Tarkir EDH Precons Mimic Commander Legends with a Brand New ‘Will’ Cycle

Last updated on March 21, 2025

Akroma's Will | Illustration by Antonio José Manzanedo

A few years ago, Commander Legends introduced a cycle of “Will” cards. These were modal spells that let you choose both modes if you controlled a commander. Two cards from the cycle (Jeska's Will and Akroma's Will) are still Commander staples today, and Jeska's Will actually being busted enough to merit Game Changer status in Commander. The rest of the cycle were mostly busts (and sit at bulk prices), though they do see fringe Commander play in the right homes.

Anyways, Tarkir: Dragonstorm is taking another crack at it with a full cycle of new Wills! Each precon will feature one new Will for its respective clan. Given the pedigree of the previous cycle (two-out-of-five staples isn't bad!), it seems worth keeping an eye on these, so let's dig in. Just note that there are currently only three of the five cards spoiled: Will of the Sultai was shown off just as this article was being written, and the other two should be revealed on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Will of the Jeskai

Will of the Jeskai gets the cycle off to an interesting start. It's basically a Wheel of Fortune + Past in Flames split card, though both modes fall a bit short of their originals. Having access to both effects does seem nice though.

But what happens when you combine the two modes at once? Well, you essentially end up very gassed up for a big Past in Flames turn, with your “new hand” being those five cards plus your entire graveyard of instants and sorceries! The main thing you'll be missing though is mana, as you'll needs lots of mana to immediately leverage all the cards you just drew.

That points towards Will of the Jeskai being best in unfair decks with a storm theme, though your commander will have to be red in some form. It's unlikely to have wide appeal, but looks capable of doing some broken things.

Will of the Mardu

Will of the Mardu, on the other hand, is a bit more straightforward. This is clearly an excellent tokens card, with mode A offering a cheap board doubler, and mode B offering a way to leverage tokens for a decent removal spell. Combining them is also obviously great, as the first mode should easily make the second mode into a straight up white Terminate.

The main wrinkle to this card beyond just “play it in a tokens deck” is that mode A says “target player!” That means if you aren't doing so hot, you can piggyback off another player with it. This kind of flexibility and power is what makes certain Commander cards so great, so Will of the Mardu looks to be a bit of a staple. It's no Jeska's Will or anything, but should play great in more fair, medium power pods (i.e., Bracket 2 or 3 decks).

Will of the Sultai

Will of the Sultai is the most expensive of the cycle so far, and has a clear lands theme to it. Mode A is a Splendid Reclamation effect with some bonus self-mill (though it costs 5 instead of 4), while mode B is an extremely risky but powerful pump spell. When you combine them though, that's where the card gets more interesting, as it more or less functions as a combo kill card with the setup. The basic sequence looks like this:

• First, mill yourself for a couple of turns with cards like Malevolent Rumble, Commune with Evil, etc. and fill your graveyard with lands.
• Field some kind of creature worth targeting with mode B in the meantime, ideally something with hexproof for fun and interactive gameplay.
• You'll also need your commander out the turn you go off.
• Once you're finally ready to go for the combo, simply cast Will of the Sultai for both modes, which will put you at 20+ lands and give that creature an obscene boost + trample, letting you “destroy target player.”

One card that seems absolutely built for this is Kotis, the Fangkeeper, as indestructible makes them a perfect target for +X/+X. Not only will you get to destroy target player, but you'll also be able to cast like 20+ cards to put you ahead of everyone else!

Stay tuned next week for the other two cards in this cycle! Just maybe there will be something on the level of Akroma's Will there.