The 10 Best Beginner Commander Decks in Magic Ranked

Last updated on September 1, 2026

Commander's Sphere | Illustration by Ryan Alexander Lee

This may be a controversial opinion, but I strongly believe Commander is the best format to help teach Magic to new players. Thanks to being a multiplayer format, there are more players to give you advice, and they’re more likely to do so when you’re one of their three opponents instead of the only one. Commander games are also, theoretically at least, less competitive than most one-on-one formats.

If you’re looking to start playing Magic or want to introduce someone to the game through Commander, you need the right decks to do it with. Start with decks that are easy to understand but also have some hints of more complexity so they can work towards higher levels of play.

Budget is also a big concern when it comes to starting out. Nobody wants to throw down hundreds of dollars just to see if they like a game. When looking for the best entry-level decks, I chose ones that are as friendly to your budget as they are to your brain.

What Are Beginner Commander Decks in MTG?

Command Tower | Illustration by Ryan Yee

Beginner Commander decks are decks that are good for people who are just starting to learn the game. They should be easy to understand, cheap, and most importantly fun to play with. If someone starts playing Magic and their only experience is being mana screwed or not understanding how to play their complicated cards, they’ll probably decide the game isn’t for them. These decks are a good way to both learn the game and have fun doing it.

I also put an extra emphasis on decks that you can buy already made. When a new player can buy everything they need in a single box as opposed to having to chase down singles, it makes things a lot simpler.

Honorable Mention: Universes Beyond Commander Decks

Whatever your thoughts are on Universes Beyond products, it’s hard to deny that they’re a great way to introduce new players to the game. I know a lot of people who weren’t interested in Magic initially but were easily persuaded to buy some of the Lord of the Rings Commander decks because of their love for Tolkien. These decks range in how complicated and powerful they are, but I’ve found people are more willing to learn when they’re excited about playing as Frodo or Aragorn.

Between Warhammer 40,000, Final Fantasy, Doctor Who, and so much more, there are tons of products that can get new players excited about playing Magic thanks to their love for other IPs. Even if there isn’t one out now that you or your friends are into, stick around, because I’m sure one is on the way.

#10. Elenda, Saint of Dusk

Elenda, Saint of Dusk | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Elenda, Saint of Dusk has a lot of text and a well-supported creature subtype, and it's all good. No drawback to mitigate, no graveyard shenanigans to navigate. Elenda benefits from conditional hexproof against instants which make up much of the best targeted removal in Commander, and with white and black's ability to stall and gain life, the bonus of evasion and a potential 10/10 commander is real and relevant.

Young pilots for this deck enjoy the pivot from a lifegain and value strategy to a win-by-commander damage strategy if the opening presents itself. This has some recursion to help it recover with Fiendish Panda and Zombify and outlast opponents. Elenda calls upon one half of a Sanguine Bond combo in Defiant Bloodlord but uses it more as a burn accelerant to go along with a Midnight Snack to help reach an opponent's life total rather than an infinite combo.

#9. Draconic Destruction Starter Commander Deck

Atarka, World Render | Illustration by Camille Alquier

I think all of the Starter Commander decks are pretty solid entry points for players. They were intentionally designed to be pretty straight-forward, and they’re a lower price point than some of the other preconstructed decks. Draconic Destruction is the one that I thought was the strongest right out of the box.

It has some solid dragons like Steel Hellkite and Tyrant's Familiar. There are also typical dragon support cards like Dragonspeaker Shaman and Dragon Tempest. These cards aren’t only good pieces for this deck, they’re good inclusions for any dragon deck, so if you want to update this deck you already have a good start.

Cards like Vandalblast and Cultivate are also general format staples, so if you’re looking to start a collection, you’ll have some cards here you can pull out and put into other decks.

#8. Grave Danger Starter Commander Deck

Gisa and Geralf | Illustration by Karla Ortiz

While Draconic Destruction is probably the most powerful Starter Commander deck, I think that Grave Danger is a lot more fun. It’s a zombie reanimator deck built around Gisa and Geralf and has several other ways to put creatures into your own graveyard like Liliana, Untouched by Death. This deck is a great way to get someone used to seeing the graveyard as a resource and self-mill as an opportunity.

This deck has some solid cards like Cemetery Reaper and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. It also has Feed the Swarm, a card any player who wants to build a mono-black deck probably has a use for.

The strategy for this one is a little more complicated than some of the other Starter Commander decks, which I actually see as a huge positive for beginners. Even if you aren’t winning, you’ll feel like you’re doing a lot, and you’ll start to get the hang of how cards interact with one another. It’s a good way to bypass thinking Magic only has to be about playing the biggest creatures out there.

#7. Madame Null, Power Broker

Madame Null, Power Broker | Illustration by Irina Nordsol

Black aggro decks from decades ago used cards like Carnophage that were over-statted but cost you life. These decks bet on your creatures killing your opponent faster than you, and Madame Null, Power Broker gives you that strategy in Commander.

The deck leans heavily into lifelink creatures like Vampire Nighthawk and The Haunt of Hightower that get very large and dangerous when Madame Null stacks counters on them, gambling that you can gain huge chunks of life back faster than your opponents can kill you. After all, it’s pretty hard to race a large lifelink creature generating 8-point life swings.

The deck also leans into a little synergy. Since you have so many lifelinkers, there’s room to employ lifegain payoffs like Defiant Bloodlord and South Wind Avatar. Black even rewards you for paying life with cards like Font of Agonies. Round that out with classic black card draw and removal like Night's Whisper and Bitter Triumph, and your opponents will be bleeding.

#6. Krenko Goblins

Krenko, Mob Boss | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Krenko, Mob Boss is the kind of commander that’s easy to understand. You want to play a lot of goblins so you can make a lot of goblins. While there are plenty of Krenko decks out there, this one's very beginner-friendly for a few reasons.

First off, it’s very creature heavy. Creatures are some of the simpler cards to understand in the game and don’t require as much of an understanding of sequencing as something like a spellslinger deck. New players also want to feel productive, and being able to cast a creature or attack on your turns is a good way to stay engaged.

Because the land base is all Mountains, it’s very easy for new players to manage their mana base. It also means less chance of frustration over being mana screwed, which can happen when you start dipping into multicolor decks or include a lot of colorless utility lands.

This deck is also very budget friendly. Many of these cards cost less than a dollar, meaning it won’t be much more expensive to buy this than some preconstructed decks. It also has room to grow, meaning that if a new player wants to try their hand at deckbuilding, they can start by upgrading this one.

#5. Ghalta, Primal Hunger

Ghalta, Primal Hunger | Illustration by Kemonomichi

Green always feels like a great choice to start with in part because it’s simple and in part because who doesn’t like throwing dinosaurs at people? This deck leans on Ghalta, Primal Hunger, perhaps the Timmiest card to ever Timmy, as the leader of a green stompy deck.

This list leans into what green does best: ramp and big creatures. Ramp spells dominate the cheaper side of the curve, with cards like Llanowar Elves and Rampant Growth to lead you to the big, exciting cards like Jubilation and Dawnglade Regent.

Most green things are stapled to creatures, which this deck exhibits. The removal? Either fight spells like Prey Upon or creatures like Kogla, the Titan Ape. Card draw often correlates with your creatures’ power, as seen with Garruk, Primal Hunter and Colossal Majesty’s rewards for controlling the biggest and best permanents (like Ghalta!). The deck’s very straightforward and surprisingly fun.

#4. Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

Oloro, Ageless Ascetic | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is a great commander for learning to play a control deck. Its abilities alone show players that they don’t need to necessarily just rely on attacking to get ahead of their opponents. Like Oloro, sometimes the best strategy is to sit back and wait for your moment.

This Oloro build shows players how powerful seemingly small tax effects on cards like Archon of Absolution can be, especially once you start to use them together. It also gives players a strong understanding of why they need to diversify their tactics in the game. If you watch a card like Hushbringer absolutely dismantle an opponent’s game plan, you’ll understand the need for removal and interaction.

Approach of the Second Sun illustrates the payoff of playing a control deck like this. It very much encapsulates the idea of keeping threats away until you’re ready for your game-winning play. It’s also just kind of exciting for a new player to see a spell that says “you win the game.”

There are two downsides to this deck that I feel are important to mention. One is that it won’t be very fun to play against. If you’re a new player who’s starting up a playgroup among friends, you probably don’t want a deck that’s going to make people less excited about playing. A lot of the cards in this deck are also big targets for removal, and it can be kind of a bummer to feel targeted when you’re first starting to play.

#3. Sythis, Harvest’s Hand

Sythis, Harvest's Hand | Illustration by Ryan Yee

Sythis, Harvest's Hand is a very beginner-friendly Selesnya commander. It has a low casting cost, meaning you can rely on having it on the field early and benefit from its ability. Sythis is both a Selesnya enchantment and an enchantress, and the extra value it provides helps keep your game more consistent while also teaching a valuable lesson about building a deck around a specific theme or card type.

Many of the cards in this deck are very cheap, and you could easily pick this up for less than $50. There are some easy next steps here, like grabbing a copy of Sterling Grove. This gives you the opportunity to either upgrade the deck or just try out Magic and not spend too much money if you don’t enjoy it.

#2. Quandrix Unlimited Precon

Zimone, Infinite Analyst | Illustration by Carly Milligan

The Quandrix Unlimited precon from Secrets of Strixhaven is an amazing beginner deck because green ramp into big spells is a simple enough plan to follow that you can do it while learning the ropes of the game. Since the deck generally taps out for one big spell after the first few turns, you can spend more thought on the nuances of combat and understanding what your opponents are doing.

It’s also a good starting point for an X-spell deck as it has many of the most important pieces, like Unbound Flourishing and Lattice Library. While there are plenty of ways to upgrade, you get a solid core to start with.

It’s also just fun to mess around with big creatures. But if big creatures aren’t your thing and you want to upgrade towards something more controlling, there are ample draw spells and counterspells to upgrade Quandrix Unlimited with.

#1. Marwyn, the Nurturer

Marwyn, the Nurturer – Illustration by Chris Rahn

“Elfball” decks like this Marwyn, the Nurturer build can be very exciting for new players. Even if you don’t win, you get to do awesome things like snipe a big creature with Jagged-Scar Archers or tap Elvish Archdruid multiple times thanks to Wirewood Lodge to play your entire hand.

Even if you don’t use this exact Marwyn build, I think it’s one of the best starter commanders, and it's definitely one of the best commanders in green. It’s strong, it helps keep you on track with mana, and Marwyn can also be very budget friendly. While this build is a little more expensive, I’ve seen some Marwyn decks that are under $30.

Commanding Conclusion

Sol Ring | Illustration by Mike Bierek

While these aren’t the only beginner-friendly decks out there, these are ones that I think strike the perfect balance between power level, price, and ease of play. They are also all decks that I think show hints at more complex gameplay or that could be upgraded if players are ready for tips on building Commander to delve deeper into the game.

What was your first Commander deck? Did you start with a precon or build your own? Was Commander your first format? Let me know in the comments or in Draftsim’s Discord. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

Thank you for reading and see you next time!