Magic: The Gathering brought 340 new legendary creatures in 2024, giving players plenty of options to build their next commander deck. Among these, ten stood out not necessarily for raw power but for their unique mechanics and fresh takes on old archetypes.
10. Laughing Jasper Flint
- Deck Type: Rakdos (Black/Red) – Theft and Mercenaries
- Strength: Jasper lets you steal and cast cards from opponents’ decks. Every creature you play this way becomes a Mercenary, allowing you to burn through decks fast.
- Best Use: Pairs well with Rogues, Warlocks, Pirates, and Assassins. Great for Brawl or Rakdos theft decks.
9. Captain America, First Avenger
- Deck Type: Equipment-focused
- Strength: Captain America throws Equipment at opponents, dealing damage instead of stacking them on himself.
- Best Use: Equip powerful items like Kaldra Compleat or Excalibur for heavy hits. Works well in Voltron or Equipment decks.
8. Caesar, Legion’s Emperor
- Deck Type: Mardu (White/Black/Red) – Sacrifice and Tokens
- Strength: Caesar thrives on sacrificing creatures for various effects – creating tokens, drawing cards, or burning opponents.
- Best Use: Token-heavy decks that take advantage of sacrifice triggers and wide board presence.
7. Edward Kenway
- Deck Type: Grixis (Blue/Black/Red) – Pirates, Assassins, and Vehicles
- Strength: Edward focuses on Pirates and Assassins while turning Vehicles into card-stealing engines.
- Best Use: Flexible build that can focus on outlaws or Vehicle synergies.
6. Rendmaw, Creaking Nest
- Deck Type: Golgari (Green/Black) – Multi-Type Cards
- Strength: Rendmaw triggers by playing cards with multiple types (like artifact creatures), giving the whole table goaded Birds.
- Best Use: Artifact/enchantment creatures and delirium strategies. Encourages aggressive table politics.
5. The Wise Mothman
- Deck Type: Dimir (Blue/Black) – Mill and Rad Counters
- Strength: Focuses on mill, granting rad counters that stack +1/+1 counters on milled nonland cards.
- Best Use: Perfect for mill decks that benefit from more interactive win conditions.
4. Ygra, Eater of All
- Deck Type: Golgari (Green/Black) – Food and Sacrifice
- Strength: Turns all creatures into Food. Sacrificing any Food boosts Ygra with +1/+1 counters.
- Best Use: Works well in sacrifice-based strategies or decks that enjoy draining opponents by eating creatures.
3. Arabella, Abandoned Doll
- Deck Type: White Weenie (Go-Wide Aggro)
- Strength: Deals direct damage to opponents based on the number of small creatures (power 2 or less) you control.
- Best Use: Swarm strategies that flood the board with tokens or small creatures.
2. Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
- Deck Type: Mono-Green – Landfall and +1/+1 Counters
- Strength: Doubles +1/+1 counters every time you trigger his ability. Landfall decks love him.
- Best Use: Lands, ramp, and doubling counters. A powerhouse for stompy or counter-focused builds.
1. Voja, Jaws of the Conclave
- Deck Type: Selesnya (Green/White) – Elf Tribal
- Strength: Buffs all creatures based on the number of Elves you control. Its ward cost of three makes it tough to remove.
- Best Use: Elf tribal decks that snowball quickly. Voja’s resilience and ability to draw cards make him a dominant force.
These commanders reflect the evolving meta, mixing mechanics from Universes Beyond collaborations like Fallout and Assassin’s Creed with classic MTG archetypes.
