The Commander is the legendary creature that leads your other 99 cards into battle in games of EDH: they dictate the colors you can include in your deck, and shape your overall strategy. If you're shopping for new options, our tried-and-tested guide to the best MTG commanders recommends plenty that reliably secure wins and are extremely fun to play.
Wizards of the Coast introduces more legendary creatures with each year of new MTG sets, but this guide will help you keep up with the latest releases and meta shifts. If you want to get really competitive, you'll be better served by our dedicated cEDH tier list. Or, if you're just starting out with this format, we'd recommend starting out with MTG commander precon decks instead.
Top commanders MTG:
- Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
- Edgar Markov
- Vivi Ornitier
- Teval, the Balanced Scale
- Baylen, the Haymaker
- The Necrobloom
- Kenrith, The Returned King
- Muldrotha, The Gravetide
- Tymna The Weaver
- The Gitrog Monster
- Isshin, Two Heavens As One
- Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
- Sauron, The Dark Lord
- The Ur Dragon
- Kaalia Of The Vast
- Lathril, Blade Of The Elves
- Pantlaza, Sun Favored
- Shroofus Sproutshire
- Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
While not quite the dominant force she was in 2016, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice still makes for a top commander. Her proliferate ability opens up all kinds of avenues and has only gotten more flexible as Wizards experiments with new types of counters like shield and stun.
Atraxa is a really great commander to experiment with because her ability and color identity mean you can explore about six different themes. You could make a pretty standard +1/+1 counter deck, or go the opposite route with -1/-1 counters. You could be really unpleasant and run with poison counters, or create a superfriends deck full of planeswalkers.
Whatever route you go, you're probably going to want more effects that proliferate, so cards like Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres and Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus are a perfect fit. They also often lend themselves to a Phyrexian theme!
Edgar Markov
The Commander 2017 set was all about tribal decks, each focused on a single creature type: cats, wizards, dragons, and vampires. Edgar Markov led the cats - no, sorry, the vampires deck - and quickly rose to the status of top commander. While the card got horribly pricey as a result, a reprint in Innistrad Remastered has made him a little less silly to buy.
With the ability to create a swarm of little nippers, then pump them up each time he attacks, Edgar naturally works best in a horde-style deck that can swiftly overwhelm opponents. Mardu colors give you access to all the top removal cards, and best of all, Edgar's eminence ability makes him useful from the command zone, where he can churn out mini-mes in safety.
You then need stuff to do with all your vampire tokens, like buffing them up or sacrificing them for card draw with Skullclamp and draining your opponent with Blood Artist.
Vivi Ornitier
MTG's Final Fantasy set was stuffed with legendary creatures, but Vivi Ornitier is the real standout for Commander players. He grows more powerful every time you cast a non-creature spell, and that power in turn fuels an incredibly versatile mana-making ability.
Vivi can be hard to keep in play due to his notoriety (he did terrible things in Standard) but on the bright side, his mana cost is so low that it shouldn't be too hard to bring him back. Keep him on the board long enough, and Vivi becomes a powerful attacker in his own right, but his real value lies in the win conditions you can create with the killer combination of free mana and pinging. A curiosity-type card also makes for unending card draw.
With Vivi, your game plan might be a spellslinger or storm build - setting up until the perfect turn allows you to combo off. Alternatively, you could go all in on pingers, and aim to wittle your opponents down with a million tiny cuts.
Key cards for a Vivi deck:
Teval, the Balanced Scale
Teval, the Balanced Scale offers fantastic value, especially when you consider that it's a precon commander. This spicy spirit dragon has seen its popularity soar since Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and no wonder. It's a consistent source of land and tokens whose self-mill strategies are suitable for a variety of decks.
Obviously, a straightforward graveyard deck is the first place to go. You want cards entering and leaving your graveyard as often as possible to trigger Teval's ability. After that though, you could consider a lands-matter sub-theme, playing multiple lands a turn to stack up the triggers. You could look to get the most from your tokens with zombie tribal cards too.
Your biggest problem will be defending Teval, who has no protection against removal, will suffer when cards are exiled, and who must constantly jump into the fray of battle.
Key cards for a Teval commander deck:
Baylen, the Haymaker
Baylen, the Haymaker is a strong all-rounder of a commander with a pretty simple premise. First, you amass an army of tokens, whether that be treasure, food, or other bunnies. Next, you use your lupine legion to fuel Baylen's gradually more threatening abilities.
Baylen can grab you the mana or card you need to squeeze out of a sticky situation. Or, with enough tokens tapped, he can transform into a Hulk-like, trampling beast.
It might be tough to get Baylen to this level of power without any keywords to protect him, but his cheap mana cost means you'll have plenty of shots at the goal. Plus, if you can't stampede your way to commander damage victory, you still have a literal army of weenies to swing with. Baylen is snappy, aggressive, and not to be underestimated.
Key cards for a Baylen commander deck:
The Necrobloom
The Necrobloom is easy for opponents to underestimate. On its early turns, it doesn't seem to achieve much - play a land, fetch a land, create a puny plant token. However, if left undisturbed for long enough, it's landfall antics will start to cause serious problems.
As soon as seven types of land are under your control, you can start forming and swinging with a zombie army, all while blocking with your chunky commander and their numerous plant buddies. Dredge is on hand to bring back any crucial lands, and it opens up plenty of interactions that keep The Necrobloom's tokens-and-landfall schtick feeling interesting.
Key cards for The Necrobloom commander deck:
- The Gitrog Monster
- Splendid Reclamation
- Fetchlands, fetchlands, fetchlands
Kenrith, The Returned King
Five-color commanders are some of the strongest because they allow you to use any card in the game, for ultimate flexibility. As a result, they're a little controversial, since many lend themselves to less focused strategies and decks, where you just want to cram in all the best cards in your collection.
But we think that's as valid a playstyle as any - and it's hard to pass up jack-of-all-trades commanders when they're as good as Kenrith, the Returned King. Kenrith shines because all of his abilities are useful, and some are invaluable. You only need white mana to cast him, so you can have him out on the field and gradually unlock new abilities as you play new lands.
He's a top commander for those still learning how to play Magic The Gathering's most popular format, since you can experiment to your heart's content, and it's hard to go too wrong. Synergy is not required - just brute strength!
Key cards for a Kenrith commander deck
- Agatha of the Vile Cauldron
- Your pick of the best MTG cards of all time!
Muldrotha, The Gravetide
Do you hate it when your opponents blow up your stuff? Then Muldrotha, the Gravetide is the top commander for you. Allowing you to play one card of each permanent type from your graveyard each and every turn, this noxious elemental turns your graveyard into an extension of your hand.
Unfortunately, with a high cost and incredible ability, Muldrotha is one of those commanders that attracts removal like a magnet. On the bright side, her Sultai colors (black, green and blue) give you access to a ton of power outside of her own impressive strength, including excellent creatures, removal, and card draw.
And when you do manage to protect her for long enough to make good use of her resurrection powers, your opponents are going to have a bad time.
Key cards for a Muldrotha commander deck
Tymna The Weaver
Tymna the Weaver may not look like much from the outset - sure, she draws cards when you hit people, whatever. But never underestimate the power of friendship. Tymna is a top commander choice because she has the Partner ability, which - like Tymna herself - was introduced in the Commander 2016 set. That means you can pair her up with any legendary creature that also has 'Partner' to give them joint leadership of your commander deck.
Two commanders are better than one, since they unlock new card options and new synergies, as well as ensuring you always have a creature to play out. Tymna makes this list simply because she's one of the most versatile creatures with the Partner ability. The card draw she provides will be valuable, whatever strategy you're going for.
Tymna the Weave is most often paired up with the merfolk card Thrasios, Triton Hero. That's because this combination gives you access to four colors and two commanders with generically powerful abilities. They don't make Partners like this anymore, and for good reason.
Key cards for a Tymna commander deck
The Gitrog Monster
A froggy chap with a winning smile, The Gitrog Monster has a series of unique, versatile abilities that make for a powerful MTG commander. It lets you play more lands, allowing for copious ramping, and you get to draw cards each time you put lands in the graveyard.
Cards like Crucible of Worlds will help you bring valuable lands back to the battlefield so you can sacrifice them again and again for endless utility. Even a simple Evolving Wilds can be extremely useful for Gitrog.
Whether you're using discard outlets or sacrificing lands, there's plenty of ways to generate absurd value with this top commander. You can also abuse infinite combos, which makes The Gitrog Monster a viable combo deck in cEDH.
Key cards for a Gitrog Monster commander deck
Isshin, Two Heavens As One
Isshin, Two Heavens as One has just one simple ability, but its elegance and simplicity belies its power. This high tech samurai doubles up all your attack triggers, letting you generate absurd value whenever you swing at your opponents.
Not the best commander for anyone who likes playing a slower, defensive game, Isshin wants you to strike hard and strike fast. While all Isshin decks want to attack, this is another commander that you can build in a few ways, as there are loads of strong creature cards to choose from, and plenty of room for building up subthemes.
Even better, his very affordable mana cost means you don't have to worry too much about removal spells, as you can play Isshin, Two Heavens as One several times without it becoming too taxing.
Key cards for an Isshin commander deck
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
If you like ninjas, then Magic: The Gathering has a brilliant commander option. With Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, your whole deal is striking with low-cost, evasive creatures, then launching your commander into play with ninjitsu, and reaping the rewards: plenty of card draw, and plenty of pain.
The best thing about Yuriko, is that as long as you have an unblocked creature, you can always get her into play for two mana. This is huge - it means no matter how many times your opponents deal with your commander, it's always a threat.
The rest of your deck is not so resilient to a board wipe - and a board wipe can seriously set you back, though you can usually hold up a counterspell or two to protect your ninja army. Yuriko makes for a top budget commander deck too - little unblockable guys don't tend to cost too much.
Key cards for a Yuriko commander deck
Sauron, The Dark Lord
A six-cost commander in Grixis, a color combo not exactly known for ramp is a tough sell, but if you can hang on and play Sauron, the Dark Lord, you're all set to have a great time. He's a self-fueling engine.
Once Sauron comes down, he starts to roll an unstoppable boulder at your opponent. No one wants to pay the ward cost to get rid of him, and every time anyone casts a spell, you get another Amass trigger.
Soon your Orcs will be enormous, something on your board will be very hard to block, and you'll be drawing several cards a turn. Sauron works great with several cards from the Lord of the Rings set, which have a very high power level. And you can bring in all the old Amass cards from War of the Spark, too.
Key cards for a Sauron commander deck
The Ur Dragon
The Ur Dragon offers a simple strategy, but it's still powerful enough to stampede casual commander tables (and steal a few more competitive wins, too). Its Eminence keyword means that, whether this card is on the battlefield or not, all your MTG dragons are one mana cheaper. The plan should be clear from here - fill your deck with huge, hard-hitting fliers and let rip.
The Ur Dragon is very expensive to get on the battlefield. However, it's a 10/10 flyer that allows you to draw cards equal to the number of your attacking dragons. Even better, you can then place a permanent from your hand onto the battlefield for free.
There are plenty of cards that synergize with The Ur Dragon's matter-of-fact battle plan. Prioritize those that give you extra benefits for playing dragons onto the battlefield or that can make these mana-hungry creatures even cheaper. You'll also need a solid ramp plan if you want your enormous dragons to get off the ground.
Key cards for The Ur Dragon commander deck
Kaalia Of The Vast
Kaalia of the Vast has been considered a top commander almost since the format's inception. Even today, this card's powers are impressive. Kaalia is a four-cost Mardu commander with flying and the ability to add a card from your hand to the battlefield whenever she attacks. That card must be an Angel, Demon, or Dragon creature, and it's automatically tapped and attacking along with Kaalia.
This is a ferociously fast way to cheat flying threats onto the field. If you can give Kaalia haste, your chosen commander can start handing out freebies as early as turn four. Lightning Greaves, Swiftwood Boots, and Dragon Tempest are your friend here.
Naturally, you'll want a deck full of angels, demons, and dragons to back Kaalia up. You should also leave space for problem-solving cards. Kaalia is a veteran of the competitive commander scene, so you can expect many players to have a game plan when she shows up - removal, removal, and removal.
Key cards for a Kaalia of the Vast commander deck
Lathril, Blade Of The Elves
As one of the oldest and best-established creature types in all of Magic: The Gathering, elves have long been a super powerful tribe. There's just been so much time for Wizards to print good elves, and there are now so many of them standing around pouting and hugging trees that it's almost too easy to make a strong elves deck. Just find the cards with the pointy ears and chuck a bunch in.
Lathril, Blade of the Elves is a Kaldheim commander who provides a nice bit of edge for elves decks by adding black to their color identity. This top commander also gives you a powerful new win condition, letting you use your elvish army to drain your opponents for huge chunks of life.
Lathril gives you plenty of options. You can build her to be a classic green elves deck, which ramps up quickly to a critical mass of creatures and then pulls out one of umpteen win conditions. But you can also create a combo style deck that relies on untappers to build up infinite mana, or uses them with Lathril herself to close out the game.
Key cards for a Lathril commander deck
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
Open the door, get on the floor, and prepare to walk the dinosaur, with one of the most popular MTG commanders of recent years. There's a good reason Pantlaza Sun-Favored sees so much play. Coming out of one of the best precon decks ever released, this raptor is a top commander choice if you just want to throw around some big stompy dinosaurs.
Pantlaza's Discover ability means that each dinosaur you cast has the potential to trigger a cascade, letting you fetch up one or potentially more other random dinosaurs from your deck (worst case scenario you hit a mana rock or something). It feels great to start a turn with just your commander on board, and end it with a herd of colossal reptiles whose approaching roars tell your opponents that you are very much the threat. Just make sure you pack enough ramp!
The randomness of this ability might be frustrating to some, but for others it'll ensure their deck always feels fresh.
Key cards for a Pantlaza, Sun-Favored commander deck
Shroofus Sproutsire
We're not sure if Shroofus Sproutsire truly deserves to be on a list of all-time top commanders, but we've included him as an added extra because we couldn't bear to upset the lil' guy. He's certainly one of the best Jumpstart 2025 Commanders at any rate.
You're always going to have to put a bit of work in to land a hit with this commander, but once you get the ball rolling it's going to move very very fast. While he'd probably work better as Slimefoot's right hand man, this creature will feel like having Scute Swarm in your command zone.
Key cards for a Shroofus Sproutsire commander deck
Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Alright, Atraxa, Grand Unifier comes with an eye-watering mana cost, and it doesn't have the explosive proliferate powers of our other favored Atraxa commander. However, Grand Unifier offers heaps of power and versatility.
This is a mighty 7/7 commander with flying, vigilance, deathtouch, and lifelink. If you can keep Atraxa in play, it'll obliterate opposing forces, dole out enormous chunks of commander damage, and keep you well-defended in the meantime.
Perhaps more important is Atraxa's enters-the-battlefield ability. This allows you to reveal ten cards from the top of your library. For each card type among those, you can put one card of each revealed type into your hand. The rest go on the bottom of your library in a random order.
This is a commander with fairly generic powers that can feel a bit 'jack of all trades, master of none'. However, this also makes Atraxa suitable for a variety of deck types, from Blink to Phyrexian Typal.
Key cards for an Atraxa commander deck
- Food Chain
- Misthollow Griffin
- Thassa's Oracle
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