Inalla, Archmage Ritualist

Legendary Creature — Human Wizard

Eminence — Whenever another nontoken Wizard enters the battlefield under your control, if Inalla, Archmage Ritualist is in the command zone or on the battlefield, you may pay {1}. If you do, create a token that's a copy of that Wizard. The token gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.

Tap five untapped Wizards you control: Target player loses 7 life.

Tokens

• Copy Clone

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (47)

griffstick on Restrictions to make commanders interesting?

1 week ago

What 77hi77 said about Inalla, Archmage Ritualist in his third paragraph about building that deck as mono blue reminded me of the deck I wanted to build but never did. A mono black vampire deck using Edgar Markov as the cmdr. Being mono black allows the devotion strategy to come into play (Gray Merchant of Asphodel) and cards that care about swamps too. Cards like Crypt Ghast and Cabal Coffers, to cards like Nightmare Lash and Dread Presence. Build this and you'll truly have a unique deck that still competes. And to top it off, you can use Torment of Hailfire as a finisher, if you like, because mono black has big ramp.

77hi77 on Restrictions to make commanders interesting?

1 week ago

I've been looking through my decks lately, and it's really hitting me how weird my deckbuilding style is. So while I don't consider myself an experienced player by any stretch of the imagination, I might have some perspectives to share.

Similar to what legendofa said, I'm a huge fan of messing with the colour pie. So, one deck I'm working on is Evra, Halcyon Witness, which most people would see as a life gain commander, I see it as a really specialized version of Hatred, but instead of "Pay X life", X is set for you. So that made me think, can I build a mono-white deck that plays like a mono-black? How many options does white have for paying life and sacrificing your own creatures? I'd like to do something similar with the other colours, like how many {U}{B} one-drops can I use to make a funky aggro deck?

A deck I'm still in the theorizing process for is the answer to the question "how funny would it be if I built a deck where I can't cast the commander?". Right now I'm thinking Inalla, Archmage Ritualist but build the deck in mono-blue and just go blue wizard tribal. Maybe I'd allow myself a Fellwar Stone and one card that can let me steal another player's mana rock, so that casting my commander becomes an achievement to celebrate. From there it's a balance of building a viable 99 that has a chance to win the game, while sticking to the idea that I want this deck to be funny. This was very much inspired by watching Commander at Home whenever Olivia gets incoherent from laughing so hard at her own shenanigans.

My favourite deck I've built yet, which still needs quite a bit of work, is Defile Me Daddy Rakdos. Rakdos the Defiler is the commander, and most decks I've seen with him as the commander focus on how painful it is to be hit by him, then double down on that pain. I thought, it'd be more fun if I were to lean into the politics of a commander like that. So I put in a whole bunch of cards that demand deals: Scheming Symmetry, Infernal Offering, Sower of Discord, and other effects that either say "two of us will get a very nice thing" or "two of us will get a very bad thing". I see it as forcing you to get in character, you kind of have to play like a demon to pilot this demon deck.

I've also been eyeing proliferating commanders, mostly because the lands and mana rocks that use counters of some sort are really cool. Peat Bog, Altar of Shadows and Pyramid of the Pantheon, for example. Then balance it with non-standard proliferating wincons, so instead of +1/+1 counters and infect, I've been thinking of cards like Strixhaven Stadium, or the ult on a few planeswalkers (Vraska, Scheming Gorgon immediately comes to mind).

Hope that gave you some ideas! I'm on the exact opposite journey, because I'm too good at restricting myself, and whenever I try to bring friends into the game I can't really lend them any of my decks.

Swebb87 on inalla, archmage ritualist and intruder …

3 months ago

I have Inalla, Archmage Ritualist and Intruder Alarm and 5 random vanilla wizards in play. Proper to casting a 6 wizard, I tap my 5 wizards to activate Inalla's ability. Then cast my 6th wizard which triggers intruder alarm which untaps all my creatures.

Can I hold priority between the new wizard ETB and before I pay the 1 to Inalla's eminence ability? Which would allow me to tap 5 wizards again prior to the copy coming in and untap all creatures when the copy ETB? This giving me 3 Inalla activations in this example?

Or do I have to pay the 1 if I want to use Inalla's eminence ability as the new wizard ETB?

Made_Compleat on Davros, Dragon's Approach

4 months ago

Rasaru, for the purposes of your Spellweaver Helix + Worldfire combo, have you considered Final Parting? It sets everything up perfectly by giving you Spellweaver Helix and dumping Worldfire in the graveyard.

Also, Azoth2099, that's a really cool take on a more graveyard-focused Dragon's Approach deck. I have my own version of this deck Daleks & Dragons [[Davros EDH]] and you've inspired me to add Kess, Dissident Mage. While I don't think I can maintain my deck while pivoting strategies as you've described, I really want to see how you would make a more graveyard focused Approach deck with Kess or maybe Inalla, Archmage Ritualist. If you build that deck, please show me!

Azoth2099 on Inalla - Wizard Tribal

7 months ago

Excellent Commander choice, Inalla, Archmage Ritualist is my undisputed favorite Commander, and perhaps my most powerful decklist.

The main wincons I'm using in my list are lines through Spellseeker and/or Micromancer which ends up creating infinite Archaeomancer or Scholar of the Ages Tokens after like 15 or 20 steps with a series of Instants and Sorceries (I can teach you, if you feel like learning all of it). I'm also running Dualcaster Mage + Heat Shimmer & Thassa's Oracle + Demonic Consultation.

Some trigger doublers like Naban, Dean of Iteration, Harmonic Prodigy, Panharmonicon & Virtue of Knowledge could go a long way, too. Not necessarily doublers, but Archmage of Echoes, Molten Echoes & Reflections of Littjara have a similar effect.

Venser, Shaper Savant is a must in budget Inalla. I'd also consider Patron Wizard, Sigil Tracer & Voidmage Prodigy if your intention is to run a crapload of Wizard creatures. In my experience, though, Inalla doesn't actually need that many Wizards, just the right ones.

Here's my own Inalla, Archmage Ritualist list if you wanna peep it: MICROSEEKER (INALLA)

Gleeock on Eminence: Do you like it …

1 year ago

TypicalTimmy. Except when you start applying that idea in-bulk, then you start talking about power creep in the format. Also, the classic issue of: best of ___. Best of vampires Edgar Markov. Best of wizards Inalla, Archmage Ritualist Best of knights? ___

Fortunately, they have done this on a tribal scale so far, maybe that is what the game designers intended to make sure eminence didn't trump all the other commander choices? Easy for me to talk, I don't really care for tribal play, I might be annoyed if I had a beloved tribal-type deck that just became obsolete.

nhhale on Eminence: Do you like it …

1 year ago

DrukenReaps that's actually the second time I've heard someone mention Edgar Markov and Inalla, Archmage Ritualist specifically. I have to agree that they are the most powerful of the 5 existing Eminence commanders. I also agree that the new one is powerful, potentially the best one yet.

I have my own Inalla deck. I actually leaned into her second ability that taps your wizards, and I have such a blast playing it that I kind of wish they hadn't given her Eminence. It's a super interesting ability that I haven't seen on any other commander, but it unfortunately gets completely overshadowed by her first ability (to be fair, I did lean quite a bit into that one as well).

DrukenReaps on Eminence: Do you like it …

1 year ago

I've played against all the eminence commanders and played with a few. I think both Inalla, Archmage Ritualist and Edgar Markov were a ...bit much.

The others being Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, Arahbo, Roar of the World, and The Ur-Dragon always seemed strong but fine to me. Their real value not coming until they are in play.

The new one drawing and discarding seems like it has the potential to lean more towards the first group imo. Drawing on a commander always seems woefully undervalued by so many... Though it isn't just straight card advantage so maybe it'll be another strong but fine commander. People will actually want to play it in order to get real value out of it.

Overall I think any card with eminence is going to be playing with fire but not any more so than say storm or infect. It'd be easy to go overboard with the effect but there are many other effects that provide only mild value. Regardless folks will likely get targeted even if they played the absolute weakest eminence ability. I think the heat it can attract will balance it out at any table.