The 31 Best Big Mana Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on August 29, 2025

Jodah, Archmage Eternal | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

When talking about Magic player psychographics, Mark Rosewater always talks about Timmy, Johnny, and Spike.

In his words, “Timmy is what we in R&D call the “power gamer.” Timmy likes to win big. He doesn’t want to eke out a last-minute victory. Timmy wants to smash his opponents. He likes his cards to be impressive, and he enjoys playing big creatures and big spells.”

Today, let’s go big or go home. Embrace our inner Timmy: We want to smash! Enough with the rational plays and efficient cards, because we’re entering 7+ mana territory, where we’ll find the best big mana commanders in Magic!

What Are Big Mana Commanders in MTG?

Rowan, Scion of War | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

In MTG, big mana commanders incentivize you to cast expensive spells, either with a passive ability or via creature type synergies (like eldrazi). Maybe the legendary creature sitting in your command zone is expensive and you need ramp to put it into play. Or perhaps you get a bonus whenever you cast a spell with mana value 5 or greater. It’s also possible that your commander is a ramp engine and you’ll be left with so many lands in play that casting expensive spells is the payoff for that much ramp.

#31. Shantotto, Tactician Magician

Shantotto, Tactician Magician is a bit different than most commanders on this list in that it wants big spells to be cast. It gains a nice little power-only prowess reward though the all important ability to draw an extra card and replace the spell in your hand is the most exciting.

#30. Muerra, Trash Tactician

Expend 4 and expend 8 are the payoffs I’m looking for with raccoon commander Muerra, Trash Tactician. Expending 4 gives you life, which isn’t bad, but when expending 8, your Gruul commander exiles two cards from the top of your library that you can play until your next turn. Ideally, these will allow you to expend 8 the next turn and keep the chain going.

This Bloomburrow commander does enough interesting stuff to build a big mana deck around it.

#29. The Face of Boe

The Face of Boe works only in a certain scenario, and that’s when you’re cheating expensive suspend spells into play. The Doctor Who Commander precons have a lot of cards that support this strategy, like Star Whale and Judoon Enforcers, and you have some suspend classics like Ancestral Vision or Greater Gargadon. Since this Jeskai commander‘s activated ability only works once per turn, it’s best to add a supporting cast that also cares about suspend or time counters.

#28. Braids, Conjurer Adept

Each turn, Braids, Conjurer Adept gives players a quasi Show and Tell effect, so go big or go home.

It’s interesting to play Braids as your blue commander if you’re packing many 9+ mana value cards. The problem is when your opponents benefit from your trigger and then kill Braids, so your main plan can very well backfire.

Shadow of the Second Sun is huge here, as you can get your commander’s benefit right after casting the Shadow, as is Portal to Phyrexia to undo whatever benefits your opponents obtained.

#27. Omnath, Locus of Mana

Omnath, Locus of Mana is a classic big mana green commander that stores unspent green mana and grows while doing it. The play pattern is to store a lot of mana producing a really big Omnath, and if you don’t attack, you get to cast a big creature or a powerful X spell.

#26. Brinelin, the Moon Kraken + Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood

These partner commanders offer big support to cast expensive spells. Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood adds green to the mix and an incentive to cast 6+ mana value cards. Brinelin, the Moon Kraken is one payoff, as an expensive spell itself that can further incentivize you to cast 6+ mana value cards. Simic () is already the best color pair for ramping, so you can do interesting stuff already.

#25. The Tenth Doctor

The Tenth Doctor is a lighter, softer Jhoira of the Ghitu Izzet commander.

You have less choice on which spell you suspend, and you can do it only once per attack. You’ll also want more of a balance between cheap cards that allow you to establish a board early and start attacking, but also expensive spells to cheat into play. Hopefully, that makes you less of a target than Jhoira would.

With enough mana, you can speed up the suspend process by time traveling, so you have a good incentive to go into the late game.

#24. Prossh, Skyraider of Kher

Prossh, Skyraider of Kher is a legend from Commander 2013 and one of the Jund commanders that took the sacrifice commander theme to the next level. Unbothered by commander tax, this free sac outlet in the command zone is friendly with kobolds, and happy with any sort of fodder.

#23. Nikya of the Old Ways

Nikya of the Old Ways makes every land you tap produce twice as much mana, but you can’t cast noncreature spells. Either you have a deck filled with big and splashy creatures, or you cast noncreature spells before Nikya hits the ground.

In this deck, creatures that have spell-like effects related to other creatures entering the battlefield really shine, like Garruk's Packleader and Soul of the Harvest, and you can also punish your opponents with cards like Ruric Thar, the Unbowed.

#22. Belbe, Corrupted Observer

Belbe, Corrupted Observer can add as much as 6 colorless mana every turn for you, provided that you have ways to make everyone else lose life (including combat damage). That can be some powerful ramp, especially for artifact spells. It can be a free Eldrazi on turns 3 or 4, and you can do that realistically every turn.

The only problem with this Golgari commander is that its effect is symmetrical and your opponents can also do the same (up to 4 mana each), but they don’t have the deck built to take advantage of this bonus most of the time.

#21. Svella, Ice Shaper

Svella, Ice Shaper is a commander that can produce mana rocks on its own. Not only that, but you have a built-in payoff for ramping. When you activate this troll warrior, you can cast a free spell from among the top four of your library. Svella provides the means to cast expensive spells and the means to spend the extra mana while giving you card advantage.

#20. Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant

Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant announces loud and clear what your intentions are, but can opponent's stop what is in your hands? Don't be afraid to jam hexproof, indestructible, and creatures that provide value just for entering the battlefield. The trickiest part is to navigate the counterspells and board wipes that are likely to follow Ghalta's entrance.

#19. Rosheen Meanderer

Rosheen Meanderer is one of the best incentives for playing X spells, as you can generate 4 mana for them. That makes Rosheen the king of hydras, and conveniently in a commander color identity that has most of them, red and green. You can also use Rosheen’s bonus to cast a large Everflowing Chalice or Astral Cornucopia, or powerful sweepers like Crackle with Power.

#18. Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss

Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss is the lord of mana dorks, so you’ll already want plenty of them in play. You have an explicit bonus for casting spells that cost 7 mana or more, so you can cast an expensive spell, untap the mana dork that contributed to casting that, and give it +7/+7 to attack.

#17. Marvo, Deep Operative

Murders at Karlov Manor‘s Marvo, Deep Operative cares about spells that have high mana value in a very interesting way.

Whenever this Dimir commander attacks, you clash (which is a mechanic that cares about high mana value), and if you win you get to cast an expensive card for free.

Marvo's slow because you can only do that once per turn, but that’s where synergies with Clones and myriad can come into play. Marvo, Deep Operative is a nice incentive to play expensive sea monsters and cards like Runo Stromkirk/Krothuss, Lord of the Deep that benefit from said monsters.

#16. Kodama of the East Tree

Kodama of the East Tree opens up a world of possibilities to get extra value out of each permanent you land. Additional land drops are no problem, and as long as you tap into green's best card draw, your hand will have plenty of options. Speaking of options, the partner ability means you don't need to stick with just green, expensive cards in any other colors go way up in value when they equal another card for free.

#15. Rakdos, Lord of Riots

For a long time, Rakdos, Lord of Riots was the go-to commander to cast expensive, colorless spells. Deal damage to everyone, generate mana equal to the damage dealt, and profit. Rakdos is also a 6/6 flier that can shave 6 mana off a spell’s cost on its own, and with a little support, you’ll be casting Eldrazi titans in no time.

#14. Jhoira of the Ghitu

Jhoira of the Ghitu is another classic big mana commander. Paying 2 mana to “suspend 4” any card from your hand is a big deal, and if you can untap with Jhoira on turn 4, you can suspend two battlecruisers. A problem when playing this Izzet () commander is that it’s going to be nuked and hated, so maybe you’ll want to take a more discrete approach.

#13. Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty

Cascade is an awesome payoff for casting expensive spells, because you’re always getting a two-for-one, and you still get something for your efforts even if the spell is countered. Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty already cascades when you cast it, so you’re not even sad if they kill this Simic commander, and you’ll keep getting the cascade trigger when you cast 6+ mana value cards.

#12. Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

With the help of some beefy creatures, which green has quite a few of, Selvala, Heart of the Wilds can generate a lot of mana. And if you keep casting big creatures, you’ll be rewarded with more cards.

Selvala works very well with cards that care about a creature's power, like Ghalta, Primal Hunger and The Great Henge, or green cards that double the power and toughness of your creatures. It doesn't take long for you to generate 7-8 mana with Selvala alone in no time.

#11. Rowan, Scion of War

Unlike Rakdos, Lord of Riots, Rowan, Scion of War cares about the life you’ve lost this turn, and that can be a bit easier to set up.

There are many ways that you can pay any amount of life to get more benefits. You can get crazier with cards like K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth or Necropotence, which allows you to dump your life total and cast cards for cheap, or you can play it safe with cards like Read the Bones or Bitter Triumph. This Rakdos commander is one of the best X-spell commanders in Magic and offers a huge combo potential in a turn when you pay 15+ life to fuel a huge card-draw spell or a card like Torment of Hailfire and win from there.

#10. Kruphix, God of Horizons

Like Omnath, Locus of Mana, you get to store mana you don’t spend with Kruphix, God of Horizons. That works really well with cards like Wilderness Reclamation to allow you to spend all your mana and untap your lands while storing the excess. Blue also loves to play at instant speed, so you hold your mana to play a counterspell or store it if you don't need to cast the instant. Kruphix's greatness also comes from the fact that it’s an indestructible god, so it’s harder to interact with than other creatures or enchantments.

#9. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger + Kozilek, the Great Distortion

When you have one of these two as your eldrazi commander, you’ll want as much colorless ramp as you can get. Casting Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger or Kozilek, the Great Distortion is already a great payoff, so you’ll want other expensive spells as well like Kozilek's Command and It That Betrays to make use of all the ramp.

#8. Maelstrom Wanderer

One of the best cascade commanders, Maelstrom Wanderer is the payoff for having so much ramp. Casting an 8-mana spell that cascades into two other spells is already a great game plan, and the Wanderer is also a haste enabler.

This Temur commander wants you to maximize on good creatures that cost 5-7 mana so that you can get them with cascade more reliably.

#7. Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign

Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign offers you a way to cheat odd-costed spells into play each time it attacks. Since this Esper commander is a 3/5 flying creature with menace, it should attack very well without any support.

Your deck should be stacked with 3-, 5-, and 7-mana value spells, with an odd 9 and 11 (like Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre) here and there to make the most out of Yennett’s attack trigger. Brainstorm and Sensei's Divining Top are awesome with Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign to manipulate the top of your deck. Even if you miss on the trigger, you’ll draw a card for your efforts.

#6. The Ur-Dragon

Who doesn’t like to play dragons? These are usually on the expensive side, but with The Ur-Dragon as your dragon commander, you’ll have a permanent 1-mana discount, and you can play dragons of any color. This 5-color commander costs 9 mana, and it’s a huge advantage to cast it since whenever you attack with a dragon, you’ll get to draw cards and cheat permanents into play. But even if you don’t cast it, the eminence mechanic is running in the background so you already get a permanent benefit.

#5. Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait

With Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, you can not only play two lands a turn, but you also get similar benefits to Tatyova, Benthic Druid. Tatyova's lifegain is quite relevant, I’m not gonna lie. But with Aesi you want to ramp into it, and after it’s on the battlefield it enables the ramp to continue, making sure that you have all the mana you need in the late-game to cast those big spells.

#4. Ulalek, Fused Atrocity

Ulalek, Fused Atrocity wants mana, either to cast expensive spells or to cast a moderately expensive Eldrazi and then copy that spell. The best Ulalek turns are when you can cast an Eldrazi spell, put an instant speed spell or effect on the stack, and then pay the 2 colorless mana to copy them all. When you’re paying “kicker ” on your spells, you’ll want all the mana you can get.

#3. Atla Palani, Nest Tender

Atla Palani, Nest Tender is one of the most popular commanders out there, and it’s well known for turning innocent little eggs into huge dinosaurs. Atla Palani works as the Naya commander for dinosaur ramp decks interested in playing 6+ mana value cards, with the failsafe of sacrificing eggs and speeding up the process.

#2. Zhulodok, Void Gorger

Adding the double cascade rider works very well on big mana decks, although only colorless ones here with Zhulodok, Void Gorger. As with most Eldrazi decks, you’ll have a hefty amount of colorless ramp and mana rocks to ramp Zhulodok into play early. And once you get it, it’s time to get “three spells a turn”.

The nice part is that if you cast a 9-mana colorless spell, you’ll get two cascade triggers with a value of 9, so potentially two 8-mana spells. Casting an Artisan of Kozilek that cascades into Oblivion Sower and Bane of Bala Ged seems nice, and it’s one of the more average-powered turns you get with this commander. 

#1. Jodah, Archmage Eternal

While Jodah, Archmage Eternal is around, each spell you cast has the alternative cost of , or the Fist of Suns effect. Aside from mana fixing and 5-color ramp like Chromatic Lantern, your deck is mostly big cards. A card like Timeless Lotus can tap to cast a big spell every turn, and it even fixes your mana for Jodah and the other spells. It’s a very strong turn when you untap with your commander and cast a 5-mana Omniscience or One with the Multiverse, from which point you can cast spells for free effectively.

Best Big Mana Commanders Payoffs

The best payoff for having a big mana commander is to cast ridiculously expensive and impactful spells, like those with mana value 9 or greater. Call Forth the Tempest, Genesis Ultimatum, Omniscience, you name it. X spells get a lot better. The worst part of X spells is that they’re inefficient at low values of X, but when you have a lot of mana to spend, go nuts.

For the Eldrazi decks or decks that can generate colorless mana with ease, you’ll be more than happy casting Ulamog, the Defiler, Rise of the Eldrazi, or Emrakul, the World Anew.

If you cast Combustible Gearhulk and your opponent chooses the “reveal cards” mode, it’s like Russian Roulette in a deck like this, since you can deal 20+ direct damage to an opponent with a single trigger. Summon: Bahamut and Palantír of Orthanc also reach dangerous potential with giant mana costs in your library.

The cycle of “Dragon” auras (like Dragon Breath, Dragon Scales, and Dragon Wings, etc.) that return from the graveyard to the battlefield is awesome if you play expensive creatures. To have them enter with haste, trample, or flying at no additional cost is very strong.

Cards that care about mana value like Caustic Bronco, Sorin, Grim Nemesis, or Twilight Prophet are good incentives to have expensive cards around.

One more round of cards with bonuses for putting high mana values in your library: Excalibur, Sword of Eden, Helga, Skittish Seer, and Monstrous Vortex.

Commanding Conclusion

Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait | Illustration by Viktor Titov

Commander players are often on the Timmy side because the format allows for a slower game with more battlecruisers or elder dragons than 60-card MTG formats do. And if you want to spend big on mana-intensive cards and free your Timmy side, these commanders can be your best friends.

What are your favorite big mana commanders? Did any of your favorites make the list? Let me know in the comments section, or let’s discuss it in the Draftsim Discord.

Stay safe, and don't miss a land drop.