You don’t play enough interaction in EDH.
You may think you do, but you don’t.
It’s always been a bit baffling to me how there’s so much controversy over what single cards people play, yet the interaction happens to be so thin. You can’t sit there and tell me how problematic your friend’s Big Timmy deck is when your Orzhov control deck plays only 3 forms of interaction.
I could go on, but you know who you are.
Today, we’ll talk about the interaction you should probably be running, because I think you should.
Withering Boon
This card is a major sleeper, because there isn’t an obvious tell with this, when you’re leaving two non-blue mana up for this. Withering Boon’s almost irrelevant cost of three life will get you out of a jam very quickly, even if it’s just a worse Essence Scatter. I strongly suggest playing this and doing your best to mask it when you need to take out that lingering Thassa’s Oracle or something similar.
Wild Magic Surge
This one was inspired a bit by looking into some Anje Falkenrath decks, but I think this card is worth considering in other shells. Two mana is dirt cheap for potentially not dying to a combo or a creature that would be otherwise too big for you to handle. There’s no guarantee you’ll be out of the situation you’re in when you cast it, as the tail end of the card is completely random. But, it’s worth including when you really want a particular thing dead, right now, no questions asked.
Filter Out
One of the newer pieces of interaction, this card seems narrow at first, but being narrow is almost always just fine in EDH. The big thing this card hits is Treasure Tokens, which apparently run rampant. Also, you get to hit many stax pieces without harming your own board state if you’re a blue creature deck. A worthy inclusion in blue for sure.
Surge of Salvation
This card is a bit of a layered reaction, but I think this may have a home if people do start to pick up on interaction more. I also highly recommend this to any Heroic themed deck, as it’s a free way to protect your proverbial queen, while also hosing black and red creatures in combat
Some of these cards have been on my mind for a while, and I’m certain there are more I may be missing, but the bigger picture here is to allow more room in your builds for ways to interact with your opponent. Being able to keep yourself in the game is incredibly important, and with 99 slots available to you, it’s crucial to do what you can to get your opponents’ 99 cards as under control as possible!
Anthony Lowry (they/he) is a seasoned TCG, MMORPG, and FPS veteran. They are extensively knowledgeable on the intricacies of many competitive outlets, and are always looking for a new challenge in the gaming sphere.