Teferi, Hero of Dominaria #2- Top 11 MTG Cards of 2018

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

This card was #1 on my Top 11 list.

Story-wise, Teferi is a very interesting person to see in planeswalker form, because his spark was lost during the events of the Time Spiral block. It makes me wonder who else we’re going to see appear from seeming obscurity and/or the actual literal past.

A lot of Teferi’s value is, as the Impractical Jokers like to say, in the ol’ dirty loophole. Not only does his -3 make him great protection against mill decks, it also makes him a basically infinite source of card drawing (and even ultimates, in the company of Doubling Season). That also makes him a self-contained win condition in the style of the old-school Stasis decks, some of which relied on the opponent running out of either cards or patience. Of course, the mill mirror can then become one that literally goes on until time stops, so use with caution.

Between that, a +1 that literally lets you get both card advantage and counterspell mana without having to invest any resources, and the increasing popularity of Old School formats, 1994 is just around the corner again!

Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5

This card was 3rd on my top 11 list.

Teferi…was maybe a bit more powerful than I initially reckoned. Imagine that. He’s definitely the piece control decks wanted access to, serving as an integral part to one of the stronger decks in the current Standard, and helping decks to, if nothing else, not lose.

In particular, the -3 on Teferi ensures that, as long as you resolve him, you can never deck yourself, which is nice when you’re trying to stall as long as possible to deck your opponent out or grind out a win. Beyond that, he offers a steady stream of cards (and the ability to represent countermagic on your opponent’s turns), and that -3 does a great job of putting away unpleasant permanents you would rather not deal with. He does two important things: offer a way to not lose, and offer a way to keep your opponent from winning.

I feel like Teferi’s strengths tend to be a bit subtle, but they certainly are there! And he’s put in a lot of work since control made a resurgence, even occasionally showing up in Modern. He takes time to get rolling, but he offers blue/white decks what they want…and with the Azorius scheduled to return in Ravnica Allegiance, he may have more of a home in a bit.

Constructed: 4.75
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4.25
Commander: 4.5