Ranked by how many Commander decks actually run them (EDHREC play rates via Scryfall), with what each card does that earns the slot: Treasure, wheels, free interaction and table wide damage. #1 today: Blasphemous Act.
Updated 2026-10-23 · refreshes automatically every day
The top 5 red staples in EDH as of 2026-10-23: 1. Blasphemous Act; 2. Deflecting Swat; 3. Faithless Looting; 4. Vandalblast; 5. Jeska's Will.
#1
#2Free with your commander out: redirect their removal, or anything else, wherever you like.
Budget stand-in: Obscuring Haze $4.98 vs $72.46 · more like this
#3Draw two, discard two, then do it again from the graveyard; fuels every red engine.
#4Overloaded it destroys every artifact your opponents control and keeps yours.
Budget stand-in: Putrefy $0.35 vs $1.97 · more like this
#5A huge burst of red mana plus your best opponent's top three cards; two spells in one.
#6Instant speed: discard one, draw two, make two Treasures; keeps the engine turning.
#7Kill a creature or an artifact for two mana; flexible removal that is never dead.
#8
#9Every spell you cast mints a Treasure; spellslinger decks loop around it.
#10Creature · Human Warrior
Budget stand-in: Atsushi, the Blazing Sky $0.38 vs $4.53 · more like this
#11
#12Search any staple in the free card search and it lists every card that does the same job, priced at the cheapest printing.
As of 2026-10-23, the most-played red staples in Commander are Blasphemous Act, Deflecting Swat, Faithless Looting, Vandalblast, Jeska's Will, ranked by EDHREC play rate.
A staple earns a slot in thousands of decks because its effect is cheap for what it does, useful in almost any game, and hard to replace: efficient removal, reliable ramp, repeatable card advantage or free interaction. This page explains, card by card, what that job is.
Not mostly: 19 of the top 50 cost under $2 at their cheapest printing. Prices shown update daily; the free card search on this site finds budget stand-ins for the expensive ones.