5 Underrated Secret Lair Commanders You’ve Never Heard Of

Last updated on May 29, 2026

Casal, Pathbreaker Owlbear | Illustration by Liangliang Zhang

Secret Lairs have been a regular part of Magic for a good six years, and the product has changed a lot—most notably by introducing unique cards only available through the drops. Most of these are Universes Beyond crossovers, and thus have introduced plenty of new commanders to Magic. Some of them have taken off and others…well, today I’m scrounging up some hidden gems.

#5. Negan, the Cold-Blooded

Negan, the Cold-Blooded, also printed as Malik, Grim Manipulator, was one of the first Secret Lair commanders and among the most controversial as The Walking Dead drop pivoted away from Secret Lairs only being reprints.

The card itself is pretty sick. White has plenty of flicker effects to blink Negan so you play a fun little mini game with an opponent that kills their creatures and enables sacrifice synergies like Mayhem Devil and Blood Artist.

Then we reach the Treasure production, which is amazing since it has no once per turn restriction and it counts each opponent separately. That brings edict effects to mind—one Accursed Marauder nets three Treasure, assuming each opponent controls a creature. Mayhem Devil comes to mind again, as do more artifact-themed payoffs like Reckless Fireweaver and Marionette Master.

#4. Abby, Merciless Soldier + Joel, Resolute Survivor

I don’t know enough about The Last of Us to know if this is a lore-accurate pairing, but it’s certainly a powerful start to a Jund ({BRG{) aristocrats deck as the commanders have natural synergy: Abby, Merciless Soldier creates tokens, Joel, Resolute Survivor profits off sacrificing them.

That formula doesn’t include sacrifice outlets, so those should be the first things you reach for. Instant-speed outlets like Viscera Seer and Wight of the Reliquary are a must to skirt Joel’s once per turn restriction, and you can’t forget Skullclamp with a commander that makes 1/1s.

Abby creates tokens, but you should still supplement it with cards like Sedgemoor Witch and Bitterblossom. Likewise, Joel could use backup from Morbid Opportunist and Mayhem Devil and other death triggers. Avoid nontoken payoffs like Midnight Reaper.

#3. Doric, Nature’s Warden / Doric, Owlbear Avenger

Doric, Nature's Warden is a transforming commander that also got a Universes Within print. It’s a bit restrictive as a mono-green legends-matter commander, but I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker as Universes Beyond sets have inflated legendary creatures, making it easier than ever to reach critical mass in most colors.

Doric, Nature's Warden is a transforming commander that also got a Universes Within print. It’s a bit restrictive as a mono-green legends-matter commander, but I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker as Universes Beyond sets have inflated legendary creatures, making it easier than ever to reach critical mass in most colors.

One potential route is a +1/+1 counters build, as it’s a green archetype with plenty of legendary support pieces. Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, Kodama of the West Tree, and Arwen, Weaver of Hope are but a few examples.

And it’s not like green lacks legendary payoffs. Reki, the History of Kamigawa is one of the best card draw spells in legendary decks of any color combination, Kolvori, God of Kinship makes Doric’s trample even more appealing, and Time of Need tutors up the perfect card to turn the game in your favor.

#2. Holga, Relentless Rager

Commander could use more aggro players, so I’m happy to highlight Holga, Relentless Rager, also printed as Jurin, Leading the Charge.

Red has no shortage of cards that give your opponents tokens, typically with an aggressive slant: Ellie, Brick Master, Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor, Life of the Party, Goblin Spymaster…the list continues. These are all essential for enabling Holga’s buff.

Once you get that buff, you can double or even triple down on it with extra combats like World at War and Port Razer. The buff stacks, so not blocking gets more and more perilous for your opponents. If you don’t want to make a token army, you could consider Holga voltron; add evasion and it can beat your opponents down solo.

#1. The Celestial Toymaker

Playing games like Magic is really fun, so why not stack games within games? That’s what The Celestial Toymaker does, and it leads to an extremely fun control deck.

You’ll want every card you can find that make your opponents guess or group cards and permanents to enable the life loss trigger. It’s time to break out that Fact or Fiction, Hostile Negotiations, Gollum, Scheming Guide, and so on. Many niche cards find a home here, like Fight or Flight.

Two life in the end step is a terribly slow clock in Commander, but clones can speed it up. Irma, Part-Time Mutant is one of my favorite ways to copy a commander because its so cheap, Quantum Misalignment gets bonus points for rebound creating two copies, and Spark Double is a classic. These make the clock fast and also give us backups to protect TCT from spot removal.

If you do pick up this commander, a word of advice: You can only ask your opponents if they want to play a game two or three times before they start booing you.