Five Silver Bullets in cEDH
cEDH is a best-of-one format filled with niche decks and packed to the brim with variance, all things that making tuning a deck against the broader meta difficult, to say the least. Sure, the format has its all-stars - Blue Farm, RogSi, and now Nadu, Winged Wisdom - but these aren't everything. So, what is a meta-conscious player to do? Outside of scrapping an old deck and building some wacky list to punch through the status quo, one of the best, and easiest, things to do is include a silver bullet.
Silver bullets are cards which aren't focused on advancing your own gameplan but are instead targeted responses to some of the most popular threats in the meta. While these kinds of cards are definitely stax-like in nature, make no mistake: running them does not make you a stax deck. Instead, think of them like narrow interaction, but that narrow nature is made up for by the explosive impact they can have on the game when they do activate. With that in mind, here are five of the best silver bullets in cEDH.
#5 - An Extra Board Wipe
Coming in at number five is a bit of a catch-all, a flex slot meant to deal with the bevy of creature-based decks running rampant across cEDH write now. I've already written about how Nadu has renewed the call for board wipes, but it's worth reiterating: sometimes, not every threat can be answered with spot removal.
cEDH's most notorious creatures are often united in their ability to be relevant the turn they come down, but it's important to note that immediate relevancy doesn't necessarily translate to single-turn relevancy. For every Dockside Extortionist-esque creature with an enter-the-battlefield trigger, there's also a Birgi, God of Storytelling that threatens a win turn after turn after turn. Board wipes enable you to readily deal with all the threats in play, usually creatures, without having to run the cost-benefit analysis of "which threat should I let live" that single-target removal forces upon you.
Board wipes also reset the individually-insignificant-yet-en-masse-crucial creatures that often squeak by unnoticed. You'll certainly knock the wind out of a Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy's sails if you take out the commander and the supporting mana dorks all at once. Similarly, resetting the clock on a Najeela player's critical Warrior count is always a bonus.
#4 - Opposition Agent
Next up on our list is a creature that I used to think was just an overall black staple, but has fallen out of favor recently thanks to its rather large high mana cost: Opposition Agent.
Now, I know that three mana isn't the worst thing in the world, especially when it's on a creature with as powerful text as Opposition Agent's ability to steal your opponents' tutors, but the issue here is that Opposition Agent is a spell you have to hold up as if it's interaction, because that's really what it is. Playing an Opposition Agent early diminishes its effect, as it negates the "Gotcha" aspect of the card. Don't get me wrong, Opposition Agent is a great card; it's just a bit clunky to actually use in practice, which is why I wouldn't count it as a ubiquitous staple. However, as a silver bullet it's not just great, it's fantastic. Why? Because Sisay, Weatherlight Captain exists.
Sisay is a deck that is entirely focused on its commander's tutor ability, meaning an Opposition Agent in play shuts the deck down hard. Given Sisay's prominence in the meta (routinely being ranked as one of cEDH's tier one decks), it's safe to say that any silver bullet which could take it down, especially one as generically good as Opposition Agent, is worth considering.
#3 - Manglehorn
Similar to our number five pick, this selection is also a bit of an umbrella, covering anything and everything that hates on artifacts. The reason I picked Manglehorn, however, is that it belongs to a small subset of artifact hate that is one-sided; see Dauntless Dismantler and Karn, the Great Creator as other contenders.
Artifacts are pretty good in cEDH. Lion's Eye Diamond, The One Ring, Mana Crypt, the list goes on. Odds are, no matter which decks you are playing against, you'll see at least one of these cards pop up in your game, and Manglehorn is here to disrupt all of them, and it does so in three key ways.
First, the enter-the-battlefield trigger. This is the least important effect of Manglehorn, but there will be opportunities when it comes in handy. Setting an opponent back a Sol Ring is always good, so this incidental bonus shouldn't be completely dismissed when considering Manglehorn's value.
Second, the static ability of causing artifacts to enter the battlefield tapped. This effectively shuts off combos involving Dockside Extortionist, one of cEDH's most prevalent threats, while also turning rocks into dorks thanks to what is effectively summoning sickness. Also, as a little bonus, Mana Vault and Grim Monolith are now basically useless.
Third, the keywords "opponents control." While this is technically a part of Manglehorn's second (and final) ability, these two words warrant their own discussion, so let's get to it. Above all else, silver bullets are about breaking parity while inflicting as little, if any, deckbuilding constraints upon their user. Collector Ouphe doesn't fit this criteria, as it effects your own artifacts. This means that you need to pay the deckbuilding cost of optimizing your list to not include artifacts, something that is incredibly hard to justify given the plethora of fast mana and card advantage which artifacts offer. Manglehorn, however, affects your opponents and your opponents alone, meaning that the only decision you have to make is whether or not to play Manglehorn in your list, as opposed to how to warp your list to fit Manglehorn.
#2 - Cursed Totem
Remember everything I just said about parity and deckbuilding constraints? Cursed Totem contains no such "opponents control" language anywhere on it, so understanding this card's importance is going to be heavily meta-dependent.
The impact of activated abilities from creatures in cEDH is incredibly varied. Some decks use them with great impact, like Sisay and Kinnan, but for most decks the actual count of creatures with relevant activated abilities is pretty low, so, unlike artifacts, which are a dime a dozen, most decklists are already optimized so as to not care about activated abilities; at least, not that much. Sure, it sucks to be unable to crack a Ranger-Captain of Eos or tap a Birds of Paradise, but that's not terribly central to the average deck's gameplan.
This means that the average deck falls into one of two categories: those that couldn't care less about Cursed Totem, and those that care a whole lot. Between Sisay, Kinnan, and Najeela, the Blade-Blossom, cEDH's upper echelons are currently in an activated-ability Renaissance, so I encourage you to look through your list and see if Cursed Totem is a safe inclusion because, if it is, then odds are it's a worthwhile one, too.
#1 - Drannith Magistrate
Just like Opposition Agent, I used to think that Drannith Magistrate was a white staple, but alas, times change, lists evolve, and now we see it on the silver bullets list. Players just don't want to be as responsible, I guess. That being said, Drannith Magistrate still pacts an incredible punch regardless of where its used, so let's get into it.
For two mana, Drannith Magistrate is a 1/3 Human Wizard that shuts off your opponents' abilities to cast spells from anywhere other than their hands. That means no graveyards (see you later, Underworld Breach), no exile (sayonara, Jeska's Will), and no commanders (allonsy, Tivit, Seller of Secrets). The list of combos and threats that this single creature shuts down is too long to write, but it's safe to say that its most of the meta. If you're playing white and have a flex slot, I highly encourage you to pickup Drannith Magistrate. This card might as well be an entire silver armory.
Wrap Up
No two cEDH games are alike, but there are plenty of common themes among them. Artifacts are good, as are Underworld Breach, Sisay, and Nadu, so chances are you'll see some combination of that cadre every few games. With that knowledge comes the ability to anticipate your worst matches and prepare for them. Not every list needs to play slow and defensive, but the ability to search up a single card and shut down the most popular opposing strategies should not go underestimated.
