Rankings for All 61 Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commanders

Last updated on June 20, 2025

Taigam, Master Opportunist | Illustration by Joshua Raphael

Tarkir: Dragonstorm looks like one of the coolest Magic sets printed in some time, if only because it has a genuine high fantasy feel rather than attempting to draw on a gimmick like cowboy hats or races.

This extends to the commanders, with a slate of legendary creatures that look promising in the command zone for most strategies. But which of them are the best, and how do they stack up with commanders we already have?

Let’s find out.

How Many Commanders Are There in Tarkir: Dragonstorm?

Teval, Arbiter of Virtue | Illustration by Alexander Ostrowski

Tarkir: Dragonstorm has 61 legendary creatures between the main set, the Commander precons, and the reprints therein. This is nearly double the 37 commanders Aetherdrift brought with the same criteria.

Most of this comes from the reprints in the precons; TDM introduces 26 unique commanders and 35 reprints. There are actually fewer new legends than Aetherdrift’s 33 new legends. I’m crediting this to a more focused set that didn’t need to introduce 10 teams’ worth of legendary creatures, and TDC has three additional precons to stuff with reprints. Despite the lower number of unique commanders, I’m actually much more excited for the new cards here.

This ranking pairs the reprints with the new commanders to give you a sense of how the new cards stack up against the existing field. While I consider power, I also consider the uniqueness of the commander and how it stacks up against existing commanders in the same archetype; a commander that enters an established archetype must prove itself against its peers while something that introduces a wholly unique archetype or build-around naturally moves up.

#61. Dragonlord Atarka

The world in which I considered Dragonlord Atarka a viable commander ended the moment Ureni, the Song Unending was printed.

#60. Dragonlord Dromoka

Having a Grand Abolisher in the command zone could be useful for combo decks, but Dragonlord Dromoka seems rather bad since Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar costs half as much.

#59. Verix Bladewing

Verix Bladewing is a Limited bomb that happened to receive legendary status.

#58. Atarka, World Render

Atarka, World Render is a weak dragon commander because it doesn’t help play them in any meaningful manner; I’m confident I can win once I have giant flying creatures in play, but I need help casting them.

#57. Nogi, Draco-Zealot

Cost reduction works great for a dragon commander since the creature type’s so expensive, but Nogi, Draco-Zealot suffers from Sarkhan, Soul Aflame being better in every way.

#56. Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge

I can’t think of a reason to play Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge in the command zone; we have better options for mono-red Treasure and dragons.

#55. Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

Zetalpa, Primal Dawn fits beautifully in the 99 of WotC precons and nowhere else. Well, maybe in your Odric, Master Tactician deck. Just keep it out of the command zone.

#54. Atsushi, the Blazing Sky

Atsushi, the Blazing Sky could be a great source of card advantage or Treasure when suited up with Blade of Selves, but I don’t know what else you would do with it.

#53. Mangara, the Diplomat

Mangara, the Diplomat is a fine card but I don’t know why you’d put it in the command zone outside of the flavor of a political deck having “the Diplomat” in the name or some bizarre meta-call I don’t understand.

#52. Arasta of the Endless Web

Arasta of the Endless Web is a fine card, but it’s rather lacking in the commander department, in large part because the best spider payoffs are black cards like Rotwidow Pack and Shelob, Child of Ungoliant.

#51. Shalai, Voice of Plenty

There are so many good Selesnya () +1/+1 counter commanders that Shalai, Voice of Plenty doesn’t stand a chance in the command zone. You could run it for an infinite mana outlet or some similarly janky reason, but that’s it.

#50. Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant

I’m unimpressed with Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant. Dragon decks need more than one Treasure to get off the ground, and it doesn’t grow fast enough.

#49. Aron, Benalia’s Ruin

I could be convinced that Aron, Benalia's Ruin works as a pEDH commander, but I can’t see myself caring about it without a restriction.

#48. Grenzo, Havoc Raiser

Grenzo, Havoc Raiser provides mono-red with an interestingly aggressive commander that forces the rest of the table to get into combat or surrender cards to you. Theft is sadly weak since killing a player removes their cards, but this is still a pretty good take on it.

#47. Baldin, Century Herdmaster

Baldin, Century Herdmaster, also known as the Street Fighter Universes Beyond card E. Honda, Sumo Champion, unfortunately isn’t a great commander, despite the novel abilities. Too many of the good toughness matters cards are green and black to warrant going mono-white unless you like the character.

#46. Multani, Yavimaya’s Avatar

I can’t see a reason to run Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar as a commander unless you want to chase the high of Reshape the Earth powering your Voltron commander. At least it doesn’t die, I guess?

#45. Shigeki, Jukai Visionary

Shigeki, Jukai Visionary manages to have a useful channel ability out of the command zone, but it’s incredibly slow; I’d rather play Six or Titania, Nature's Force by a pretty wide margin.

#44. Ob Nixilis, the Fallen

Ob Nixilis, the Fallen looks like an interesting thought experiment as you crack building a landfall deck without green. When it comes to practical applications… it could be a good home for jank like Burnished Hart and Wayfarer's Bauble that you took out of your precons?

#43. Baral and Kari Zev

I don’t care for Baral and Kari Zev. Having two appropriate cards in hand is a fairly big ask, and the fail case of First Mate Ragavan doesn’t matter. If casting two spells appeals to your spellslinger sensibilities, I recommend doing something with Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy for a similar but distinctly stronger game plan.

#42. Shadrix Silverquill

Shadrix Silverquill sees some play as a group hug commander, but I generally prefer it in the 99 of commanders like Breena, the Demagogue or Felisa, Fang of Silverquill. It’s always struck me as more of a support card.

#41. Keiga, the Tide Star

If you set up a sacrifice loop with Keiga, the Tide Star, you get a powerful control engine that kills your opponents with their own commanders—though I’m not certain it’s worth the effort.

#40. Zurgo, Thunder’s Decree

Zurgo, Thunder's Decree just… isn’t interesting. Half its text focuses on eliminating the downside of the other half, and it doesn’t interact with cards without mobilize. Had this card exploited the mobilized tokens, it could have been interesting; as is, it’s a Limited bulk rare.

#39. Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage

Endure looks like a powerful mechanic, but I’m not sure Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage can bring it to the command zone. I can see whipping up an interesting mono-white aristocrats list around Anafenza and sacrifice outlets like Ashnod's Altar and Skullclamp, but this legend probably belongs in the 99 of Orzhov () sacrifice decks.

#38. Tersa Lightshatter

Tersa Lightshatter seems worse than Inti, Seneschal of the Sun or Veronica, Dissident Scribe in the mono-red discard space; those options give you immediate value when you discard and consistent access to discard effects. This looks like an awesome support piece for many commanders, but nothing more.

#37. Surrak, Elusive Hunter

Surrak, Elusive Hunter is a Limited bomb, but it doesn’t cut it in the command zone. Drawing cards when your spells are countered is cute, but worse than making them uncounterable. You can’t even build around the ability.

#36. Junji, the Midnight Sky

Junji, the Midnight Sky often scams your opponents with Malakir Rebirth effects and a sacrifice outlet. It only takes a few loops for Junji to deprive your opponents of their hands, and black has no shortage of cards to exploit that.

#35. Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor

Black has a surprisingly deep pool of cheap evasive creatures, and Nether Traitor, Changeling Outcast, Vault Skirge, and Tormented Soul are just a few examples of the cards that enable Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor.

And our opponents won’t even notice the chip damage since they draw cards off hitting each other! I never thought I’d see a mono-black group hug commander, but WotC came as close as they reasonably could.

#34. Neriv, Crackling Vanguard

I like Neriv, Crackling Vanguard if only because it encourages digging deep into Scryfall and uncovering cards that create strange, niche tokens like Caribou Range and Diamond Kaleidoscope (I said they’d be niche, not good).

#33. Velomachus Lorehold

Velomachus Lorehold takes a stab at a non-blue spellslinger deck, and it’s almost great.

Extra combat spells à la World at War and Seize the Day are amazing with Velomachus, to the point that it feels like the best thing you can do. The result is an interesting commander that suffers from all Velomachus decks looking similar.

#32. Yahenni, Undying Partisan

I like Yahenni, Undying Partisan as a combo commander. Sacrifice loops often require free sacrifice outlets, which Yaheeni provides while being hard to remove. Should the combo plans fall flat, you have the backup plan of a giant commander to slap the table with.

#31. Thalisse, Reverent Medium

I dislike Thalisse, Reverent Medium in the 99 of decks, but I love it out of the command zone. You can dedicate the 99 to token production, with cards like Oketra's Monument and Elspeth, Storm Slayer immediately leaping to mind as staples.

#30. Zurgo Stormrender

Zurgo Stormrender looks fine. It suffers from hefty competition in the Mardu aggro design space; while I’m thrilled to play it in Caesar, Legion's Emperor or Isshin, Two Heavens as One, I don’t see a reason to put it in the command zone over them.

#29. Lathliss, Dragon Queen

Lathliss, Dragon Queen is a perfectly respectable mono-red dragon commander, especially once you pair cards like Terror of the Peaks with red copy effects like Molten Duplication.

#28. Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa

Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa’s a strong commander if you care about small creatures. Tana, the Bloodsower and Tymna the Weaver are two potential partners for it as both care about dealing combat damage.

#27. Sarkhan, Soul Aflame

Sarkhan, Soul Aflame provides early “ramp” for a dragon deck, which the archetype loves given the high mana costs. This might be the best home for the Ancient Dragons from Baldur’s Gate since you can double down on the assault.

#26. Eshki, Temur’s Roar

Card advantage is among the best things to get from the command zone, which makes Eshki, Temur's Roar appealing. Green decks love their Garruk's Uprising effects, and one in the command zone that becomes a decent threat does some work. I worry that it’s too fragile, though.

#25. Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper

Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper provides an interesting lifegain commander that dips into toughness-matters synergies. It’s often partnered with Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder for double strike or Prava of the Steel Legion to buff tokens. However you take it, you should bring cards like Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose to put the squeeze on your opponents’ life totals.

#24. Kotis, Sibsig Champion

Kotis, Sibsig Champion has potential given the sheer power of casting spells from the graveyard. I’m just… not wowed. It’s exceedingly fair in a rather unexciting way and looks distinctly less interesting than the Sultai Arisen backup commander, Teval, the Balanced Scale.

#23. Ureni of the Unwritten

New Temur () dragon commanders face stiff competition in Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm, but Ureni of the Unwritten might get there. I like that it functions on its own, and the enter trigger is easily exploitable.

There’s also the social benefit of not putting a must-kill card in the command zone.

#22. Lier, Disciple of the Drowned

Can I introduce you to the wonderful world of High Tide? Because that’s all Lier, Disciple of the Drowned does. Protecting your combo from countermagic while recurring cards like Frantic Search and Snap sounds promising.

There’s also something to be said about extra turn spells that don’t exile themselves, like Time Warp and Temporal Mastery and—oh God the fun police are coming for me.

#21. Betor, Kin to All

Betor, Kin to All strikes me as a commander that becomes popular for the spirit of living the dream. The payoff seems distinctly worse than the other toughness-based commanders that produce damage, and I don’t care much for this “make the number higher” kind of build around.

#20. Shiko, Paragon of the Way

Shiko, Paragon of the Way lends itself to flicker strategies that use its enters ability to exile cards like Ghostly Flicker and Displace and generate crazy value loops. You really need an exploit like that; a 5-mana 4/5 that casts a single spell isn’t commander material these days.

#19. Felothar the Steadfast

Felothar the Steadfast simply power creeps Doran, the Siege Tower out of the format by allowing defenders to attack, and it throws in some card draw to boot. It’s a slam dunk for that archetype.

#18. Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord has one of the more impressive sacrifice abilities in the command zone. Creatures like Lord of Extinction and Bonehoard have the potential to one-tap players while Jarad becomes a fearsome threat, attacking our opponents on multiple axes.

#17. Narset, Jeskai Waymaster

I for one can’t wait to play against a storm deck that kills me in the end step with Narset, Jeskai Waymaster! This commander provides such interesting card advantage without slapping a wheel in the command zone. I can’t wait to see what people make of it.

#16. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar

Aggro decks face steep challenges at Commander tables—namely the presence of three players at 40 health. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar does its best by pressuring all your opponents at once and becoming a substantial threat. Going wide and tall at once is appealing.

#15. Taigam, Master Opportunist

Taigam, Master Opportunist fascinates me as a spellslinger commander. I don’t quite see the plan, but I imagine some clever cEDH player has a combo that breaks this. I expect this to play lots of High Tide storm combo pieces.

#14. Sidisi, Regent of the Mire

Sidisi, Regent of the Mire riffs on Birthing Pod but does it from the graveyard! I bet you can construct some neat loops with cards like Thornbite Staff that untap Sidisi, though this seems rather worse than Pod variants that tutor threats up.

#13. Shiko and Narset, Unified

Shiko and Narset, Unified offers lots of flexibility in your build. Perhaps you want to go hard control and double up on spot removal like Dismantling Wave and Get Lost. Or you could sink your teeth in Torrential Gearhulk + Sublime Epiphany, or build a Voltron deck since this copies auras. I love how this commander works as a broad value engine without devolving into a good-stuff commander.

#12. Elsha, Threefold Master

Elsha, Threefold Master powers up Monastery Mentor to work as a commander, and I like it! It generates enough tokens to be a threat, and Jeskai has plenty of tools to enable it like Temur Battle Rage and Monstrous Rage.

#11. Tasigur, the Golden Fang

The biggest appeal I see to Tasigur, the Golden Fang are the Birthing Pod combos. I’m talking both the OG and one-off variants like Neoform and Eldritch Evolution, which you’ll use to convert your commander into caustic threats like Hullbreaker Horror, Nezahal, Primal Tide, and Toxrill, the Corrosive.

#10. Teval, Arbiter of Virtue

Teval, Arbiter of Virtue is much more balanced than it looks. Paying for mana with another resource like life or cards from the graveyard is very powerful, but this chews through both. It’s unlikely that this is heinously unfair, assuming that your opponents know how to use their combat step. If they don’t….

#9. Ureni, the Song Unending

My opinion on Ureni, the Song Unending keeps changing. Part of me wants to roll my eyes at the Temur commander that rewards you for ramping. But we get so few commanders whose power rests in removal, and this is easily repeatable with Displacer Kitten and such. That makes it rather unique in my book, which has its own appeal.

#8. Betor, Ancestor’s Voice

I clown on lifegain strategies. A lot. I generally find them underpowered, without a meaningful impact on the board. But I like Betor, Ancestor's Voice. There’s a lovely tension between gaining and paying life, and it provides substantial board presence through counters and reanimated bodies. It looks like a great midrange commander to constantly tinker with.

#7. Neriv, Heart of the Storm

It’s time for some Mass Hysteria because we have a commander that rewards you for playing hasty threats! Neriv, Heart of the Storm looks like an excellent aggro commander that has powerful interactions with cards like Sneak Attack and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.

#6. Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan

+1/+1 counter decks received lots of powerful tools over the past year or so, so Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan’s well-positioned to make a big splash. The combination of sacrifice synergies and counters sounds like a blast to tweak and build around.

#5. Eshki Dragonclaw

Eshki Dragonclaw looks like a fantastic commander for new players that encourages good deckbuilding practices—cheap spells, careful attention to card types—to trigger the double spell clause. We need more simple commanders like this one.

#4. Meren of Clan Nel Toth

Meren of Clan Nel Toth has long reigned as one of Golgari’s most popular and powerful commanders, with good reason. Golgari has no shortage of creatures that sacrifice themselves like Sakura-Tribe Elder, Plaguecrafter, and Blood Pet to start your studies. Sprinkle in a little of green’s many proliferation effects to get plenty of experience to raise something like Archon of Cruelty or Rampaging Baloths.

#3. Kotis, the Fangkeeper

Kotis, the Fangkeeper looks fantastic. It has a powerful ability and indestructible nullifies the downside of committing to a single threat. You still need some phasing to save it from exile, but that’s easily achievable.

#2. Veyran, Voice of Duality

Veyran, Voice of Duality sparkles like a diamond any time instants or sorceries come up… which is pretty often in spellslinger decks! Storm-adjacent piles that want to win by churning through their deck with cards like Archmage Emeritus and Niv-Mizzet, Parun love this. You could even do Voltron nonsense with its magecraft trigger and cards like Temur Battle Rage and Monstrous Rage.

#1. Teval, the Balanced Scale

I’m a huge fan of Teval, the Balanced Scale simply because I’ve been looking for a good commander for all the Insidious Roots-style cards. Dipping into blue and zombie synergies might be what this archetype needed.

But the card’s also just busted. Imagine pairing this with Field of the Dead, Glacial Chasm, Dark Depths! There’s so much power here… though I wouldn’t bother with Gilt-Leaf Archdruid, trust me.

Commanding Conclusion

Elsha, Threefold Master | Illustration by Irina Nordsol

I’m super excited for Tarkir: Dragonstorm and all the commanders it introduced. Even the ones I don’t think are particularly good have potential for interesting builds, and a couple of them look like they could introduced fascinating new combos.

Which TDM commander is your favorite? Have you made any spicy brews? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!