Is This Insane Legendary Creature The New Queen of Commander?

Last updated on June 29, 2026

Y'shtola, Night's Blessed Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

Of all the legendary creatures ever printed, only one can be the most popular. It takes a great many things to rise to that level, but this one card might just have what it takes to reach that number one spot, and it's happening fast. Within a week or so, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed may very well become the most popular commander.

Easy Mode

Currently on EDHREC, a widely used site for sharing commander decks, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is the third most popular, sitting behind only The Ur-Dragon and Edgar Markov. However, it's climbing fast, and will likely soon overtake them as the number one commander. But why is this card so popular?

Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is a generically good card, meaning that it's easy to build around. That's a boon for gaining wide popularity, as there aren't really many bad ways to build a deck around her. Have players lost life? Sure that works, draw a card. Cast noncreature spells with mana value 3 or greater? Sure, drain everyone for 2 life. And it's not like these things won't be happening anyways. Players are going to lose 4 life in a turn fairly often without you having to try to make it happen, meaning Y'shtola, Night's Blessed will draw you cards for free, up to four per turn cycle. Additionally, you'll probably be wanting to play several noncreature spells that just happen to cost 3 or more anyways, so you won't be working hard for her second ability either, and if you can trigger it twice in a turn you will trigger her first ability. Add it all together, and this is a commander that simply works.

Money And Catgirls

Smothering Tithe | Illustration by Daisuke Tatsuma

Aside from that, there are other factors that contribute to its popularity, first of which is its price. It's currently going for about $1.50 USD. Compare that to The Ur-Dragon at about $40.00 USD, and Edgar Markov at about $38.00 USD, and it becomes clear why Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is comparatively growing in popularity. It's hard to justify spending so much on an individual card when you have one hundred of them in any given deck, especially when for just $1.50 you're getting access to one of the best commanders. Additionally, new players who may not be as comfortable spending big money on cards are more likely to buy in for cheaper cards over expensive ones. Truly, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is a champion of the people.

There is also the factor of her being a catgirl. If you've gone to your local game store and looked around at the playmats people have, chances are you've seen a catgirl on at least a few of them. An unholy abomination combining cat and girl in anime artstyle that is undoubtedly popular. You could make a larger argument about anime and its popularity being the contributing factor, or perhaps just the popularity of the Final Fantasy franchise as carrying the weight. At any rate, she is a girl and a cat and for whatever reason, people seem to like that.

Y'shtola's Future

Y'shtola Rhul | Illustration by Immanuela Crovius

It's impressive that a card so relatively new has such a large number of decks dedicated to it. The Ur-Dragon and Edgar Markov both came out in 2017, so it has had far less time to accrue decks. Whether it be the ease of deckbuilding, the price, the fact that she's a catgirl, or some other reason, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is undeniably popular, and it's only a matter of time before she takes the number one spot on EDHREC.