Pauper Commander

Top 10 Cards in Modern Horizons 2 for PDH

Chev Eldrid

10 Jun 2021 - 5 min read

With Modern Horizons 2 fully spoiled it’s time to count down our top 10 cards for … PDH?! Yeah, you heard us. It’s about time a top MTG commentary site gave PDH the respect it DESERVES. And here we are to deliver a slick, informed opinion as to what you could soon see in a pile of commons near you.

Unbounded Potential

This is only White’s 3rd proliferate card at common, and arguably the most powerful to date. While I’m assuming it’ll generally be cast for the 2 mana proliferate mode beefing your white weenies efficiently, the other mode could be quite useful in the right shell. Certainly not for every deck, I’d imagine this with maybe Hamza, Guardian of Arashin , Alharu, Solemn Ritualist , or Abzan Falconer .

Arcbound Tracker

Modular and Affinity are BACK in style with Modern Horizons 2, and while we’ll see affinity making waves further down - this entry is modular’s time to shine, and with it one of the goodest electro-boys around. What really makes Arcbound tracker stand out though is its second ability, allowing you to “easily” add more +1/+1 counters without a lot of legwork. That on top of menace could make him a threat pretty quickly in a spell-heavy deck. The easy pick for a general is the new Arcbound Shikari for the modular synergy but I could also see this pup putting in work for a spellslinger shell helmed by Maelstrom Muse or Spellheart Chimera planning on casting multiple spells per turn since Arcbound Tracker will get a counter for each spell after the first, not just the second.

Sinister Starfish

Sigiled Starfish ’s angsty older sibling, this Asteroidea can be a serious utility piece in any black deck, giving you not only the ability for top deck manipulation or avoiding your fifth land in a row, but can also help fill your graveyard for a potent Rise Again or Exhume . I’ll definitely be looking to slot this into most of my reanimation shells.

Chatterstorm

I hate squirrels, besides the adorably fat ones who live under bird feeders in Montreal. Those guys are worth any amount of driving to go see. I also dislike what a meme squirrels are in MTG. So you can understand my hesitation to give a pedestal to Chatterstorm. It just really is. That. good. Standing out as a solid green payoff to Storm, you could easily flood the board at higher storm counts utilizing the likes of Burning-Tree Emissary or Pyretic Ritual in one explosive turn. It’ll also turn some heads in a token strategy to fill the board for a Battle Hymn or a more nefarious Ashnod’s Altar . I think my favorite commander for these little bastards is Savage Ventmaw for that flush of mana to get things kicking

Etherium Spinner

Ohhhh boy. As the gang’s all painfully aware a mana value of 4 or greater is not that high of a bar, even in PDH. Case in point being Oak’s diabolical Brinelin, the Moon Kraken / Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood deck that smoked us at least once in our last PDH night. CMC6+ tribal is tough, but it can work. Believe me it can work. I could also see Etherium Spinner as a powerhouse for pumping out artifacts in a Junk Winder control deck, with Glacian, Powerstone Engineer , or really anything with an Affinity subtheme.

Cabal Initiate

Anytime you see outlets that don’t require mana or tapping - be very wary. There are a couple “free” discard outlets in MH2, but I think Cabal Initiate is the most relevant with the ability to be a 3/3 for 2 very early in the game. Ideally, you’d want a madness subtheme. Being able to madness Dark Withering , Grave Scrabbler , Kitchen Imp , or Revolutionist could be very strong. There’s also the trio of cards from the Amonkhet block that become very real threats when you have the ability to just toss away your hand: Cunning Survivor , Horror of the Broken Lands , and to a lesser extent Pitiless Vizier . Anyway, I’m thinking this would go great with the new Lazotep Chancellor or in a discard-themed shell like Azra Oddsmaker .

Goblin Anarchomancer

This guy is pretty simple. Gruul wants you to do big splashy things, and so do they. A tribute to the original Familiar cycle which discounted the two other colors of a shard, Goblin Anarchomancer is a no frills cost reducer in the colors of big dumb things. Any mana advantage in PDH is going to be a big one so I’d honestly consider giving this shaman a spot anywhere I could, especially decks involving Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood or Rosheen Meanderer .

Step Through

It’s a TUTOR BABY!!!! I mean sure, yeah, also you could return two target creatures to their owners hands for 5 mana at sorcery speed. Much like Vedalken Aethermage before it, we’re all about that tutoring ability at common. While I prefer the flexibility of “Transmute,” wizardcycling can get some pretty tasty targets. Looking at you Archaeomancer or Goblin Electromancer . If you want to get REALLY techy you can even use it to tutor up some removal a la Kithkin Spellduster or the new Loathsome Curator . While a Wizard tribal deck helmed by Sage of Fables or Adeliz, the Cinder Wind should certainly be slotting this in, I could also see a home in most blue decks as there’s a lot of versatility in any tutor effect.

Bone Shards

Removal. Good, clean, removal. You probably won’t be removing any planeswalkers but it’s still a far more versatile version of Bone Splinters allowing you to discard OR sac a creature. Now if your board gets hit you’re less likely to be caught holding a useless spell (editors note: when Splinters was in standard, that happened a lot). Bone Shards belongs in any black aristocrats deck or something with a lot of creatures, but will also be incredibly powerful in the madness decks I touched on with Cabal Initiate; turn those discards into somethin’ special.

Honorable Mention: Echoing Return

Before we get to our last pick, I feel it incredibly important to highlight a very potent, very niche graveyard spell that definitely will make specific PDH decks very happy. Of course I’m talking about your Persistent Petitioners , your Rat Colony s, your Relentless Rats , or maybe even your Shadowborn Apostle s. These decks that allow you to skirt the single-card restrictions will be able to bring back entire armies to hand for a single black mana. Certain to bring a groan from any opponent, but don’t worry you won’t hear them over your own celebration when you pull this off.

Sojourner’s Companion

And finally, if we were numbering the number one for his face alone. This Sassy Salamander will bring you joy from day one. A strict “upgrade” of Myr Enforcer , it’ll obviously be artifact decks that enjoy this the most. It’s another potentially completely free spell, but I’m more focused on that little “Artifact Landcycling” ability. While a lot of green ramp can be found at common, the options for fixing dry out much much faster for the other colors. Ash Barrens is great, but Sojourner’s Companion gives any deck the ability to find another dual land. This guy is just a tad more versatile, fitting wherever you need especially with those higher cmc tribals we also talked about earlier. I just had to save this guy for last because I love the art of this little critter so much (editor’s note: chev is rarely right, but this guy is cute).

So there you have it! Top 10 cards to start adding to your decks. Think I missed any heaters? Did I miss some potential synergy? Feel free to give a shout out to your favorites in the comments below!

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