Invasion of Xerex // Vertex Paladin

In Commander, Invasion of Xerex // Vertex Paladin earns its slot in white-blue decks that want asymmetric resets — it blanks big green creatures and commanders while leaving token armies or small utility creatures in place, and Vertex Paladin's flying, vigilance body is a reasonable threat once you've cleared the way. Outside Commander, the card struggles to find footing: five mana is simply too slow for Modern or Pioneer, where threats must be answered immediately and permanents that don't win the game outright rarely make the cut. Legacy and Vintage barely register it — the power level of those formats makes a conditional bounce effect irrelevant.