might shrug it off, given that it takes six activations, or 18 energy to land a single killing blow in Commander.
The trick is findingways to pumpPummeler first, then dumping your energy into it. A simple Giant Growth effect giving it +3/+3 reduces it to only four activations to take a player out, and Pummeler spots you three energy for the first activation when it enters the battlefield.
4Attune With Aether
Deceptively Consistent
Attune with Aether is a lesson in floors and ceilings. Even if the highest potential for a card (its ceiling) is capped, it can have a high enough baseline (its floor) to make it consistently powerful. Attune will never win a game, but it adds so much consistency to an energy deck’s gameplan.
Plenty of cards convert energy into card advantage, whether that’s actually drawing cards or removing opposing permanents. Attune basically stockpiles energy for a bonus effect later in the game at no additional cost. The opportunity cost is also low, since it usually replacesa basic land.
3Dr. Madison Li
Energy For The Sake Of Science!
Fallout’s Dr. Madison Li spearheads the Science! Commander precon, which combines energy and artifact synergies into one. That’s a bit of a departure from how energy was originally used in the Kaladesh sets, where it wasn’t tied to any super-thematic strategies.
Li’s suite of abilities gives you quite a bit of maneuverability though, so it’s worth leaning into the artifact part of the legend to help generate more energy. You could technically run it without explicit artifact support, but you’ll need to get the brunt of your energy from other sources to make use of her abilities.
2Gonti’s Aether Heart
Gonti, With The Extra Turn Assist
“Take an extra turn” are dreaded words to see on a Magic card. Unless you’re the one using it, of course. Gonti’s Aether Heartcouldbe played in an artifact deck with no additional sources of energy, but the more energy available the better.
This card gained popularity with the release of Mishra, Eminent One. This version of Mishra creates non-legendary copies of Aether Heart, which allows them to co-exist on the battlefield together. From there it’s just a matter of finding a single artifact to play each turn and you unlock infinite turns.
1Aetherworks Marvel
Energy’s Biggest Selling Point
If you’re building an energy deck, Aetherworks Marvel is likely the first card you slot in. Once banned in Standard, this marvelous artifact generates energy faster than most other cards, and has one of the strongest outputs, putting creatures directly into play from your library.
You can siphon all your energy from other cards into the Marvel, but you want to surround it with permanents that naturally go to the graveyard. Creatures dying will generate energy, but evena few cheap landslike Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse pull their weight when you sacrifice them.
