The 33 Best Voltron Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on March 26, 2024

Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice | Illustration by Randy Vargas

Are you looking to build a formidable Magic deck to beat your opponents at your next game night? Consider a Voltron deck that can bulk up one unkillable creature to take out your opponents before they can strengthen their board states.

I have 33 of the best Voltron commanders to help you build your next Commander deck. Let’s go over how Voltron is intended to work, where the name comes from, and the best commanders to lead your next EDH list.

Suit up!

What Does the Name Voltron Come From?

Catti-brie of Mithral Hall | Illustration by Lius Lasahido

The term Voltron comes from a Japanese animated series released in 1984 named Voltron. The series was eventually dubbed in English and brought to America for watchers to enjoy. The show featured tiny robots combining into a giant one when it was time for battle.

Voltron has become a popular archetype in the MTG Commander format. With enough auras and equipment spells attached to the right commander, it can be easy to eventually inflict 21 commander damage to your opponents to win the game.

What Are Voltron Commanders in MTG?

Voltron commanders pump themselves or another key creature on the battlefield to one-shot opponents. They proficiently carry equipment and/or auras because they typically have great protection and combat abilities.

Knights, allies, and warriors are the most popular creature types commonly in Voltron decks. Many of them are mono-red, mono-white, Boros colors, or a combination as a result. A Voltron commander can turn so threatening that opponents have to cast an Austere Command to blow up what's attached to it or a Damnation to destroy all creatures and temporarily level the playing field.

#33. Danitha, New Benalia’s Light

Danitha, New Benalia's Light leads your army by reviving destroyed aura and equipment spells once during any phase of your turns. If an opponent removes your key win condition from the game, as long as Danitha is still on the field, you can recast it to turn the game back in your favor.

#32. Tiana, Ship’s Caretaker

Tiana, Ship's Caretaker is a graveyard recursion powerhouse. If your auras or equipment cards are swept off the battlefield, Tiana can bring them back to your hand at the next end step so you can start rebuilding your board state.

#31. Danitha Capashen, Paragon

Danitha Capashen, Paragon is an automatic ramp card as your Voltron commander, able to reduce aura and equipment spells by 1 colorless mana. Faster casting helps build your board state faster for a classic Voltron deck win.

#30. Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith

When your one hard-to-kill creature attacks, you can tap down a problem creature on your opponent's side of the field thanks to Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith‘s ability.

Equipping one creature with evasion tactics such as flying or trample can hasten your victory. Indomitable Archangel is a flier and protects your artifacts with shroud as long as you control three or more artifacts because of its metalcraft ability. Even if creatures in your deck don’t come with these abilities, equipment like Cliffhaven Kitesail and Sword of Vengeance are beneficial.

#29. Catti-brie of Mithral Hall

Catti-brie of Mithral Hall can get catty very fast. The more equipment you attach to it, the more +1/+1 counters can be placed on it whenever it attacks. How’s that for one-shotting an opponent with commander damage?

Include Puresteel Paladin to take advantage of 0-equip costs when you control at least three artifacts. In the event Cattie-brie is removed, having The Ozolith on the battlefield can transfer those +1/+1 counters temporarily until you recast Cattie-brie.

#28. Akiri, Line-Slinger

Akiri, Line-Slinger is an equipment-based Voltron deck that pumps up its power based on how many equipment cards and other supporting artifacts you have on the battlefield. This 2-drop Boros commander can pump up quickly with low-cost artifacts and equipment cards to swing in for the win.

#27. Halvar, God of Battle

Use all auras, all equipment cards, or a combination of both to turn Halvar into a giant beater to swing for lethal commander damage. Its power to move one aura or equipment from one creature to another gives you complete command over how you want to power up each creature in your army.

#26. Shagrat, Loot Bearer

Shagrat’s free equipment attachment per attack slowly bulks it up to where you need it to be as the commander of your battlefield. The more equipment you have attached to Shagrat, the higher power your entering orc creatures are after each combat. The orcs can act as your defending creatures while Shagrat is your main attacking threat.

#25. Wyleth, Soul of Steel

Wyleth is a card draw powerhouse to give you access to your other Voltron deck pieces like the Sword of Fire and Ice and the Sword of Truth and Justice. Plus, its trample ability makes it easier to get damage through to other opponents no matter its size after attaching equipment.

#24. Bruna, Light of Alabaster

Bruna, Light of Alabaster can move around your aura cards attached to the other creatures on your battlefield or from your graveyard whenever it attacks or blocks. Use Sol Ring and Arcane Signet to bring out Bruna quickly. Auras like Auramancer's Guise and All That Glitters make Bruna more lethal when attacking or blocking.

#23. Akiri, Fearless Voyager

Equip all your creatures including Akiri, Fearless Voyager to increase how many cards you draw when you attack with them. Protect your creatures from board wipes and other removal by having white mana open to unattach a piece of equipment from them and give them indestructible.

#22. Galea, Kindler of Hope

Galea, Kindler of Hope accelerates how quickly you can access your auras and equipment with its ability to let you look at the top card of your library at any time. Include equipment cards with high equipment costs since Galea makes them free to equip anyway, like Helm of the Host and Colossus Hammer.

#21. Kemba, Kha Enduring

Meow! Build your board with artifacts and get free equips when cats enter the battlefield. Plus, if you don’t have any cat creatures in your hand, Kemba, Kha Enduring’s mana ability to create Cat tokens helps your board state, too. The Cat tokens can also have an artifact attached for free upon entering the battlefield.

#20. Tuvasa the Sunlit

Tuvasa the Sunlit can get powerful fast because you cast as many low-cost aura spells as you can. Ancestral Mask can expedite how fast its power grows with an additional +2/+2 for each enchantment you control. Cards like Transcendent Envoy and Danitha Capashen, Paragon can help you get enchantments on the battlefield even quicker.

Be sure to include Danitha, Benalia's Hope, Gift of Immortality, and Altar of Dementia in your deck build for a powerful combo. All permanents must be on the battlefield with the Gift of Immortality attached to Danitha.

Sacrifice Danitha to Altar of Dementia. Doing so triggers Gift of Immortality‘s ability to return Danitha to the battlefield once it hits the graveyard. Because of Danitha's ETB ability, Gift of Immortality is returned to the battlefield attached to Danitha again. Finally, Altar of Dementia triggers, having one player mill cards from the top of their library equivalent to Danitha's power.

#19. Reyav, Master Smith

What's better than a difficult-to-kill creature dealing a lot of damage? A formidable creature with double strike, of course!

Reyav, Master Smith allows your big equipped and/or enchanted creature to gain double strike until the end of turn whenever it attacks. Equipping and enchanting a creature like Champion of the Flame expedites your Voltron strategy. Attach Timely Ward to give it indestructible and equip it with Whispersilk Cloak so it gains shroud and becomes unblockable.

#18. Raiyuu, Storm’s Edge

Raiyuu, Storm's Edge’s abilities of first strike and additional combat phases when a warrior or samurai attacks alone make it a formidable Voltron commander. Include utility artifacts like Sigil of Valor, Hero's Heirloom, and Mithril Coat for the best results in getting combat damage through.

#17. Nahiri, Forged in Fury

Bring Nahiri, Forged in Fury out later in the game by casting your artifacts first because of its affinity for equipment ability. Include higher-cost artifact cards like Kaldra Compleat and Dragon Throne of Tarkir since they’re free to cast anyway using Nahiri’s ability.

#16. Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale allows you to equip knight creatures for 0 cost, making it faster to strengthen creatures. This Mardu commander from Throne of Eldraine is best built as knight tribal with auto-includes like Knight Exemplar and Kinsbaile Cavalier. Embercleave, Sunforger, and The Circle of Loyalty are great synergistic artifacts to include in your build.

#15. Zur the Enchanter

Having a flying commander like Zur the Enchanter means instant combat and commander damage if the opponent doesn’t have a flier or a creature with reach. Auras like Ethereal Armor, Battle Mastery, and Timely Ward can make Zur more formidable for an expedited win.

#14. Balan, Wandering Knight

Get two equipment attached to Balan, Wandering Knight and it gains double strike. Go in for the win by using its mana ability to attach all equipment you control to Balan. Use Darksteel Plate to make Balan indestructible to protect it from removal. Skeleton Key can be a great addition to the deck, especially if your opponents have creatures with lesser power.

#13. Zurgo Helmsmasher

Pump Zurgo Helmsmasher with equipment like Commander's Plate and the quintessential Mirran Sword cards to make it even more untouchable. This Mardu commander makes your opponents draw their deck for answers to destroy Zurgo when it isn’t your turn.

#12. Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber

Keep Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber on the sidelines until one of the creatures you control with many equipment cards on it attacks or dies so that Rhuk can inherit the benefits by receiving all the equipment they had. Vulshok Battlemaster is a great addition to this deck because it can receive all the equipment in play upon entering, even your opponent’s. Then, when it attacks or dies, you can transfer all that equipment to Rhuk without paying equip costs.

#11. Sythis, Harvest’s Hand

Sythis, Harvest's Hand helps you draw cards and keep your life total at a healthy number as you cast more enchantments. Increase your card draw when casting auras by including Enchantress's Presence and Mesa Enchantress in the deck. Casting enchantment creatures also counts towards triggering Sythis’s ability to draw a card and gain a life point. Protect your enchantments with Sterling Grove.

#10. Uril, the Miststalker

Uril, the Miststalker is almost like the creature version of Ancestral Mask. However, Uril is pumped only by auras while Ancestral Mask counts all enchantments to pump up the creature it’s attached to. Plus, with Uril’s hexproof ability, opponents can only destroy it with board wipes, not targeted removal spells.

#9. Chishiro, the Shattered Blade

Remember when Post Malone played Chishiro in the Command Zone’s Game Knights Kamigawa Dynasty video? Chishiro, the Shattered Blade rewards you for casting aura and equipment spells by giving you additional Spirit tokens to act as blockers.

Include the indestructible squirrel, Toski, Bearer of Secrets in your build. Since it has to attack every combat and can only be removed with a board wipe or exile card, it guarantees combat damage so you have access to card draw.

Equip Toski with The Reaver Cleaver to give it trample and to add ramp with Treasure tokens. Attach Spider Umbra for reach and Totem armor as another added layer of protection.

#8. Kodama of the West Tree

Whether you have auras, equipment, or both types on your creatures, Kodama of the West Tree gives them all trample. Even better, Kodama acts as a form of ramp because you can get basic lands from your library equal to the number of creatures that landed combat damage on your opponents that turn.

#7. Kosei, Penitent Warlord

Kosei, Penitent Warlord adds multiple value factors being the main creature you equip for your Voltron strategy. Get at least one aura (Bear Umbra), one equipment (Thran Power Suit), and any type of counter on it (Hydra's Growth). Kosei works great in 3- or 4-player pods because you can deal the same amount of damage to the other opponents after dealing combat damage to a target player. It also acts as a card draw engine once you get it to a high enough power level.

#6. Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist

Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist lets you attach whatever auras and equipment you have on the battlefield to a specific permanent or another player. If you want to attach auras to a player, you can include curses like Curse of Exhaustion or Curse of Silence in the deck.

If you want to attach them to a permanent, plan to do so on a creature of your choice to get them powerful in a snap. Include equipment like Colossus Hammer, Blackblade Reforged, and Argentum Armor. And don’t forget auras like Mantle of the Ancients and All That Glitters.

#5. Bruenor Battlehammer

Bruenor Battlehammer pumping your creature by 2 power points for each piece of equipment attached to it can make them insurmountably hard to defend against for your opponents. Utilize Mirran Swords including Sword of Fire and Ice, Sword of Truth and Justice, Sword of Feast and Famine, Sword of Light and Shadow, and Sword of Body and Mind for increased pumps, color protections, and other combat damage perks.

#4. Rafiq of the Many

Rafiq of the Many is one of the best Voltron commanders embracing the tactic of one large creature attacking alone. Giving a lone equipped attacking creature double strike until the end of your turn can hasten the win if your opponent doesn’t have any creatures to defend their life total.

#3. Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice

Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice essentially lets you equip two auras per turn to it, one that you cast and one that you search for in your library afterwards. If your opponent can’t handle Light-Paws’s increasing power level expeditiously, you may just win by turn 4 or 5.

#2. Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

Valduk, Keeper of the Flame is a mono-red, token-producing Voltron commander. It rewards you with as many 3/1 Elementals equal to how many auras and equipment you have attached to it, which can expedite how fast you take out an opponent if they have fewer creatures. Madcap Skills, Sticky Fingers, and Messenger's Speed are great examples of low-cost auras to include a Valduk deck.

#1. Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh

Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh tops the list because it’s a versatile, 0-drop Voltron commander. Who doesn’t love a commander that you can cast on turn 1? It comes in as a 0/1, but it’s nothing that auras and equipment can’t fix.

Rograkh’s trample ability helps to get damage through while menace increases damage chances if an opponent only has one creature on the battlefield. Plus, since it has partner, you can choose to include a secondary commander to enhance Voltron capabilities like Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist or Akiri, Line-Slinger.

Best Voltron Commander Payoffs

Voltron commanders are competitive, dangerous, and fun. The best auras for Voltron decks include Ancestral Mask and Armadillo Cloak. Equipment like Banshee's Blade, Champion's Helm, Swiftfoot Boots, and Lightning Greaves also gets the ball rolling for your Voltron strategy.

You can one-shot an opponent with commander damage to achieve the most popular win conditions when running a Voltron deck. Achieve a balance of creatures and auras and/or equipment to build the best Voltron deck you can. The supporting creatures should also relate to auras and/or equipment to enhance deck synergy.

Commanding Conclusion

Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist | Illustration by Jason Rainville

Voltron commanders are great fun because of how you can watch your opponents sweat while they watch your commander grow. Sure, they might be able to chip away at your equipment and auras with removal, but if you make your command itself hexproof, all they can do is take off one piece just for you to tack on another.

What are your thoughts and experiences when it comes to Voltron Commanders? I want to hear all your thoughts and opinions in the comments below! Make sure to join the official Draftsim Discord to chat with other like-minded MTG players.

Until next time, stay safe, and stay healthy!