Jumpstart 2022: Top 10 Best cards for cEDH

Have you taken a good breath in after The Brothers' War? I can imagine probably not, but here is another new product! Today is Jumpstart 2022's top 10 day. For those who don't remember, it is a product with pre-built boosters of 20 cards each, from one of the 46 themes present. Get the cards from 2 boosters and there you go, you can already play against another friend that does the same.

The set counts with reprints, but what will interest us here are the new cards, which are nice in the Eternal formats (Vintage, Legacy, Commander and their variations). Will this set bring cards with the same potential as the first Jumpstart, which rewarded us with Allosaurus Shepherd, Emiel the Blessed or even Muxus, Goblin Grandee?

So come check out the Top 10: Jumpstart 2022! Keep in mind this analysis will be done with Commander in mind, mainly through cEDH's (the competitive Commander) point of view.

10-Kibo, Uktabi Prince

Firstly, return to monke. Secondly, I'd like to present this beautiful sequence of cards:

Now that we've paid our dues, let's get to what the young Kibo can provide us: an honest Gruul deck with a nice Commander and which can remove artifacts at each combat. The obvious here is to use some nice Apes and Monkeys: Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Kogla, the Titan Ape and Gorilla Shaman.

From the moment you begin to share Bananas to your opponents, it is important to acquire some kind of advantage or prevent them from popping off. Sardian Avenger and Dockside Extortionist can abuse clueless players (but don't count on it).

Collector Ouphe, Null Rod and Titania's Song prevent them from using their gift (?), whereas Viridian Revel you really want them to use it. Like I said, it is an honest deck which doesn't reach a competitive level. But at least it should be a lot of fun.

9 — Rodolf Duskbringer

Rodolf Duskbringer has a similar niche to Celestine, the Living Saint, which has a wider color identity, costs less and doesn't require you to pay mana for it to trigger.

Considering its Orzhov identity, I don't see a reason for it to see play among the 99 when there's a superior alternative. Maybe some players risk using it in the Command Zone, even with it costing 6 mana, kind of like a Reanimator or Hatebears style, maybe a mix of the two.

Will it be good? Unlikely, but I'm always for people trying out cards before I give my verdict. Now it's worth noting: it will probably find an easy home at casual play, after all we have a Vampire Angel, two of the For Fun's favorite types!

8 — Mizzix, Replica Rider

Mizzix, Replica Rider is a new version of a favorite of players from the Izzet guild, only in a version with less potential and power level than its first appearance, then as Mizzix of the Izmagnus. A 5 mana cost and an interesting ability, but conditional and which demands a very specific deckbuilding to work as a commander.

It might be able to extract value of impulsive draw cards, such as Jeska's Will, March of Reckless Joy, Reckless Impulse, Expressive Iteration, Chandra, Torch of Defiance or Eruth Tormented Prophet.

Who knows, it might be a home for Possibility Storm? What's certain is that the best way to take advantage of Mizzix's ability is through Underworld Breach. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think it will be a good deck and I don't think it will play in the 99.

7 — Distinguished Conjurer

The mention of Distinguished Conjurer is for a very specific deck in cEDH: Heliod, Sun-Crowned.

Some versions make use of health pings such as the ones provided by Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant, though today it is rarer to find this approach, which makes use of these creatures to grow the power of a board of aggressive hatebears and saving up mana to combo with Heliod + Walking Ballista.

The activated ability of Distinguished Conjurer can help protect a creature from spot removals or simply create more triggers for this commander. In other color combinations it might fulfill the part of Emiel the Blessed in combos with Village Bell-Ringer and enough mana dorks, which might be an option for budget replacement in Commander 500, for instance.

6 — Agrus Kos, Eternal Soldier

Agrus Kos, Eternal Soldier would be the Boros equivalent of Zada, Hedron Grinder, only with less explosive quality than our goblin, as it is necessary to spare 2 manas in this process and restrict to abilities.

There are strong synergies to explore such as Jaxis, the Troublemaker, Jeska, Thrice Reborn and Rionya, Fire Dancer. You can also do a lot of fun with Felidar Guardian and Dockside Extortionist. The potential is countless and there is room for deckbuilders on duty to explore.

5 — Primeval Herald

Primeval Herald though it refers to a distant cousin, the Primeval Titan (Banned in Commander) is infinitely more honest, as as every time it triggers is just one basic land to the board.

It might be a good choice for deckbuilding in decks that worry about landfall and have nice amounts of basic lands, such as Tatyova, Benthic Druid and Omnath, Locus of Rage. If it is played in cEDH it should be in more obscure decks, but it will shine in high power or budget meta games such as Commander 500.

4 — Brazen Cannonade

Though it has a less than appealing cost, Brazen Cannonade can make the experience of blocking small creatures painful. Tied to abilities such as Zulaport Cutthroat's and a sac outlet, it can drain opponents' lives in an instant if there is a massive amount of creatures, which might make it a viable option for decks such as Prossh, Skyraider of Kher.

However, its main use must be due to its second ability, which creates impulsive draws that can be used up to next round's combat. It might find home in decks that probably already want to attack constantly.

I don't think it will be played in cEDH, but pending its cost in the future it is a viable option for Commander 500 and might find space in high power decks.

3 — Ardoz, Cobbler of War

Ardoz, Cobbler of War is Winota, Joiner of Forces' best friend. It can be useful for this commander early game, creating a non-human trigger. As a top deck after Winota hits the board, it is relevant due to its Haste.

As a bonus, in late game, it can convert a possible land flood in more attackers with Haste which trigger Winota's ability. But what makes it in fact a solid option for this deck is that besides all that it provides more attack power for the creatures which are coming in, helping you pressure opponents' health points and speeding up the clock to finish the game through combat.

2 — Preston, the Vanisher

It seems that this rabbit will take a Felidar Guardian out of the hat! Preston, the Vanisher is one more option to combo with our kitten, as long as it fulfills the condition of not being cast; which can be met in many ways, from combo lines with Birthing Pod, through Reanimate or even blinks such as Ephemerate. In these conditions you can create infinite Felidar Guardian tokens as well as infinite mana when blinking in lands (?? blink).

Preston might be able to lead its own deck, but what's most likely is that it will be assimilated into strategies such as Minsc, Beloved Ranger or Hermit Pod (Tymna the Weaver & Tana, the Bloodsower) and similar decks.

1 — Ogre Battlecaster

Taking the first position is Ogre Battlecaster! It has a reasonable cost and an ability that might be very useful in decks that look for a friction game.

Having access to instant or sorcery spells is a way to have card advantage which is specially useful in Midrange decks, bringing versatility such as casting a removal such as Deadly Rollick, protection through a Silence, tutoring with Demonic Tutor or try to get a win through a Demonic Consultation in your graveyard.

It is a solid option for decks such as Prosper, Tome-Bound, Grenzo, Dungeon Warden, Tymna the Weaver & Jeska, Thrice Reborn or Tymna the Weaver & Kraum, Ludevic's Opus.

After all, Jumpstart 2022, in terms of power level, is very inferior to the first Jumpstart. The cards in their majority have low power level and at first there are no new competitive staples, though there are cards that might come to testing in very specific decks. Apparently your pockets will be able to breathe soundly. This time.

Thank you to those who've read so far and I hope you've liked this Top 10. Do you agree with this list? Disagree? Do you think something relevant was left out or something got in that absolutely shouldn't have? Leave your comment!

Thank you and see you next time!