25 Fun Commander Decks to Try Out Next

Last updated on October 20, 2025

Vnwxt, Verbose Host | Illustration by Izzy

I've been playing Commander for a long time now. I started playing back in 2009 when it was still known as Elder Dragon Highlander and was mostly played by Judges between rounds at events. Since then I've played a lot of decks and seen a lot of neat ideas come and go.

I want to talk to you today about some of the fun decks I've seen and played, and why I think you'd have a fun time playing them. So let's just get into it!

What Makes a Commander Deck “Fun”?

Start Your Engines | Illustration by Darek Zabrocki

Before I actually get to the decks, let's define “fun”.

Fun is interpreted in different ways by different players. I find it fun to crunch my brain and find the fastest way to assemble my deck's combo. My roommate wants to pull off crazy combinations that don't make any sense but are powerful once they resolve. He once managed to put Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite into play and then copy it with Sakashima the Impostor and I still haven't forgiven him for it.

If you've heard of the player types profile that Wizards has used over the last decade or so, these decks are mainly for Timmy/Tammy and Johnny/Jenny players. Yes, some of these decks will be fun and a little powerful, but we won't be anywhere near Spike levels of power or thought process.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the decks! Note: The numbers added for ease of navigation, not ranking.

#1. Alesha's Tiny Army

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death | Illustration by Anastasia Ovchinnikova

I've always found Alesha, Who Smiles at Death to be such a unique commander. It's a cool reanimation strategy that only works with smaller creatures, but that isn't a bad thing. Many of these small creatures have great ETBs that make it into a sort of reanimator toolbox strategy. Very different than just reanimating fatties.

#2. Alibou's “Beep Beep I'm a Jeep”

Alibou, Ancient Witness | Illustration by Matt Stewart

One of the coolest Boros legendaries () we've gotten in a while, Alibou, Ancient Witness lets you stay aggressive in a different light. Its laser beams equal the number of tapped artifacts, which means mana rocks and artifact creatures both count. Add in its innate haste for vehicles and you've got a nasty brew going.

#3. Anax and Cymede Heroic Tokens

Anax and Cymede | Illustration by Willian Murai

While you'd think that this would make a great heroic deck, it doesn't work super well in my experience. But Boros is great for making tokens! And you can easily overwhelm a table with a huge army of tokens plus some heroic triggers and other anthem effects. The provided trample from your commander is also a key part of pushing damage through.

#4. Arcades' Big Butts

Arcades, the Strategist | Illustration by Even Amundsen

One of few commanders that allows the innate ability to use toughness in combat, Arcades, the Strategist offers a super unique combat-focused deck. It's also in great colors to support the theme and has some really interesting creatures and interactions. There are more commanders that work in this space these days, but the Bant colors serve the walls archetype well.

#5. Ayli's Cleric Tribal

Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim | Illustration by Cynthia Sheppard

Clerics are a pretty underrated tribe for Commander, but they get a ton of great tools every so often. Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim helms the church as you delve into a sort of lifegain/aristocrats strategy in a refreshing way. There are a ton of clerics in Zendikar Rising, Crimson Vow, and Midnight Hunt to add to the deck.

#6. Baru, Krosan Combo

Baru, Fist of Krosa | Illustration by Lucio Parrillo

Grandeur totally works in commander. Okay, hear me out.

You need Dual Nature and Paleoloth paired with a haste enabler and a way to return Baru, Fist of Krosa to your hand with Temur Sabertooth. You play Baru and return it to your hand with the trigger from Nature on the stack. Then the token enters the battlefield. You activate grandeur and make a wurm token, triggering Paleoloth to put Baru back in your hand.

Rinse and repeat until you're out of mana, and then swing.

#7. Chainer Reanimator

Chainer, Nightmare Adept | Illustration by Steve Prescott

Yes, Dockside Extortionist is banned in Commander, but I'm trying to retain the decks as they were at the time of writing (you can make updates if you wish).

Reanimator is fun, and I enjoy Chainer, Nightmare Adept‘s Rakdos () variant as my reanimator of choice. Rakdos gives you a ton of great options for reanimation targets and rummage effects, as well as utility. Your commander isn’t just a discard outlet, but also a haste enabler for your targets, meaning you're always a threat when you untap.

#8. Doc Aurlock Un-Bear-Able Fun

Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

The cards that Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius prescribes are more varied than you think. I'm the sort of person who finds joy in using coupons, so a lot of the fun here is playing expensive Simic () cards for less. Yes, the Outlaws of Thunder Junction cards with plot are easy to include, and while you don't have access to red's impulse draw, you do get discounts on foretell, flashback, and adventure costs, so you have multiple sets to draw from if you want to swap in what you have or more of your favorites.

The way this genius deck from @janky_as_heck wins is less unique: Turn some big green creatures sideways, fly over would-be blockers for big damage, and copy your best creature to dominate opponents. Have fun doing things that should cost you a lot more.

#9. Goro-Goro and Satoru Ninjutsu

Goro-Goro and Satoru | Illustration by Johannes Voss

You gotta love some sneaky ninjas that ask you to snipe 1 point of damage to earn yourself a big dragon spirit token. It's not so hard or broken for your opponents to stop, they just need to deal with you one turn at a time. It has great colors for interaction, so swap in what works best for you, and maybe that's more removal for potential blockers or more bounce spells.

Here with Goro-Goro and Satoru you find a home for silly little hasty dudes like Phoenix Chick, Frantic Scapegoat, and Gingerbrute. Your win condition is either the dragon tokens you create or sweet ninjutsu abilities like Fallen Shinobi, Silent-Blade Oni, or Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni. Maybe you find a willing ally to take 1 damage, so you can get a dragon that attacks their enemy.

#10. Hallar, Kicker Tribal

Hallar, the Firefletcher | Illustration by Bram Sels

I toyed around with Hallar, the Firefletcher with the release of Dominaria and was blown away by how good it was. You really don't expect it to be a lot, but the damage can add up fast. I was regularly hitting 10 or so damage per kicked spell and often took out entire tables with a few turns. Add in damage doublers and you're in for a really fun time!

#11. Hapatra's Snake Factory

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons | Illustration by Tyler Jacobson

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons gives you a theme that you almost never see supported: -1/-1 counters. So many cards that you don't normally get to see are centered around them, and some discard strategies. This deck goes hard if you play in a creature-heavy meta.

#12. Kaza Wizard Tribal

Kaza, Roil Chaser | Illustration by Ekaterina Burmak

I really like this hybrid style between wizard tribal and spellslinger decks. Kaza, Roil Chaser gives you a discount on your spells and promotes a healthy board state. Paired with some of the more aggressive wizards out there, you can make a pretty mean deck that fights on two fronts.

#13. Mizzix's X-Spell X-Travaganza

Mizzix of the Izmagnus | Illustration by Cliff Childs

Experience counters were a pretty terrible mechanic, and Mizzix of the Izmagnus was the worst offender. But it's still super fun. Getting to blast huge X-spells for free and slinging powerful spells just feels like true Magic to me. It's also a flexible deck with several ways to win.

#14. Prosper's Piling Treasure

Prosper, Tome-Bound | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

I've been enjoying my Prosper, Tome-Bound deck since Forgotten Realms was released, and boy is it fun. You'd be surprised how quickly you can amass Treasures in this deck! And adding in some cheeky wincons like Reckless Fireweaver, Nadier's Nightblade, and Revel in Riches can really push games in your favor.

#15. Radha's Extra Combat Factory

Grand Warlord Radha | Illustration by Anna Steinbauer

Grand Warlord Radha‘s Dominaria form works great as a mana-generating aggressive deck, which suits extra combat steps well. This means you can easily trigger infinite combat steps with enough creatures and Aggravated Assault. Or you can just take insane combat value. If not Gruul, then die!

#16. Ramos's Lucky Charms

Ramos, Dragon Engine | Illustration by Joseph Meehan

Here's a cute little spellslinger deck with Ramos, Dragon Engine at the helm. Ramos is able to churn out pretty often since you're playing a huge number of gold spells. All of the charms and commands are also flexible cards, so you always have options.

#17. Seton's Druid Tribal

Seton, Krosan Protector | Illustration by Greg Staples

Druid tribal isn’t something you expect to see at a table, but it’s surprisingly fast. You can play more mana dorks to reliably get Seton, Krosan Protector on turn 2 and then all your creatures become Llanowar Elves. Seton’s ability doesn't require them to have haste either, so you can easily dump out your hand by turn 4.

It's explosive but fragile to board wipes.

#18. Shabraz & Brallin Cycling

Brallin, Skyshark Rider | Illustration by Paul Scott Canavan

The sharky boys are super dynamic and can fit into a lot of different themes. I think cycling fits them well because of each partner‘s unique ability offers different ways to win.

Brallin, Skyshark Rider lets you deal incremental damage while Shabraz, the Skyshark gives you lifegain and can fly over blockers for commander damage. You can also get cheeky and add Curiosity effects and go for a combo-kill with Brallin.

#19. Shu Yun's Cantrips

Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest | Illustration by David Gaillet

Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest offers a unique angle on combat-centric decks, picking non-creature spells over equipment. And since you’re running a ton of cantrips, you can cast a bunch of cards at once and build up for a one-shot with enough mana.

There's also some neat interactions with prowess cards! And I like the interaction between Shu Yun and Willbreaker, because you just get to steal creatures for free.

#20. Sidisi Zombie Tribal

Sidisi, Brood Tyrant | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Why play a traditional zombie deck when you can have a little fun with it? Adding green gives you some powerful flexibility options, and Sidisi, Brood Tyrant makes more zombies for free.

Adding in a self-mill subtheme also turns your graveyard into a second hand. It’s also just a unique spin on the usual zombie deck.

#21. Sméagol Landfall

Sméagol, Helpful Guide | Illustration by Campbell White

Sméagol, Helpful Guide is one of the only cards that adds new ways for the Ring to tempt you. Causing one of your own death triggers is pretty trivial through combat and one of several sacrifice-a-creature effects you have. While the precious Ring tempting is its own payoff, toss in a Balustrade Spy and you steal your opponent's land is how we likes it. Don't forget you have more cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth with Ring-tempting for more triggers.

#22. Stiltzkin’s Genial Giveaway

Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant | Illustration by Hendry Iwanaga

This Stiltzkin deck leans into the moogles’ quirky merchant vibe to turn Commander into a kind of gift shop. Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant is tiny—just 1 mana for a 1/2 with lifelink—but its real power comes from its ability to give away your permanents. For just and a tap, you can hand something to an opponent and draw a card in return. That trade makes the deck all about finding things you don’t mind parting with—from throwaway tokens to artifacts that replace themselves when they leave.

In practice, this build plays like a mono-white twist on Zedruu the Greathearted: part group hug, part trickster. You might donate junk like Clues or Foods, harmless creatures, or even cursed permanents just to keep your draw engine flowing. Politics play a big role too, since every “gift” can buy temporary alliances or distract aggression. While it’s not a fast or competitive plan, it’s a blast for casual pods—opponents laugh at what you’re giving away, you’re steadily drawing into more gas, and every game feels like a bargaining session at Stiltzkin’s traveling shop.

#23. Vadrok's Speedy Dash

Vadrok, Apex of Thunder | Illustration by Zack Stella

This deck capitalizes on Vadrok, Apex of Thunder‘s mutate ability paired with creatures that return to your hand at the end of the turn. Using cheap dash creatures and Vadrok's cheap mutate cost lets you cast spells from your graveyard for free. And the cards you cast don't get exiled so you can repeat some powerful effects every turn.

#24. Vnwxt’s Jet Fuel

Vnwxt, Verbose Host | Illustration by Chris Seaman

The idea of this deck is to turn a tiny homunculus into a full-blown chaos engine by maximizing its max speed ability that doubles card draw. Once you start to increase speed, every cantrip, wheel effect, or incidental draw turns into twice the value. Pair that with finishers like Psychosis Crawler, and suddenly each draw doesn’t just fuel your hand—it burns down the table. To keep the speedometer ticking upward, the deck leans on pingers, chip damage sources, and oddball effects that slowly nudge opponents to make it easier to reach maximum speed and unlock that doubled draw mode.

#25. Zenos’s Grudge Match

Zenos yae Galvus | Illustration by Susumu Kuroi

Zenos yae Galvus flips a normal Commander game into a personal duel. When it enters, it picks an enemy creature and everything else gets -2/-2 to set up a one-on-one showdown. If that rival dies, Zenos transforms into Shinryu, Transcendent Rival, an 8/8 flier that picks a player, and if that opponent loses, you win the game.

This Zenos deck is all about removal, disruption, and keeping your chosen rival in the spotlight. It’s swingy—you might crash out early or score a flashy win—but either way it creates wild table politics. The second you point across the table and declare your rival, the whole game shifts into a story where everyone’s watching to see if you can become the victor of your duel.

Want All the Fun and Less Work? Try a Precon

If you're looking for something new and fresh, but you don't want to do all the work of ordering or trading for each card and tricking out your deck, don't forget you can just get a precon:

Magic: The Gathering The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Deck - Explorers of The Deep (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Edge of Eternities - Commander Deck - Counter Intelligence

Our pick

Magic: The Gathering Modern Horizons 3 Commander Deck - Tricky Terrain (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories) Green-Blue

Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Sultai Arisen

Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow Commander Deck Bundle - Includes All 4 Decks (Animated Army, Family Matters, Peace Offering, and Squirreled Away)

Best for New Players

Best Budget

Best Value

Best Competitive

Best Bundle

-

$71.98

Price not available

$53.68

$63.22

$154.98

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Magic: The Gathering The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Deck - Explorers of The Deep (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Best for New Players

$71.98

Buy on Amazon

Magic: The Gathering Edge of Eternities - Commander Deck - Counter Intelligence

Best Budget

-

Price not available

Buy on Amazon

Our pick

Magic: The Gathering Modern Horizons 3 Commander Deck - Tricky Terrain (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories) Green-Blue

Best Value

$53.68

Buy on Amazon

Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Sultai Arisen

Best Competitive

$63.22

Buy on Amazon

Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow Commander Deck Bundle - Includes All 4 Decks (Animated Army, Family Matters, Peace Offering, and Squirreled Away)

Best Bundle

$154.98

Buy on Amazon

Some of them are definitely quite fun; the product has evolved a lot over the years, and they've become much more competitive over time as well.

Commence the Creative Commander Night

Shabraz, the Skyshark | Illustration by Paul Scott Canavan

Commander gives players a way to express themselves through deckbuilding that other formats don’t really come close to. It’s one of the reasons why I love the format, and I hope you do too. If you truly want to experience some of the creativity within Commander, you should definitely try out some of these decks. My favorites include Alibou, Ancient Witness, Hallar, the Firefletcher, and Prosper, Tome-Bound. If building on a budget gets your creative juices flowing, then check out some of these budget decks to get started on your next creation!

Do you have a pet deck you want to share? Let me know in the comments or tell us over on Discord. I've gotta gear up for tomorrow's Commander night at my LGS.

Sleeve your babies, and sleeve your cards. I'm out!