In Magic: The Gathering’s Commander format, players select any legendary creature from across the game’s history to be used as their deck’s commander. However, a common complaint from many newcomers to the format is that players are not able to use planeswalkers as the commanders of various decks.
While this is often true, in the format’s lifespan, there have been numerous planeswalkers printed that possess a clause stating that they can be legally used as a player’s commander! So today, we’re going to delve into which of these planeswalker commanders are the most powerful and worth running at the helm of a player’s deck.
Updated On May 25th, 2022 by Paul DiSalvo: While planeswalkers are only allowed to serve as a deck’s commander unless directly specified on the card, Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate has introduced three brand new Planeswalkers that can serve as a player’s commander! Each are great commander options, each opening up significant deck-building possibilities.
13 Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter
The newest and perhaps most-intriguing planeswalker commander in recent years is Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter, who’s hiding on Kaldheim in the disguise of Valki, God of Lies. While the two-mana creature form isn’t too spiffy in Commander, the seven-mana planeswalker on the back is a much more beautiful leader of your deck.
Very few commanders let you steal your opponent’s cards, and Tibalt does it so much easier than most other options. The turns before you unleash it into play will let you play all the board wipes you need in black and red colors. Also, you can quickly cast an opponent’s strongest creatures or combo off with their own deck within a short few activations to mill your foes or exile permanents.
12 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
Magic Origins wasn’t massively impactful on the Commander format, but it did have a fairly huge addition in the form of transforming planeswalkers with the ability to start as creatures. The most powerful of these is likely Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, who starts as a two-mana looting creature that can essentially give your spells flashback once it flips into a planeswalker.
Being able to play a commander on turn two can make things impossible for your opponents, and by drawing and discarding cards to use later, you’ll almost always be able to craft the perfect hand. Do this by leading up to sorceries like Blatant Thievery or Expropriate, to take your opponent’s permanents and extra turns.
11 Jeska, Thrice Reborn
Jeska is one of the few new planeswalker commanders from Commander Legends, and is worthwhile for anyone wishing to burn their opponents out with raw damage. Unlike other planeswalkers that rely on their ultimates, this one wants you to cast it repeatedly to burn up to three targets at once or triple the damage of a creature hitting directly.
The key with building around this planeswalker is that you’ll want creatures that can always attack your opponent directly, meaning it’s often better to find evasive threats instead of cheap hitters like Goblin Guide. Finding colorless equipment like Kitesail can give you easier evasion on big red threats, while flying artifacts like Steel Hellkite will be reliably hitting for 15 damage each turn.
10 Will Kenrith & Rowan Kenrith
Battleborn was the first limited set to feature planeswalkers who can be commanders, and this pair of exclusive partners is absolutely no joke. Will & Rowan Kenrith are a pair of blue and red planeswalkers built primarily around defending you from combat. Rowan will force opponents to attack and annihilate creatures with low toughness afterward, disrupting non-aggressive foes.
Meanwhile, Kenrith will deal with aggro decks by removing the abilities and power of your opponent’s creatures, as well as drawing cards and letting you catch up. The two are quite expensive, but give you opportunities to build out your board with enchantments like Keranos that can build you a stream of cards and damage, keeping you up with your faster foes.
9 Tevesh Szat, Doom Of Fools
Tevesh Szat is a monstrosity, being the other planeswalker from Commander Legends and perhaps far more threatening. Creating two black Creature tokens and gaining an additional two loyalty is ludicrous for defense in a four-player game, and its ability to sacrifice creatures to draw cards without losing loyalty is going to be great in any Aristocrats build.
That said, its partner mechanic is even more important here than it is with Jeska, as sacrificing a cheap commander can give you even more cards with its +1 ability. Inexpensive options like Ayula will help you build out the board with an army of bears, Daxos can gain you some life, but just grabbing something like Fblthp, the Lost will make every activation of Tevesh Szat draw you four cards by the end of your turn — meaning you can put together an unstoppable hand in just a few turns.
8 Aminatou, The Fateshifter
A very unique option for a control commander, Aminatou’s Esper color identity allows for flexible deck construction. With a +1 that draws a card then puts a card on top of her owner’s library, and a -1 that can flicker a permanent, this commander can set up upcoming turns and squeeze extra value out of cards with “enter the battlefield” effects.
Most unique is Aminatou’s ultimate ability, that forces each player to exchange control of their permanents with their opponents. This ability can turn the tides of a given game in a matter of seconds, and completely change the status quo.
7 Daretti, Scrap Savant
A capable option for players seeking out an interesting option for an artifact-based commander. Capable of utilizing the graveyard, Daretti is able to draw cards for his controller, while dumping unwanted or overly expensive cards into the graveyard.
This is important, as Daretti’s -2 allows him to to sacrifice an artifact in order to return an artifact from the graveyard directly into play. This lets you get astonishingly expensive and dominant cards into play without needing to pay high mana costs.
6 Nicol Bolas, The Ravage / Nicol Bolas, The Arisen
As a high-cost planeswalker that starts as a creature, Nicol Bolas, the Arisen comes equipped with all of the devastating abilities one would expect. If a planeswalker’s worst ability is a +2 that draws two cards with no strings attached, that should speak for itself. Bolas also possesses a -3 that can deal ten damage to any creature or planeswalker, and a -4 that is capable of returning any creature from a graveyard to the battlefield.
Lastly, Bolas’s ultimate might as well state “target player loses the game,” as it exiles all but the bottom card of a player’s library. As long as he’s backed up by heavy sums of mana and support, this particular incarnation of Nicol Bolas is a force to be reckoned with.
5 Elminster
Printed in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, Elminster is a potent Azorius planeswalker that synergizes with both scrying and high-impact instants and sorceries. For five mana, this five-loyalty planeswalker has access to a passive triggered ability, a +2 ability, and a -3. Firstly, whenever Elminster’s controller scries, the next instant or sorcery they cast costs X less mana to cast where X is equal to the number of cards they scried. While this can potentially offer substantial cost reduction when paired with the right spells, Elminster’s +2 ability can easily enable this cost reduction, as it simply allows its controller to draw a card, then scry 2.
In addition to these two abilities working quite well in tandem, Elminster’s +2 can also be used to help set up its -3 ability. This is because its -3 causes its controller to exile the top card of their library, creating a number of 1/1 Flying Faerie Dragon tokens equal to that card’s mana value. As Elminster can reliably allow its controller to scry, they can potentially ensure a sizable spell is atop their library before activating this -3, and a good number of tokens are created this way.
While many Planeswalkers offer substantial flexibility, Elminster is an incredibly well-thought-out card with a suite of abilities that are highly synergistic with each other.
4 Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury
Like Lord Windgrace, Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury is a planeswalker who is capable of generating large sums of additional mana, though with very few strings attached. Possessing a +2 ability that creates an Elf Druid token that can be tapped for one green mana, Freyalise is able to simultaneously ramp her controller while creating blockers to protect herself in a pinch.
Freyalise’s low-cost -6 ultimate allows for her controller to draw an amount of cards equal to the amount of green creatures they control, drawing cards for each token, and also providing an excellent outlet to use the mana they create. Additionally, as an excellent piece of utility, Freyalise’s -2 can destroy any artifact or enchantment, dealing with numerous problematic cards opponents may be utilizing.
3 Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Teferi, Temporal Archmage is a planeswalker capable of providing absurd sums of value and setting up future plays than nearly any other blue commander. With a +1 that allows Teferi’s controller to look at the top two cards of their library, putting one in their hand and one at the bottom of their library, Teferi selectively ensures that his controller is not hitting any “dead draws” that could hinder their progress in a game.
Additionally, Teferi’s -1 allows him to untap any four permanents. These can be anything from creatures needed for blocking to even previously tapped lands that can now be utilized again. The open-ended nature that this ability provides, and the sheer quantity of permanents it can untap, should never be underestimated, as it can be useful in any scenario.
2 Tasha, the Witch Queen
A Dimir planeswalker for five mana, Tasha, the Witch Queen is a great option for any player looking to build a deck based around playing their opponent’s spells. Entering the battlefield with four loyalty, Tasha has access to a +1 and -3 ability that when paired, allows its controller to cast opponents spells without paying their mana costs, all whilst accumulating card advantage. When Tasha’s +1 is activated, its controller draws a card, simultaneously exiling up to one instant or sorcery from each opponent’s graveyard with a page counter.
Once there are spells in exile with page counters on them, Tasha’s -3 can be used to allow its controller to cast one of these spells without paying its mana cost. The icing on this spell-thieving cake is that Tasha’s triggered ability states that whenever its controller casts a spell they don’t own, they create a 3/3 demon token. In addition to providing bonus value to spells played via Tasha’s -3 ability, this triggered effect also applies to other effects that could potentially steal an opponent’s spells — a type of effect that Dimir decks have in spades.
1 Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is a stellar new Gruul commander capable of dealing considerable damage to one’s opponents, as well as accumulating card advantage for its controller. For four mana, whenever this three-loyalty planeswalker enters the battlefield and at the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, its controller can create a legendary 1/1 Hamster token with trample and haste named Boo.
While the plus abilities of planeswalkers are usually considered to be their weakest, Minsc & Boo’s +1 ability allows its controller to put three +1/+1 counters on a target creature — as long as it has either trample or haste. This can allow a player to quickly grow a creature to an impressive size, working well when paired with the Boo token.
In addition to growing creatures to dangerous sizes, this planeswalker can convert them into direct damage. When its -2 ability is activated, its controller sacrifices a creature, dealing damage equal to its power to any target. However, if the sacrificed creature is a Hamster, Minsc & Boo’s controller also draws that many cards, incentivizing its controller to stockpile +1/+1 counters on Boo!
