Magic Monday: Changing the Game with Jeska’s Will

Let’s look at some game changers! I’ve got some mixed feelings about WotC’s definition of these powerful cards. They’re staples of the format, and they’re undeniably powerful, but the Game Changer categorisation has the potential to stigmatise their use.

Or does it?

It may well be the case for some groups that by identifying and admitting the power of these cards and defining how many one can include in a deck of a specific tier, it actually gives tacit permission for their use. Go figure.

Whichever way you see it, it’s worth knowing what these cards do. Today, let’s look at Jeska’s Will!

Jeska’s Will is a compact, explosive toolkit that doubles as a ritual and a short free-dig, and in Commander it often offers both at once. At base cost {2}{R}, it gives you two distinct modes (or both if you control a commander when you cast it): add red mana equal to an opponent’s hand size, or exile the top three cards of your library and let you play them that turn. In practice, this card compresses several turns of advantage into a single, decisive sequence: generate mana to go off that turn, then cash in freshly exiled cards to finish the job before opponents can meaningfully respond.

Jeska’s Will is powerful because it pairs immediate resource generation with a temporary expansion of your play window. The mana mode is effectively a one-shot ritual that scales with opponent hand size, often granting large single-turn bursts strong enough to fuel tutors, storm sequences, or expensive finishers. The exile/play mode gives you a three-card “free roll” that can provide gas, interaction, or the single piece you need to close the game. When you can legally pick both, you get ritual plus three free plays. This is the core reason Jeska’s Will sees heavy play in red combo and cEDH-adjacent lists.

The two modes available on the card are universally useful, meaning this fits into any red-heavy deck. Specifically, it thrives in a few different roles and archetypes:

• Storm/Combo engines: as a ritual that increases storm count and mana for a one-turn kill sequence.
• Big-mana red shells: to cheat in a tutor or hardcast a high-cost finisher the same turn.
• Top-deck/branching builds: use the exile mode to test for immediate answers or win conditions without spending further resources.
• Midrange lists sometimes include Jeska’s Will as a surprise pivot: use the mana mode to power out a game-ending burn spell and the exile mode for interaction or to refuel.

Now, as with any card, it’s only as good as the context in which it is used. Therefore, we need to think about the sequencing of this card, with consideration given to the practical timing of our plays. As such, we need to think about a few things:

1. Read the table state: Target an opponent with a large hand (draw spells, tutors, or just a fresh grip) when choosing the mana mode. The ritual’s value is tied to the opponent’s hand count, so timing is everything. Avoid players with instant-speed discard engines.
2. Have your commander ready: If you control your commander and can choose both, sequence so you use the ritual to pay for a tutor/ritual, then leverage the exiled cards the same turn. The ideal line is: ritual → tutor/find a kill piece → pay for it using ritual mana → cast the newly exiled cards or play any free lands/utility exiled spells.
3. Protect the sequence: Jeska’s Will asks you to convert a sudden, single-turn advantage into an immediate payoff; countermagic, haste enablers, protection, or a redundancy plan are all reasonable escorts.

So, then, let’s consider how we build the rest of our deck. What card choices can really amplify the effectiveness of Jeska’s will and potentially turn it into a game-winning play?

• Mana sinks/finishers: Aetherflux Reservoir, Grapeshot, huge burn spells, or tutors like Demonic Tutor/Imperial Seal variants you can cash in immediately.
• Tutors and rituals: Infernal Tutor, Gamble, Rite of Flame, Desperate Ritual. Jeska’s Will often acts as the ritual that sextuples or quadruples a tutor’s usefulness in one turn.
• Top-deck/utilities to play from exile: cheap interaction (Swords, removal), cantrips, or cards that create immediate board impact (creatures with haste, or spells that net card advantage).
• Protection and redundancy: counterspells, haste enablers, or a second-line rituals to ensure the window converts to a win.

Of course, nobody is going to want you to cast Jeska’s Will or, if you do manage to get it off, to capitalise on the resources it provides. Consider some of the risks, weaknesses, and counterplays that you might encounter:

• It’s single-turn dependent. If opponents stop your follow-up (counters/removal/exile), the ritual and exile become largely wasted resources.
• The mana mode scales off an opponent’s hand size; in low-hand or protected pods it can fizzle. Don’t expect reliable eight-plus red from every opponent in slower pods.
• The exile-and-play window is temporary; if your deck needs cards in hand rather than playable-from-exile flexibility, Jeska’s Will can feel awkward. Consider whether your shell is built to convert top-three exiles on the spot.
• In multiplayer, political timing matters: casting Jeska’s Will to empty an opponent’s hand or to fish a tutor can paint a target on you

Ultimately, Jeska’s Will is elegant because it compresses risk and reward into a single decision. It rewards deckbuilders who think in turns rather than incremental advantage, and it punishes passive shells that can’t act immediately on temporary resources. Built correctly, Jeska’s Will converts a single, carefully-timed play into game-winning tempo and card advantage.

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