The 39 Best Ally Commanders in Magic Ranked

General Tazri | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Allies were a creature type introduced back in the original Zendikar block, revisited in Battle for Zendikar/Oath of the Gatewatch, and then… never heard from again. Until now! Avatar: The Last Airbender revitalized allies with more modern sensibilities, to the point where you can now craft different Commander decks around the creature type without just relying on General Tazri.

There are also a bunch of new legendary allies that are just off doing their own thing, thanks to how Avatar slaps the creature type on every other card. Let’s see where the newbies fall in line with the… oldbies? Ally commanders, we’re talking about ally commanders.

What Are Ally Commanders in MTG?

Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder | Illustrated by Anthony Palumbo

An ally commander is any eligible commander with the ally creature type. Some of these work independently of the type, while others are typal commanders that want you to fill a Commander deck with as many allies as you can. I’ve ranked these cards assuming they’ll actually be the commander of a deck, not based on how they’d perform in the 99.

Honorable Mention: Tazri, Beacon of Unity

Tazri, Beacon of Unity throws ally in the party mix mostly as a callback to its original General Tazri print. You’re not really forcing allies into a party deck, though you could use it as a clunky way to draw into extra allies in their own dedicated space.

#39. Suki, Kyoshi Captain

Uh, hey, Suki, Kyoshi Captain, this list is for allies, not warriors. Fine card, possibly even a decent commander, just for a different creature type.

#38. Gran-Gran

Gran-Gran is secretly a combo commander. Find some Twiddle effects and tap/untap until you’re ready to win with Thassa's Oracle. The lesson text hardly matters, and you’re not going out of your way to pack more allies in with Gran-Gran.

#37. Suki, Courageous Rescuer

Suki, Courageous Rescuer isn’t the most enticing commander, especially since mono-colored allies get a knock for cutting off access to so many options. But it’s an anthem and it generates board presence, so it could be a fine low-power option.

#36. Hakoda, Selfless Commander

Hakoda, Selfless Commander offers card advantage and protection in the command zone, but it’s lacking as an ally commander. Again, these mono-white options are strong enough, but they restrict what’s supposed to be a 5-color typal collective. Outside of allies, it’s just a weaker Boromir, Warden of the Tower.

#35. Kasla, the Broken Halo

Today I learned that Kasla, the Broken Halo is an ally. Or maybe I already knew that, and it never registered. This is a niche build-around commander that cares about convoking. It’s prescriptive, but it gives a fun home to some otherwise questionable convoke spells.

#34. Munda, Ambush Leader

What’s the opposite of having a soft spot for something? Whatever it is, that’s what I’ve always had for Munda, Ambush Leader, since it always felt like such a dinky rare to open in Battle for Zendikar. But we’re talking Commander, aren’t we?

It’s still not exciting, but with so many more ways to spit out ally tokens, this seems like it’s the best its ever been, though still not quite premium commander material.

#33. Jet, Rebel Leader

Jet, Rebel Leader is very similar to Munda, Ambush Leader, but it has a more restricted color identity. It’s more open-ended than allies-or-bust, and it’s sweet to put creatures directly into play, but this is a 4-drop with middling stats and no immediate value on ETB. It also compares unfavorably to Whiskervale Forerunner, and it’s never a good look to lose out to a mouse.

#32. Mai and Zuko

Flash enablers are always useful, but I’d rather have Leyline of Anticipation in the deck and reserve the command zone for something more immediately impactful than Mai and Zuko. Tacking on artifacts is a welcome touch, and it might even be the preferred way to build this rather than flashing in allies.

On my first pass I sort of ignored the firebending ability here, but it's a core part of the card. I just prefer not to be flashing in my cards mid-combat. If I wanted to do that, I'd run Fire Lord Azula as my Grixis commander.

#31. The Mechanist, Aerial Artisan

Effortlessly boring, but also probably good. The Mechanist, Aerial Artisan has a more open-ended Clue-making trigger than Forensic Gadgeteer, but it’s commanderized and can actually deal some damage. The key here is to maximize artifact synergies with the many, many Clues this makes, though I really like its prospects as a vehicle commander.

Also funny that this wouldn’t work with Erdwal Illuminator but Forensic Gadgeteer would.

#30. The Earth King

This excited me more as a support piece in the 99, but look at Bosco! How are you going to deny that bear’s face? If you do feel compelled to seat The Earth King on the throne, come equipped with as many cheap, 4+ power creatures as you can, and plenty of mana sinks for the absurd amount of ramp you’ll get.

#29. Iroh, Tea Master

I’m of the opinion that Zedruu the Greathearted has kind of always sucked, not because group hug isn’t viable, but because its activated ability is so unreasonably clunky. Iroh, Tea Master drops a color, but it gives permanents away for free. Fun design, using the Food token to represent giving someone a cup of tea.

#28. Avatar Aang / Aang, Master of Elements

I don’t expect Avatar Aang to be all that impressive, since bending four times in one turn is probably harder than it sounds. Aang, Master of Elements is rewarding, sure, but how many more bending cards do you expect to see beyond Avatar’s release? Seems like it’d get stale after a while. This is a nod to anyone who just wants to jam a bunch of Avatar characters into one deck. Or Moonmist for the lols.

#27. Yue, the Moon Spirit

Who doesn’t love a good cheatyface card? Tap abilities on an expensive commander really hurt, but you only have to activate Yue, the Moon Spirit once before you pop off with Omniscience. Though that possibility means people are more likely to kill your already slow commander on sight.

#26. Sokka and Suki

Equipment and allies make some sense together, and Battle for Zendikar already has synergistic pieces like Captain's Claws and Stoneforge Masterwork. It’s a fun alternative to 5-color ally spam, and equipment decks are quite powerful these days.

#25. Aang, Airbending Master

Aang, Airbending Master makes it this far up the list simply because of its infinite combo potential with flicker creatures like Restoration Angel and Felidar Guardian. Assemble a few of those and you’ll make effectively infinite 1/1s on your next upkeep.

#24. Iroh, Dragon of the West

Another cool Iroh card, and a great use of mentor. Obviously, you want other sources of counters to make Iroh, Dragon of the West function, but this much firebending is scary to face down on the other side.

#23. Zuko, Firebending Master

Zuko, Firebending Master is one of the harder mono-colored experience counter legends to get going, but “firebending X” is a threatening ability. You could go for a pump spell style deck and try to take people out with commander damage, or filter all your excess red mana into big fireballs for the win.

#22. Akiri, Line-Slinger

I know cEDH players often play 2-color partners just for the colors, but I’m not sure why you’d ever play Akiri, Line-Slinger over Bruse Tarl. Artifacts, I guess. Partners are inherently strong though, even if they don’t spark excitement, and a deck fully built around Akiri and another artifact-centric partner can dish out some real damage.

#21. The Blue Spirit

I’m increasingly skeptical of blue commanders that simply draw cards, since so many of the established ones already do that. The Blue Spirit gets over the hump as a flash enabler for your first creature each turn. It basically makes all your creature spells flashy cantrip creatures, and it triggers up to once per combat step.

#20. Appa, Steadfast Guardian

There have been many attempts at Restoration Angel clones lately, but this is the first I recall that can be your commander. The surprise factor evaporates with Appa, Steadfast Guardian as your commander, but you still have an out to wraths ready to go, and you can use it proactively to reset your permanents and pump out allies.

#19. Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper

It’s been a while, but my experience playing against Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper is that it always performed better than expected. Much of the strategy comes from trying to make a big Inkmoth Nexus, and an Azorius () spellslinger commander is interesting enough. Funny that this has an earthbending-adjacent ability in the colors most associated with airbending/waterbending.

#18. Katara, the Fearless

This is a pretty standard design these days, and Katara, the Fearless offers nothing to make it really pop. That said, ability doubling is strong, regardless of what strategy you're aiming for, and many old ally cards have ETBs worth doubling with Katara in play.

#17. Aang, Swift Savior / Aang and La, Ocean’s Fury

Spell Queller in the command zone, essentially. Except, Aang, Swift Savior is a much more versatile card. Aang and La, Ocean's Fury is a meaningful upgrade too, and waterbending makes the much more manageable. Solid tempo commander with some late-game beatdown potential.

#16. Toph, Earthbending Master

I really like the idea of building up experience counters with landfall. I’m admittedly more interested in running Toph, Earthbending Master in the 99 of other experience commanders, but it can also hurl giant land creatures at an opponent each turn in a mono-green deck.

#15. Bumi, Unleashed

Bumi, Unleashed offers extra combats (kind of) and mana doubling (sort of), which is all very on-theme for Gruul (). It combos with Ashaya, Soul of the Wild to chain together infinite combats, and it’s also just a giant pile of stats for 5 mana to begin with.

#14. Sokka, Swordmaster

Never underestimate free equips. At the very least, Sokka, Swordmaster discounts all equipment by , and it’s up to you whether you want to play into the ally dynamic or not. It reminds me of Balan, Wandering Knight, but with a typal element should you choose to go that route.

#13. Katara, Waterbending Master

I’m not turning my head at a 2-drop that can draw two, three, or even five cards on attacks. Sure, Katara, Waterbending Master is a mere 1/3, but blue decks already hold up interaction on opponents’ turns anyway, so accumulating experience is the easy part. Getting a good attack in… that’s a little trickier.

#12. Toph, Hardheaded Teacher

I’m going to reserve judgment about the art allegations on this one; just not the time nor place to talk about it.

Toph, Hardheaded Teacher is a peculiar Gruul card. Rebuying instants/sorceries is in red’s wheelhouse, but it’s just strange to see in Gruul. Red-green spellslinger is very unique, and Toph does a good job mimicking the typical Young Pyromancer formula. Pack in some lessons if you really want to maximize it.

#11. Aang, at the Crossroads / Aang, Destined Savior

Another Aang where I really don’t care much about the back side. Not to say Aang, Destined Savior isn’t strong, but it’s just not a card I’d consider in isolation. But Aang, at the Crossroads is well worth the cost, as a sort of cascader that then turns into more of a threat. It’s a powerful package, assuming you don’t brick on the ETB.

#10. Momo, Friendly Flier

Am I crazy for putting Momo, Friendly Flier so high on the list? Maybe, but turn-1 cost reduction is sort of nutty, especially since Momo promotes an aggressive strategy that dumps evasive creatures into play. It’s one of the few non-angels I’d expect to see in Giada, Font of Hope decks, too.

#9. Toph, Greatest Earthbender

I’ve always liked commanders that scale up with the amount of mana you spend to cast them. Feels like early Commander design. Toph, Greatest Earthbender looks like a beating. Baseline, this is a 3/3 that makes a 4/4 doubler striker that might be able to attack right away. And if Toph dies or re-enters, you get another, larger double striker to beat down with. It’s a scary threat to see post board wipe.

#8. Aang and Katara

This is an “ally commander” in every sense of the term. Aang and Katara also throws artifacts into the mix (nice nod to waterbending), and floods the board with allies. Six mana is a lot of mana, but it provides ample board presence. Pair this card with Chasm Guide for double the impact.

#7. Sokka, Tenacious Tactician

Another spellslinger commander, Sokka, Tenacious Tactician feels similar to many other Jeskai legends () we’ve seen. You don’t have to pair it with other allies since it makes its own, but you can go full-typal here and have Sokka be your main wincon in a hybrid allies/spells deck. It plays particularly well with noncreatures that create allies, like United Front and Unified Front. Hell, throw United Battlefront in there for Front-Tron.

#6. General Tazri

General Tazri is still the go-to commander for 5-color allies. A tutor in the command zone is invaluable, especially given how much allies play out like a toolbox-style deck. It even provides a mass pump ability to close out games, even if it’s costly to activate. Tazri has never been a top-tier commander outside specific Food Chain combos, but it’s certainly a reason to run a bunch of allies in one deck.

#5. Iroh, Grand Lotus

Spellslinger is the way to go with Iroh, Grand Lotus, though a lessons-matter deck could be a novel direction for Temur (). Hard sell on a 6-mana commander, but you can “build-your-own-ETB” if you have some spare mana and a few cheap spells in the ‘yard.

#4. Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder

Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder has proven itself at the highest power levels, and that trickles down into lower brackets, too. It adds colors to your deck while it provides a beefy threat in combat, and hey, it’s an ally, too!

#3. Zada, Hedron Grinder

Zada, Hedron Grinder is kind of its own little archetype. It has expanded with other “heroic-like” abilities that trigger when you target your own stuff, but Zada has always been an explosive option. Pair it with red token-makers and cheap cantrips that target, and you’ll draw enough cards to make a blue deck blush. Clean up with Fists of Flame, Monstrous Rage, or any number of red pump spells.

#2. Toph, the First Metalbender

Toph, the First Metalbender caught on quick after being spoiled. It just bridges so many different strategies, from artifacts to lands-matter to landfall to potential infinite combos. It’s not often you see this sort of range on a Naya commander ().

#1. Fire Lord Zuko

Fire Lord Zuko goes infinite in two ways: Either pump it up and pair it with an extra combat card like Hellkite Charger, or set up a flicker loop and make your board arbitrarily large. You can play it fairly, too, but the looming threat of a big firebending number will always have people on edge.

Commanding Conclusion

Munda, Ambush Leader | Illustration by Johannes Voss

Avatar: The Last Airbender finally puts allies on the map in a meaningful way, though it doesn’t actually offer too many new commanders in the allies-matter space. Most of the legends presented here are just individually strong, or interesting in their own builds, but don’t give you a strong incentive to run a bunch of allies.

No matter, you’ll still get use out of many new Avatar commanders, and dedicated ally players have a reason to dust off all their old Zendikar cards. There’s probably just enough to make them viable in casual Commander now.

Which new ally commanders catch your interest? Are you planning to put together (or update) an ally-typal list? Let us know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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