Last updated on December 30, 2025
Tatyova, Benthic Druid | Illustration by Mathias Kollros
Commander is a very fun format, but sometimes it can be very pricey thanks to the popular cards that dominate in it. But what If I told you that you can still play Commander on a budget and have access to tons of high-level games and strategies?
Well, that's where Pauper Commander comes into play, and today I go over different ones to show you the vast diversity of the field so you can start dip your toes into this Magic format.
Interested? Let’s dive right in!
What Are Pauper Commanders in MTG?
Loyal Apprentice | Illustration by Joe Slucher
Pauper commanders are either common legendaries, or any uncommon creature that lead your Pauper Commander deck. If you understand how Commander works, you'll know that you have the freedom to select any legendary creature as your commander. Certain planeswalkers can act as commanders, but only if their rules text says so. Pauper commanders need to have a common or uncommon rarity in any set where they were printed.
Are Uncommon Commanders Allowed in Pauper?
Pauper Commander uses uncommon cards as their commander. But, your Pauper commander can’t be used in regular Pauper games unless it was printed at common rarity at some point.
#35. Guttersnipe
This creature shines in combo strategies where you can chain multiple non-creature spells. The problem with it is that there are scarce ways to protect Guttersnipe from removal, and you’ll mostly rely on impulse draws like Galvanic Relay or Reckless Impulse to generate card advantage.
#34. Mayhem Devil
If you enjoy sacrifice strategies, Mayhem Devil is the commander you’ve been looking for. Black and red are the colors with most removal, but more importantly, they're the ones with the most sacrifice engines like Deadly Dispute or Village Rites to refill your hand and incidentally trigger this commander's ability. If you somehow give it deathtouch, you can turn it into a Gatling gun that can kill the entire board when needed.
#33. Phyrexian Censor
Death and Taxes strategies are non-existent in Pauper, but the one with Phyrexian Censor is probably good enough to keep in check all the other decks of the meta. When you pair it with other aggressive creatures, you can pressure your opponents without worrying about them going off. More importantly, if you can turn this deck into a pseudo-Voltron strategy, your opponents will have a hard time getting over your plans.
#32. Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius
The number of plot cards is limited, but the number of spells you cast from exile or your graveyard expands with every Magic set. Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius pays for itself in one spell, and represents a ton of saved mana in the course of a game.
#31. Fynn, the Fangbearer
Fynn, the Fangbearer is another commander focused on aggressive games that you’re aiming to end fast. The deck includes many inexpensive creatures with deathtouch like Moss Viper or Mirkwood Spider that, when combined with spells like Ram Through, can clear the board of enemies. The most important thing is that they help you close games in half the time, thanks to Fynn’s poison counters.
#30. Zada, Hedron Grinder
This particular Pauper commander has gained a reputation for a specific reason: surprising your opponents by defeating them unexpectedly. Even though it might not appear very strong initially, all it needs is a small group of tokens on the battlefield to make the most of cards like Ancestral Anger or Fists of Flame.
These cantrips serve as ways to draw more cards and as tools to finish the game. While it's true that Zada, Hedron Grinder can easily be harmed by most removal spells, if you can keep it safe and exercise patience, you have the potential to come out victorious in many situations.
#29. Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Gray Merchant of Asphodel, commonly known as “Gary” and one of Magic's best zombies, is an outstanding commander that can be looped with cards like Undying Evil and Supernatural Stamina to win games along with sacrifice outlets like Village Rites or Deadly Dispute on a board with heavy devotion to black.
#28. Ley Weaver + Lore Weaver
Ley Weaver partners with Lore Weaver to become a Simic commander duo that does what most decks do, but the catch is that they can be used as combo pieces once they hit the battlefield. As always, the main enabler is Freed from the Real. You can add infinite colorless mana with it, which you can then use to draw your entire library with Lore Weaver if paired with the likes of Energy Refractor.
#27. Satyr Enchanter
If you’re looking for an enchantress Voltron commander, Satyr Enchanter is the perfect Selesnya commander for your Pauper deck. One thing that Pauper lacks compared to other Eternal Magic formats is ways to gain card advantage whenever a card is played, like Glimpse of Nature, for example. Luckily, this commander does exactly that for enchantments, and when paired with cheap ones like Utopia Sprawl or Ethereal Armor, you’ll rarely miss on card advantage for as long as you can protect it.
#26. Balmor, Battlemage Captain
Balmor, Battlemage Captain is an all-star in almost every Commander format it touches. It's very good in Duel Commander and Brawl, and it's no surprise that it also excels in Pauper Commander.
All you need to get it going are a couple of other creatures and a few cheap spells like Ancestral Anger to get things rolling. If your opponents want to interact with it, you can always use cheap countermagic like Dispel or Daze to Foil their plans.
#25. Loyal Apprentice
Loyal Apprentice is a personal favorite since it lets you play mono-red in a different way than the regular aggressive builds. This red commander allows you to go wide by letting you create a massive army of tokens that can be used in multiple ways, thanks to those tokens’ second card type: artifact.
This not only allows you to go off with cards like Witty Roastmaster or Impact Tremors but also cards like Reckless Fireweaver and even Galvanic Blast thanks to their artifact synergy. In case it's not clear, Apprentice enables its own lieutenant ability if it's your commander.
#24. Vizkopa Guildmage
Vizkopa Guildmage is one of those commanders you hate to lose against because it can one-shot entire tables if you let it set up. When you pair it with cards like Crypt Rats, you gain more life than you would lose, and in return, you make your opponents lose the same amount of life you gain.
#23. Tannuk, Memorial Ensign
One of the favorites from Edge of Eternities, Tannuk, Memorial Ensign is a great landfall commander. Just follow up Tannuk with a Terramorphic Expanse and you Shock opponents and draw a card. If you ask some fellow players they might point you to Cycle of Renewal, Sakura-Tribe Elder, and Sabotender.
#22. Murmuring Mystic
Mono-blue commanders are quite captivating. They might not have the same potency as commanders that use multiple colors to address their main vulnerabilities. However, this drawback is balanced by their advantage of having a more consistent and efficient source of mana. In the case of Murmuring Mystic, it serves as a dependable commander that's tough to defeat. It can rapidly fill the entire board with evasive tokens. These tokens can either steadily wear down an opponent's life or act as obstacles to block attacks. Still, their primary use often involves a special combination of cards that generates endless creatures.
#21. Soulherder
Soulherder is just the right colors to be Conjurer's Closet for less, plus it gets bigger for lots of instances beyond it's own once-per turn flicker. The options for Azorius flicker decks increase with each set and with airbending from Avatar: The Last Airbender, this spirit goes way up in value.
#20. Witherbloom Apprentice
This ramp control deck essentially affects everyone at the table whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell. Even if your opponents deal with it, you can bring your commander back into play almost every turn. This compels them to find a solution each time it returns or dies in the process.
#19. Syr Konrad, the Grim
It takes a lot for mono-color commanders to rank highly, but Syr Konrad, the Grim has been deserving since 2019. The number of ways to trigger one damage to each opponent are astounding.
Forget the Limited games that Syr Konrad could steal out of nowhere, the activation meddles with lots of scry and top deck manipulation your opponents do, and fuels reanimation and more for your graveyard which makes this grim commander great.
#18. Mahadi, Emporium Master
You don't need to do a thing and Mahadi, Emporium Master can bring down a bunch of treasure as compensation. Of course if you were to do the removal that red and black are excellent at, you reap lots of extra benefits for killing off opposing creatures on your turn.
It's unlikely to be important for your deck, but Mahadi is among a few cards that lost their cat subtype due to errata.
#17. Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer
What I like about Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer is that it’s a personal tutor for whatever combo piece your deck may need in the form of a creature. This Naya card can set up infinite combos or just better board presence when required, and this “toolbox” kind of strategy is amazing to pull off.
#16. Ethersworn Sphinx
Ethersworn Sphinx creates an artifact combo strategy that relies on bouncing your commander every turn and setting up infinite combos with cards like Steelfin Whale, Etherium Spinner, and Jace's Erasure to win the game. It's a fun one to play but a hard one to pull off correctly.
#15. Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim is limited to creatures you control, but with Orzhov's sacrificial capabilities this pilgrim is supremely deadly. Oh wait, it is already a deathtouch creature, this little keyword ensures it will be relevant whenever you play it.
#14. Sphinx Summoner
Unlike other commanders, Sphinx Summoner can be used as an artifact tutor to set up combo wins. This one plays extremely well when paired with the likes of Ghostly Flicker to search for win conditions over time, like Myr Retriever and Ashnod's Altar, or pretty much any other artifact you may need throughout the game.
#13. Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar gives you a lot of freedom on your turn just by landing on the battlefield. Selesnya players are no strangers to their plans getting disrupted and Kutzil cuts down a lot of interaction. Then with a few +1/+1 counters, anthems, or equipment built around it, you easily draw extra cards.
#12. Ghost of Ramirez DePietro
Partner commanders are always great ones to run because they can be mixed up with others that have this ability to come up with crazy strategies. Ghost of Ramirez DePietro is usually paired with Tormod, the Desecrator because their abilities synergize very well with each other, creating a powerful control engine that can out-value your opponents.
#11. Dargo, the Shipwrecker
Dargo, the Shipwrecker is one of those aggressive commanders that can be cast for cheap very early in the game and deliver tons of damage to opponents. On top of that, thanks to the partner mechanic, it can be commonly paired with other creatures like pirate commander Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator or Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel to enable different strategies and ways to win.
#10. Izzet Guildmage
For a long while and up until this day, Izzet Guildmage has been one of the top combo commanders available. You can buy time until you're ready to go off with cards like High Tide and Frantic Search to copy these spells and amass significant quantities of mana to finish things off with the likes of Brain Freeze or even Empty the Warrens + First Day of Class.
#9. Third Path Iconoclast
Third Path Iconoclast is another commander on the combo spectrum with a straightforward plan. What’s different about it is that you play it, and even without combos at hand, it can start generating a lot of value very early in the game, and it forces your opponents to have removal for it. Otherwise, the tokens it creates gradually start taking over the board.
#8. Tatyova, Benthic Druid
Before Gretchen Titchwillow was printed, Tatyova, Benthic Druid was the go-to commander for Simic. This is because it has a very similar playstyle to its counterpart, focusing on ramping to have enough mana to combo their opponents out. Still, the most significant difference is its play pattern because Tatyova’s combos mostly rely on graveyard synergies while Gretchen’s don’t. This is key as the meta has learned to adapt by running main deck answers to it, but more importantly, the introduction of Honored Heirloom as a main deck answer to any Pauper Commander deck has reduced Tatyova’s power quite a bit.
But make no mistake, these “disadvantages” could be diminished in the hands of a good pilot, and it can steal games in the blink of an eye. This is also one of the best commanders reprinted in Foundations, making Tatyova very accessible to most players.
#7. Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos
Introduced with the Assassin’s Creed set, Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos is a mono-red commander that plays slightly differently than others. This is mainly because it creates a pseudo-chaos state where players switch control of it each turn.
With Alexios, games turn into political and combat-focused ones, something that’s rarely seen in Pauper. Of course, goading effects, forced attacks, and combat tricks fit perfectly in this kind of deck.
#6. Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher
Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher is a fun blue commander with the unique ability to choose a background. Since it’s mainly paired with Agent of the Iron Throne, the primary way to use it is with artifact-oriented decks.
On top of that, thanks to its mana ability, it pairs exceptionally well with flashback cards for added value. A simple combo you can perform pairs it with Freed from the Real and Energy Refractor, so you can add infinite mana. From there, you can use it however you like to win the game.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator is a blue partner commander that’s usually paired with red or black Pauper commanders to benefit from the Treasure token ability it provides whenever pirates deal combat damage to an opponent. While you can go ahead and build a typal pirate Pauper Commander deck with it, in reality, what most players do is pull off a crazy combo when paired with Tandem Lookout and Reckless Fireweaver.
How does it work? Since none of those cards are pirates, you have to get creative and add Blades of Velis Vel into the mix to turn up to two creatures into pirates. From there, you’ll ping your opponents whenever you add a Treasure token and draw a card when your newly enlisted pirates deal damage, a cycle that continues endlessly. Of course, this is only possible in the Izzet build, but there’s plenty of room to experiment with it in other colors.
#4. Breeches, Brazen Plunderer
Speaking of pirates, the natural partner for Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator is Breeches, Brazen Plunderer due to its typing. It can also be used as a source of card advantage as it lets you play cards from your opponent's library whenever a pirate deals damage to them, and we already discussed one cool way to turn non-pirate creatures into part of the crew.
#3. Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar
While I’ve often seen Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar pair up with blue commanders in Izzet aggressive decks, you can also just go full red aggro and pair it with Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh. The plan with this commander is simple: Win with your commander in one swing or with creatures like Kiln Fiend and Crackling Cyclops that benefit when paired with the likes of Titan's Strength and Temur Battle Rage.
#2. Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward
Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward can be built in many different ways thanks to the background mechanic. It most commonly centers around efficiently flooding the battlefield with cost-effective artifacts and creatures that trigger beneficial enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effects, mainly drawing cards upon entering. The deck features an impressive selection of cards costing between 2-3 mana, enabling card draw on ETB, and its core strategy revolves around leveraging Abdel's ability to tuck these cards beneath it, generating Soldier tokens.
By continually flickering Abdel using Far Traveler and similar effects, the deck capitalizes on card advantage, a Soldier token army, and powerful units like Celebrity Fencer, Ninth Bridge Patrol, and Flaming Fist Officer. Protective measures like Cho-Manno's Blessing and Ward of Lights safeguard Abdel.
At the same time, a variety of artifact, enchantment, and graveyard manipulation can be utilized during flicker loops. The deck also features an intriguing infinite combo involving Abdel, Oblivion Ring, and Journey to Nowhere, alongside a notable lifegain from cards like Soul Warden.
#1. Gretchen Titchwillow
One of the strongest colors in Pauper Commander is Simic, and currently, the standard-bearer for this color pair is Gretchen Titchwillow. This commander's power level is insane since it's cheap and easy to set up, and it runs a lot of disruption to protect its core plan. The game plan is also very straightforward: Search for a Freed from the Real, attach it to a mana dork that can untap lands like Arbor Elf or Krosan Restorer, and as long as you can generate at least 2 mana, you get infinite mana that you can use to draw your entire library if needed thanks to the commander's ability and win the game through your other combos.
Honorable Mention: Common Commanders
You can't leave this article without seeing a few commanders at common. Spider-Man brought a bunch of eligible commanders to overtake a sparse category that previously included only Skoa, Embermage, Joven, and Chandler.
Commanding Conclusion
Izzet Guildmage | Illustration by Jim Murray
As you may have realized, the possibilities are endless with so many commanders available.
From aggressive to more combo-oriented commanders, Pauper Commander has a lot of uncommon creatures at your disposal to start brewing around, and the best part is that even if you are in the same color identity as your opponents, your strategies may be totally different.
What do you think? Did I miss a Pauper commander worth mentioning? Let me know in the comments or over on Twitter!
Thank you for reading, and catch you later!
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