The 18 Best Blink Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on April 24, 2024

Brago, King Eternal | Illustration by Karla Ortiz

Commander is a game with many strategies under its belt. From aggro to combo commanders, players have many archetypes to choose from when deciding which deck to invest in.

One of those archetypes includes blink commanders, and today I’m going over my favorite ones! These powerful entities love enters effects and recurring them to bury your opponents in raw card advantage, so let’s go over the best ones at the job.

Intrigued? I sure am!

What Are Blink Commanders in MTG?

Lagrella, the Magpie | Illustration by Donato Giancola

Blink/Flicker commanders are legendary creatures or planeswalkers that temporarily exile permanents and then return them to the battlefield later. These commanders can help trigger enter the battlefield abilities (ETBs) again or “reset” counters that some permanents may enter the battlefield with.

For this list, I’ll only mention commanders that meet the criteria above. While others like Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines or Yarok, the Desecrated benefit from running strong enter the battlefield abilities, they don’t meet the first criteria, even when they’re played along with other cards like Ephemerate or Ghostly Flicker.

#18. Triad of Fates

Triad of Fates isn’t the best of the blink commanders, but it does the job and qualifies as one. You abuse it by pairing it with cards like Jandor's Saddlebags that can untap it so you can put a fate counter on something and exile it during the same turn.

#17. Gilraen, Dúnedain Protector

I like how Gilraen, Dúnedain Protector does the blink theme and how it rewards you for being patient. This Lord of the Rings commander would be a bit higher on the list, but being mono-colored restricts what it can do compared to others.

#16. Obzedat, Ghost Council

The Obzedat, Ghost Council becomes a great value over time, and it certainly helps that it takes out chunks of life two at a time. It's a slow drain as is the case with many Orzhov () commanders. Great members to vote onto this council are Sanguine Bond, Lunarch Veteran, and Witch of the Moors.

#15. Meneldor, Swift Savior

The problem with Meneldor, Swift Savior is that unlike Brago, King Eternal, it only flickers one creature at a time rather than multiple permanents. It's not the same, but it's a budget option, all things considered.

#14. Stenn, Paranoid Partisan

The ability to reset your spell card type is nice, but not very common since you are usually choosing instant, artifact, or planeswalkers. What keeps Stenn, Paranoid Partisan here in the ranking is the cost of activation and the phase of return. Yes, sometimes coming back at the end step is good, but overall, it's less flexible.

#13. Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel

I like Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel because you can pair it with other partner cards to access different colors. I especially like red as a compliment because you can set up some easy combos with cards like Imperial Recruiter and Recruiter of the Guard to tutor for a Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and go infinite with the likes of Restoration Angel. That's only one option, and there are many other combinations that you can try.

#12.  Abuelo, Ancestral Echo

Abuelo, Ancestral Echo is a good spirit on its own. It is a small drawback that Abuelo cannot flicker itself, the simple activated ability is a powerful one that does not require tapping or attacking is pretty good. The activation cost can be a bit much, so ability cost reducers like Agatha of the Vile Cauldron, Zirda, the Dawnwaker, and Heartstone can at least bring it down to . Sometimes it's good to avoid being the biggest threat at the Commander table, and Abuelo might get you to your deck's goal without causing too much trouble.

#11. Oji, the Exquisite Blade

Oji, the Exquisite Blade is an exciting commander because it can trigger on each player's turn if you can hold on to a steady stream of spells. This way, it can set up combat shenanigans or instant speed combos to protect it or win the game.

#10. Fortune, Loyal Steed

Fortune, Loyal Steed is a pretty cool beast that doesn't wait until the end step like some flicker effects. Key things going for Fortune are a low saddle cost, a built-in ETB effect that is always useful, and a way to flicker a creature without putting that creature into combat. Your 4-toughness commander is probably a bit more durable, so I'd call this good.

#9. Norin the Wary

Norin the Wary utters the Star Wars quote from every episode, and that translates to dozens and dozens of blinks. Set up your enters the battlefield triggers and be aware of any spell and any attack.

You could call it flickering too. You know the player that flicks their cards, you get nearly as many triggers as flicks when you surround Norin with Outpost Siege, Impact Tremors, and Rose Room Treasurer.

#8. Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward

Similar to Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel, you can partner Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward with other colors to abuse its blink interactions. It’s worth noting that since it's uncommon, you can play it in Pauper Commander as well. For that single reason, I’m ranking it higher on this list.

#7. Lagrella, the Magpie

Lagrella, the Magpie is a very interesting commander because it acts like a pseudo Faceless Butcher but also as a blink enabler when you pair it with cards like Brutal Cathar or Fiend Hunter to create infinite loops between them.

#6. Thassa, Deep-Dwelling

Mono-blue commanders are always dangerous, and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling can start setting up pretty polarizing turns when paired with the correct cards. From bouncing creatures like Aether Channeler to card draw engines like Mulldrifter and back-breaking finishers like Agent of Treachery, this deck can do it all. Indestructible means there are just a handful of ways to stop Thassa decks from outvaluing your opponents once it's resolved.

#5. Emiel the Blessed

Most of these commanders run with similar play patterns. Aside from giving you access to green, what sets Emiel the Blessed apart is its ability to become a very efficient mana sink. You can even pull off infinite activations with the right combination of cards. Of course, we’re talking about adding infinite mana, but in this deck’s case, there are multiple ways to do so. Most of them include creatures that create multiple tokens when they enter the battlefield like Avenger of Zendikar, and sac outlets that generate mana like Ashnod's Altar.

#4. Roon of the Hidden Realm

Unlike other commanders that are higher up, Roon of the Hidden Realm’s ability only lets it blink one creature at a time. The restriction of only one target per turn is somewhat diminished by the fact that this card enables you to play green, and cards like Eternal Witness or Regrowth are very welcome recursion enablers in a deck that's already grindy by itself.

#3. Aminatou, the Fateshifter

Black gives you access to some of the best tutor spells in the game and some much-needed removal ETB effects that blink decks need. Aminatou, the Fateshifter decks play a very straightforward game: Search for a Spark Double and abuse cards like Oath of Teferi, Altar of the Brood, or Panharmonicon to win the game. Even if it's not paired with any of the above, it’s a powerful commander because it can hit the battlefield very early in a game. If it's not dealt with, it can take over games through sheer card advantage.

#2. Yorion, Sky Nomad

Yorion, Sky Nomad is one of the most famous commanders, and it performs differently than the rest. Its exile effect doesn't return permanents immediately to the battlefield. Instead, it does it at the end of the turn. This might look like a disadvantage at first glance, but it's kind of the opposite in some cases. You can use some cards like Phyrexian Metamorph or Charming Prince to retrigger its blink ability and exile all permanents again until your next turn, if you want.

#1. Brago, King Eternal

Brago, King Eternal has to be the best and most annoying blink commander. Azorious colors give it a wide variety of tools to protect it, and cards like Lightning Greaves can help it to swing on the same turn it enters the battlefield.

When you pair it with cheap permanents that generate card advantages like Arcum's Astrolabe or Omen of the Sea, you can start drawing multiple cards a turn. But what’s terrific is that some cards like Trophy Mage or Recruiter of the Guard serve as recurring tutors that help you search for cards that can win you the game.

If that wasn't good enough, regular Brago decks play the “stax” game. Annoying cards like Trinisphere, Back to Basics, and Dress Down are a core part of decks running this commander in hopes of tipping the balance in the Brago player’s favor.

Best Blink Commander Payoffs

Since blink commanders rely on exiling permanents and returning them to the battlefield at a given point in the game, the best type of cards that synergize with them are the ones that have an enter-the-battlefield effect.

Peregrine Drake, Sun Titan, and Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant are three of the most powerful creatures that have these kinds of effects because they enable critical interactions and recursion.

Other permanents like Portal to Phyrexia, Spine of Ish Sah, and Annie Joins Up also benefit from some of these blink commanders because they serve as removal spells that can be triggered multiple times during the course of a game. Annie Joins Up is an interesting piece of removal that is also a legendary-matters build around.

On the other side, things with expendable counters like planeswalkers can be paired with some blink effects to use them more than once during a turn or just to “reset” their loyalty for any given reason.

Quintorius Kand, for example, can score free discover 4s, Tezzeret the Seeker can be used to tutor for various artifacts, and The Eternal Wanderer can wipe the board and rebuild it at the same time.

Leaves the battlefield is also half of the flicker effect, and Thragtusk is a golden flicker target. Thanks to Aether Revolt, your flicker commanders can also do well with Call for Unity and Aid from the Cowl.

Commanding Conclusion

Yorion, Sky Nomad | Illustration by Steven Belledin

As you saw, there are many commanders to choose from and combinations you can make to pull off the most fun and oppressive strategies against your opponents.

In my opinion, Brago is the best, but what do you think? Are any of the others realistically better? Let me know in the comments!

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Take care, and see you next time!