The Commander
Whenever you scry, the next instant or sorcery spell you cast this turn costs 
less to cast, where X is the number of cards looked at while scrying this way.
+2: Draw a card, then scry 2.
−3: Exile the top card of your library. Create a number of 1/1 blue Faerie Dragon creature tokens with flying equal to that card's mana value.
Elminster can be your commander.
Guide
Gameplan
Elminster is a value-engine planeswalker commander that grinds card advantage and discounts your spells. Plus him every turn to draw and scry, ticking him toward an effective ultimate while making your instants and sorceries dramatically cheaper. You snowball into a spellslinger or control win, or use the -3 to flood the board with Faerie Dragon tokens off a high-mana-value exile.
Strengths
- Self-protecting card-advantage engine that loyalty-pumps to a high ceiling
- Cost reduction on instants/sorceries enables explosive double-spell turns
- Strong in both control and spellslinger shells thanks to constant scry triggers
- Can pivot to a go-wide token plan with the -3 ability
Weaknesses
- Planeswalker commander is vulnerable to creature aggression and direct attacks
- UW lacks the fastest combo and ramp pieces of other colors
- -3 ability is swingy and depends on hitting a high mana value card
- Slow to close games without a dedicated finisher; can stall as pure value
Key Cards
- Mystic Remora — Cheap card draw that snowballs alongside Elminster's grindy engine in slower UW games.
- Rhystic Study — Refills your hand to fuel the constant spellcasting Elminster enables.
- Approach of the Second Sun — A discounted, repeatable big sorcery that closes games and abuses the scry cost reduction.
- Brainstorm — Cheap card filtering that loves the scry synergy and triggers Elminster's discount for free.
- Teferi, Time Raveler — Protects your planeswalker engine and locks opponents out of instant-speed interaction.
- The Reality Chip — Turns repeated scry-and-draw into reliable card advantage off the top of your library.
Upgrade Path
Add efficient cantrips and scry sources (Ponder, Preordain, Opt, Serum Visions) to maximize free cost reductions every turn, plus fast mana like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, and Mana Drain. Tighten the win plan around Approach of the Second Sun or a compact combo, and load up on planeswalker protection (Teferi's Protection, The Wandering Emperor) since your commander dies to combat. Stax pieces like Drannith Magistrate and Grand Abolisher buy time for the value engine to dominate.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Approach of the Second Sun cast twice for an instant win
- ▸Going wide with Faerie Dragon tokens plus an anthem or flying beatdown
- ▸Big X spells or game-ending sorceries cast cheaply via cost reduction
- ▸Grinding opponents out of resources then closing with a finisher creature or planeswalker ultimates
Archetypes
- Spellslinger — Cost reduction and constant scry trigger reward chaining cheap instants and sorceries each turn.
- Control — UW counters and board wipes paired with Elminster's card advantage grind opponents out.
- Tokens — The -3 ability generates Faerie Dragon flyers for a go-wide flying assault.
- Superfriends — As a planeswalker commander he slots naturally into a multi-walker value shell.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (UW), by popularity.
