The Five Best Commanders for Beginners in Magic: The Gathering

Krenko, Mob Boss

Few commanders feel as gleefully explosive as Krenko. He’s a mono-red 3/3 Goblin Warrior for four mana, and his ability is beautifully simple. You can tap him to create a 1/1 red Goblin token for every Goblin you already control.

Five Goblins out? Make five more. Do it again next turn and the mob snowballs in a hurry.

Krenko is the perfect crash course in a go-wide token strategy, where you flood the board and overwhelm the table with sheer numbers.

Better yet, Goblins are some of the cheapest tribal cards in the game, so you can assemble a rowdy red army without emptying your wallet.

Give him haste, allowing him to get to work the turn he lands. That single tap can swing a game in your favor in a heartbeat.

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Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma

If you’d rather smash face with enormous monsters, Goreclaw is your bear.

This four-mana mono-green 4/3 makes every creature spell you cast with power 4 or greater cost two generic mana less, and whenever she attacks, each of those big creatures gets +1/+1 and trample until end of turn.

She teaches the two great joys of green, ramping into giant threats early, then turning them sideways, all while keeping your turns refreshingly uncomplicated.

Cast a beast a turn or two ahead of schedule, swing, and watch the life totals tumble. She’s an ideal training ground for anyone who likes their game plan honest and aggressive.

Because the cost reduction works straight from your hand, even a top-heavy pile of fatties starts to curve out smoothly.

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Lathril, Blade of the Elves

Lathril is my favorite pick for a new player who wants a deck with a built-in finish line. The black-green Elf Noble is a 2/3 with menace, so she’s tricky to block, and whenever she connects with an opponent you create one 1/1 Elf Warrior for each point of damage she dealt.

Once your side of the table is overrun with elves, her second ability slams the door shut, tap 10 untapped Elves and each opponent loses 10 life while you gain 10.

She also leads Elven Empire from Kaldheim, frequently praised as one of the most consistent preconstructed decks ever printed.

And since elf decks are packed with cheap mana-producers, your board fills out quickly, meaning that game-ending drain can come online sooner than your opponents expect.

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Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

Zombies are the friendliest tribe for learning the art of value, and Wilhelt is their general.

This blue-black 3/3 Zombie Warrior turns death into profit twice over. When one of your non-decayed Zombies dies, you make a 2/2 Zombie token with decayed, and at the beginning of your end step you may sacrifice a Zombie to draw a card.

Lose a creature, gain a body, refill your hand – that loop is exactly how aristocrat decks tick, and it’s a joy to pilot.

Wilhelt fronts the Undead Unleashed deck from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Commander, so a ready-made horde is a single purchase away.

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The Ur-Dragon

Let’s be honest, plenty of us were lured into this game by dragons, and The Ur-Dragon is the ultimate payoff.

This five-color, nine-mana 10/10 flyer carries Eminence, which means your other Dragon spells cost one mana less even while he’s still parked in the command zone.

Then, whenever your Dragons attack, you draw a card for each one and may put a permanent from your hand straight onto the battlefield for free.

The one wrinkle for beginners is that five-color mana base, but the Draconic Domination preconstructed deck handles all of that for you out of the gate.

Trust me, there’s nothing quite like your first turn slamming a hoard of dragons onto the table.

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