All 15 Uncounterable Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on January 18, 2025

Niv-Mizzet, Parun | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov

Greetings planeswalkers! Have you ever paid for commander tax only to have some blue mage Mana Leak your hopes and dreams? While everyone’s table may vary, there’s something to be said for having a “clearance pass” against decks like Nymris, Oona's Trickster and Baral, Chief of Compliance.

By choosing an uncounterable commander, you’ll know that there’s always going to be one spell those pesky blue mages can’t counter. Let me help you pick the best ones!

What Are Uncounterable Commanders in MTG?

Koma, Cosmos Serpent | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

These cards are eligible commanders with the text “This spell can't be countered.” There are actually only 15 commanders that fit the description. I’ve chosen not to include creatures that give this property to other spells (i.e. Taigam, Ojutai Master and Lier, Disciple of the Drowned), so we’ll be focusing on only those 15. Note that my desire for ranking these is for a mid-power Commander format of sorts, not fully kitchen table and certainly not cEDH (which is its own beast).

Honorable Mention: Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn would have most certainly made this list if it weren’t banned. I wouldn’t expect that to end anytime soon, though! Ramping into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn (or even just cheating it into play) was long ago ruled to be too easy/not fun. While it’s possible some cards may be unbanned after the game’s change of hands, I’d be very surprised to see Emrakul, the Aeons Torn as one of them.

#14. Isao, Enlightened Bushi

Uh… mono-green samurai, anyone? It turns out there are actually only four of them besides Isao, Enlightened Bushi, three of which are clearly Limited cards (Jukai Trainee, Heir of the Ancient Fang, and Jade Avenger). As such, I wouldn’t expect to see Isao, Enlightened Bushi at your local game store anytime soon. It also doesn’t help that you aren’t really getting a payoff to begin with here, as Isao, Enlightened Bushi is about as useless of a commander as it gets.

If you must play a mono-green samurai for some unknown reason, do yourself a favor and try Kosei, Penitent Warlord instead. It probably won’t work, but it has at least some potential and a clear deck building goal!

#13. Akroma, Angel of Fury

Akroma, Angel of Fury is really cool, can’t be countered, and has great art. Unfortunately, none of those things make it a particularly viable or appealing commander, especially since this Akroma limits you to just red cards. That cuts off a lot of traditional angles you’d use to manipulate its morph ability (i.e. Astral Slide), so there just isn’t really a compelling reason to play this angel beyond personal attachment.

#12. Dragonlord Dromoka

Unlike Akroma and Isao, Dragonlord Dromoka is actually a perfectly respectable card that sees some play in Commander. The reason Dromoka is here and not higher is that it just isn’t very exciting as a commander. While flying, lifelink, can’t be countered, and its last Grand Abolisher style ability are all handy, none of them really provide any obvious incentives for building around Dragonlord Dromoka. Green and white are also sparse colors for dragons in general, so I’d recommend putting it in your 99s instead.

#11. Nezahal, Primal Tide

Similar to Dragonlord Dromoka, this is a powerful creature that sees play in many blue decks. Nezahal, Primal Tide is likely even stronger too, as the “whenever an opponent casts” trigger is practically perfect for EDH! But as with Dragonlord Dromoka, there just isn’t much here to really base a deck around. Nezahal’s woes as a commander are further compounded by being mono-blue, which has some of the most gross, spikey commanders imaginable for players who want them. Do play this card in your blue decks, but keep it in the 99 where it belongs.

#10. Thrun, the Last Troll

Thrun, the Last Troll is a rather resilient chap and would probably be seen heading up a mono-green Voltron deck of sorts if you saw it. That means cards like Audacity, Blackblade Reforged, Blanchwood Armor, etc., which would be placed on Thrun, the Last Troll. There are three main problems with this:

1. Thrun, Breaker of Silence arguably outclasses Thrun’s previous version, since Breaker of Silence has inbuilt trample + indestructible on your turn, so you don’t have to tap any mana to save it from combat.
2. Mono-green severely limits the available auras and equipment you can use; beast commander Uril, the Miststalker by comparison gets big hits for this theme like Sage's Reverie, Daybreak Coronet, All That Glitters, and more.
3. This might be a subjective complaint, but does anyone else find this playstyle, oh I don’t know, boring? I already have to put on pants to go play Commander with my friends, so I’d rather do something else in game.

#9. Koma, World-Eater

Koma, World-Eater is an honest fattie in a format full of much, much more powerful 7-drops. Unlike in Limited (where one hit by this = “gg”), the bonus you get for connecting with Koma, World-Eater is pretty tame by EDH standards. It’s also rather one-dimensional, as beyond ramping to it, giving it haste, and then turning it sideways, there’s not really much depth to this one. I wouldn’t hate including this in the 99 of a rampy GU deck (especially if I had a serpent/sea monster theme), but you can definitely do better with commanders than this.

#8. Inferno of the Star Mounts

Inferno of the Star Mounts is a cool, flashy dragon that mostly functions as a pretty straightforward haste creature. Since you’re playing EDH, you’re likely eyeing the “deal 20” text instead, which gives you a “big moment” to work towards. Your best bets for making that happen are mana doublers like Caged Sun, Gauntlet of Power, and Extraplanar Lens, which take advantage of you being mono-red. It’s not the most powerful or practical commander, but if you love big red dragons and want one leading your deck, you could do worse.

#7. Chromium, the Mutable

Chromium, the Mutable is another cool, flashy dragon that also ends up being a simple beater in most games. Two big things that set Chromium, the Mutable apart from other cards are its innate (and very flavorful) protection ability, and its colors. Having access to white, blue, and black cards gives you a huge number of great options for sweepers, interaction, permission, and other threats.

The main problem with Chromium, the Mutable is its competition in Esper (), which has many stronger commanders like Urza, Chief Artificer, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, and Tivit, Seller of Secrets. As such, I’d mostly recommend this one if you have a strong attachment to the art/character, or simply want a weaker option to play with those colors in a lower-powered environment.

#6. Thrun, Breaker of Silence

Thrun, Breaker of Silence is slightly better than its predecessor, and for that it seems to be much more popular online. Mono-green Voltron isn’t exactly a popular theme or anything, but Thrun, Breaker of Silence is among the best options if that’s the niche you’re going for. Some strong cards I’d recommend suiting it up with are Bear Umbra, Blanchwood Armor, Lion Umbra, and Fireshrieker. Don’t forget to play politics too, as you’ll often have people begging you to attack someone else!

#5. Toski, Bearer of Secrets

Toski, Bearer of Secrets is a decently popular and fairly powerful card that’s seen in a lot of 99s. It’s usually seen in decks that care about squirrels (i.e. Chatterfang, Squirrel General or Hazel of the Rootbloom) or in swarm decks like Jetmir, Nexus of Revels. As a commander, Toski, Bearer of Secrets is significantly more niche. Most lists I can see online seem to focus on squirrels, mana dorks, and mass pump effects like Craterhoof Behemoth and Overrun. Dorks seem particularly good as Toski, Bearer of Secrets can turn them into card advantage. If you’re looking for a mono-green commander with a unique playstyle, give this one a try!

#4. Wilson, Refined Grizzly

Wilson, Refined Grizzly isn’t so much one commander as dozens of commanders, thanks to the background mechanic from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate. This debonair den father can be whatever you want it to be, from a Cultist of the Absolute to a bear of Noble Heritage. The most popular themes seem to be ones that emphasize its natural combat abilities, as its plethora of keywords makes Wilson a good target for +1/+1 counters, auras, and equipment.

#3. Surrak Dragonclaw

Surrak Dragonclaw is a straightforward commander in a fun color trio that wants to play with lots of mana ramp and other beaters. Unlike the other cards on this lists, Surrak extends its “can’t be countered” text to all your threats too! This gives it a legitimate niche as a “blue buster” of sorts, perfect for fighting obnoxious commanders like Baral, Chief of Compliance. You could even go one step further and throw in blue hate cards like Seedtime to really send your table a message.

#2. Koma, Cosmos Serpent

While the gap between the two Thruns is honestly pretty tiny, the gap between Koma, Cosmos Serpent and Koma, World-Eater is massive from an EDH perspective. “Each upkeep” is a beautiful line of text here, and Koma, Cosmos Serpent also has real utility thanks to its tap ability. It also has arguably better protection for this format as well, since sweepers like Day of Judgment, Damnation, and Blasphemous Act are very common. It tends to excel in straightforward “good stuff” decks with lots of mana acceleration, as getting Koma, Cosmos Serpent into play as soon as you can is highly desirable.

#1. Niv-Mizzet, Parun

In my research, Niv-Mizzet, Parun was the most popular “can’t be countered” card by a significant margin! It’s also among the most popular Izzet () commanders in general. There are several reasons for this:

• This is the strongest iteration of Niv-Mizzet to date, as it’s a huge flier that acts as a combo piece, card advantage engine, control punisher, pinger, etc.
• It keeps the gameplay loop of Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, specifically its infinite combos with Curiosity and Ophidian Eye.
• It’s difficult mana cost () is no problem in EDH, as you’re already being forced to commit to just these two colors by virtue of picking this Niv-Mizzet.

If you want a powerful commander that can’t be delayed by Counterspell and its evil friends, look no further than Niv-Mizzet, Parun.

Wrap Up

Thrun, Breaker of Silence | Illustration of Simon Dominic

And with that, our journey of respite from blue mages has come to a close. I hope you enjoyed this brief article, and walk away with some novel ideas for future Commander decks.

Which of these uncounterable commanders is your pick in the command zone? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, may your most important spells always resolve!