All 39 Elder Creatures in Magic Ranked

Last updated on February 22, 2025

Etali, Primal Storm | Illustration by Raymond Swanland

Each plane of Magic has its own connections to magic and nature, and while some like Theros have gods, what happens when you get something that’s even more ancient than a god? Enter elders. And they don’t all care for our adoration and worship. In some cases, fear does just fine.

It’s time to bone up on some of our favorite Magic villains, some of the most iconic characters across its entire story. We’re looking at cards only, though, and I’m laser-focused on the elder creature type.

Let’s see what some of our favorite planes’ oldest beings can offer you!

What Are Elders in MTG?

Tetzimoc, Primal Death | Illustration by Zack Stella

Elder is a creature type in Magic that serves as a creature class. It’s used to highlight important, powerful, often long-lived beings. The creature type was introduced with the original cycle of elder dragons in Legends from which we get the Commander format’s original name: Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH). Those dragons received a modernized treatment in the M19 core set, and there have been other elder dragon cycles in Dragons of Tarkir, Strixhaven, and Battle for Baldur’s Gate. There have also been elder dinosaurs in Rivals of Ixalan, some elder giants in Theros Beyond Death, and a smattering of elders in other MTG sets.

The word “elder” appears in many creatures’ names, often warriors, clerics, shamans, and advisors. Those aren’t our focus today, though that could make for a neat gimmick for your last deck of the night.

I’m keeping my eye on Commander since the elder dragons gave us the format, and I’m looking more toward today and the future than the past, though I’m ranking both with an eye to using these legendary creatures in the command zone and in the 99. But considering that these are all big creatures with lots of board presence, the margins between individual slots is razor thin.

Unranked: Playtest Cards

These playtest cards come to us from the 2024 Unknown Event and represent a pair of 5-color elder dragons and a Naya () sable judge. Genevieve, Conniving Dragon has a combat trigger that plays into the party mechanic, dice rolls, and Treasure. Eldest Dragon Highlander’s name should be obvious, and its abilities are silly. It would play well with Ramos, Dragon Engine to help ramp it out.

There’s also The Battle of the Dragon Brothers / Fate Reforged, a battle that transforms into a saga. The backside allows you to create a token copy of one of the Legends elder dragons.

#39. The Original Elder Dragons

The elder dragons from Legends deserve their respect for kick-starting one of Magic’s more popular and versatile formats, though the mana they ask on your upkeep and their overall mana values reflect a time gone by. They’ve all been improved, so I’m placing them all here in one slot to save some space for all the other elders.

Nicol Bolas deserves a particular shoutout as a fan favorite and one of the Magic story’s biggest baddies, and its discard theme is a bit more viable than the others.

#38. Dragonlord Atarka

This sequel isn’t better than the original. Dragonlord Atarka just doesn’t do enough when it enters to encourage me to play it in the decks where I could.

#37. Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner

You could do worse than build Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner as a Voltron commander given the keywords it already has. New Magic sets often have dragons that are more immediately impactful for less mana that are creeping into this elder dragon’s role in the 99, like Decadent Dragon.

#36. Tetzimoc, Primal Death

I had a shower thought the other day about how I want Wizards to get silly and give us an archetype built around revealing cards from your hand. Ruthless Ripper already enables some combos with Missy and Ashnod's Altar, but I like the idea of packing a deck with that combo and a Tetzimoc, Primal Death combo.

#35. Chromium, the Mutable

Flash-style decks gained some toys with the cards that supported the Azorius () archetype in Outlaws of Thunder Junction’s Limited environment. If you want to dig deeper, Chromium, the Mutable can benefit from discard payoffs, or you can take advantage of the unblockable part of its ability to give it equipment with saboteur abilities or infect.

#34. Tanazir Quandrix

You don’t even need to pay attention to Tanazir Quandrix’s +1/+1 counters text to make it valuable, although it really helps. Pair its second ability with some Overrun effects and your opponents are going to take a beating.

#33. Velomachus Lorehold

Velomachus Lorehold’s attack trigger churns through your library for instants and sorceries, and I can’t believe it also has vigilance. You can use combat tricks to increase its power, giving you access to higher-mana instants and sorceries for free. Pair that with some extra combats and evasiveness, and you’ll find yourself circling the table in a fiery aerial assault.

#32. Piru, the Volatile

Modern Horizons 2 gave us Piru, the Volatile, and elder dragon that uses the same templating as the original cycle in terms of its upkeep trigger and mana value. This Mardu () dragon improves with a bomb of an effect, since it takes a lot of creatures down with it when it dies. Its lifelink and the fact that it deals the 7 damage itself mean that you’re also gaining that much life in the process.

#31. Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire

Forced anything can make your opponents have less fun and become salty, and forced sacrifice is no different. I say that as the kind of player that loves these playstyles.

Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire lets you remove permanents when it attacks and possibly replaces them with the top card of their owners’ library. It’s chaotic and very match-up dependent, but that’s the deal you make when you’re playing Jund () as a devilish color identity.

#30. Kroxa and Kunoros

You’ve got to squint to see the original cards more with Kroxa and Kunoros compared to many of the other potential commanders from March of the Machine. The keywords come from Kunoros, Hound of Athreos, while Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger lends its enters/attack trigger to allow other creatures in your graveyard to escape, although without using that word. You can play it at the front of a Mardu reanimator deck, or you can lend its keywords to a commander that cares about those.

#29. Shilgengar, Sire of Famine

Should I make Pokémon or Hazbin Hotel references? Shilgengar, Sire of Famine pairs well with angels and aristocrats. You can cash in your Blood tokens later for mass reanimation. Mass blink effects like Semester's End will let you get around the finality counters if you want to.

#28. Demonlord Belzenlok

Demonlord Belzenlok’s enters ability is a big-mana payoff, which is very useful in support of another demon commander. Black also has tools that allow you to take advantage of the damage that you take, and at worst you could make an indestructible creature your Pariah.

#27. Dragonlord Silumgar

A Dimir () dragon that steals a creature for as long as you control it, Dragonlord Silumgar has its own specific homes where it doesn’t disappoint. It doesn’t grant the creature haste, but there’s room for a steal and sac strategy, especially if you can copy it, blink it, or reanimate it.

#26. Ancient Bronze Dragon

Being the least useful of an elder cycle like this is a really backhanded compliment, but Ancient Bronze Dragon is exactly that. It’s got a place with some +1/+1 commanders, but they tend to be more Gruul () than Selesnya (). Some dragon commanders use it, but dragon decks that go green just don’t tend to support the dice roll or counters themes as much. You’re not wrong to use it, but it’s got the type of abilities that makes it more likely to be removal bait than stick around. I’d find it overkill in my Atarka, World Render deck, for example.

#25. Dragonlord Kolaghan

Well… it’s a haste enabler. In a singleton format, Dragonlord Kolaghan is only really going to hate on Shadowborn Apostles and Rat Colony style decks. In non-singleton formats, this Dragonlord can be incredibly punishing, especially across from any decks that use whatever the current reanimation/recursion fodder is (think Accursed Marauder or Cult Conscript types).

#24. Dragonlord Ojutai

Dragonlord Ojutai is a solid piece to have higher in your curve when you’re running a lot of fliers and want to filter the top of your deck. You can run it with other dragons, and it can command its own deck without locking you into a strategy that’s too restrictive. Ojutai would love to receive either one of Kamiz, Obscura Oculus’s perks, too.

#23. Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls

The Endless Punishment version of Duskmourn’s big bad, Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls grows and rewards you in straight card draw the first time your opponents lose life during their turn. The phrasing is important; it’s not during your turn, or during any turn. That screams group slug effects and curses like Cruel Reality.

#22. Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury

While less obviously impactful in Commander, Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury can be incredibly useful in the right home. You can grab it with Havi, the All-Father’s sage project ability to burn a target of your choice, or you can churn through your library for multiple copies with Whiskervale Forerunner’s valiant trigger. And those are just the things that I think about, and I consider myself more casually minded.

#21. Shadrix Silverquill

Shadrix Silverquill lets you be versatile even if you’re playing the selfish game. You can do +1/+1 counters and tokens, but you can also play a more political game. Orzhov () always needs sacrifice fodder, and there are Abzan () +1/+1 counter strategies. I just want to see this paired with Kambal, Profiteering Mayor and Mirkwood Bats somewhere.

#20. Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger

Rakdos (), discard, and life drain. Need I say more?

Okay, okay. Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger is good because you’re in the right colors to have payoffs for continually sacrificing it, and you’ve got ways to bring it back from the graveyard over and over. You’re also in good colors for discard payoffs and life drain payoffs. It’s cheap enough that casting it from the command zone more than a few times isn’t terribly taxing, especially with Pitiless Plunderer around.

#19. Galazeth Prismari

Galazeth Prismari positions itself at the crossroads of spellslinger commanders and treasure commanders, which is why it has a home in the supporting ranks of both decks. You don’t have to sacrifice your Treasure tokens if you’re using them for instants and sorceries, which is an incredible amount of ramp potential.

#18. The Mycotyrant

The Mycotyrant comes to us from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, and this fungus uses that set’s descend mechanic to pump out Fungus tokens. It plays into sacrifice and self-mill themes, and discarding doesn’t hurt your synergies either. It pays you off for filling your graveyard, and there’s plenty of other ways to bring things back. Its power and toughness also benefit from saprolings, which is beautiful flavoring.

#17. Arcades, the Strategist

This evaluation comes from how you’re far more likely to run Arcades, the Strategist as your toughness-matters commander than in the 99 of any deck. It also works for a walls or defender theme, if you’re looking to go hyper-specific. The toughness ability also allows it to be a commander for turtles, treefolk, and other creatures with higher toughness than power.

#16. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager / Nicol Bolas, the Arisen

One of Magic’s most iconic villains gets an elder dragon printing that flips into a planeswalker. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager isn’t terribly oppressive to cast, while flipping it into Nicol Bolas, the Arisen should continue to become easier with more Omen Hawker and other ability-specific cost reducers being printed. The Arisen has four loyalty abilities with incredible value. You probably won’t make it to the ultimate that often, but it’ll set an opponent’s Doomsday Clock to 11:59.

#15. Dragonlord Dromoka

Compared to Dromoka’s previous bolstering card, Dragonlord Dromoka is an oppressive piece of support for many dragon decks. It’s uncounterable and prevents your opponents from casting spells during your turn, which means you can set up your big swing without worrying about an opponent disrupting your plans.

#14. Beledros Witherbloom

Beledros Witherbloom is a formidable lifegain commander in its own right, but it pairs nicely with token and sacrifice strategies. Food tokens are another avenue for lifegain, and Beledros was deservedly reprinted in the Squirreled Away Bloomburrow Commander precon.

#13. Ancient Gold Dragon

One thing about these CLB elder dragons is that if you want one, you generally want all the ones in your colors. Ancient Gold Dragon is one of the best white token generators, pumping out flying Faerie Dragons. Your token doublers and triplers can turn even a mediocre roll into massive Impact Tremors damage.

#12. Valgavoth, Terror Eater

Big threats like Valgavoth, Terror Eater are exactly the kinds of cards you want to cheat out with The Infamous Cruelclaw, Etali, Primal Storm, and similar effects. Valgavoth, Terror Eater is an incredible amount of value, given that you get a permanent, somewhat protected form of graveyard hate. It lets you trade life to play the cards that it exiles, too. Sure, it can be a mono-black demon commander for you, but it’ll do wonders as support.

#11. Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath

Powerful enough to catch bans in Pioneer, Modern, Explorer, and Historic, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath is a better support piece than a commander, though you can certainly use it as a land commander. This elder giant wants you to cast it from your graveyard for its escape cost, and it enters and attacks to give you life, a card, and some ramp.

Almost every new set has a commander that can benefit from it. Flubs, the Fool gives you reasons to discard it, while Glarb, Calamity's Augur can surveil it. Zimone, All-Questioning could use its attack trigger to help find the next prime number. You can also manifest it to get around sacrificing it to its ETB if your deck doesn’t play into the graveyard as much.

#10. Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant

The fact that Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant’s enters trigger isn’t limited in any way is rather busted. You can drop it onto the field using any of your favorite ways to cheat creatures into play (think Mr. Foxglove or any of the Etali cards), and then you can add any of the other creatures you have in hand. An 8-mana 12/12 trampler is just the body you get with the mono-green elder dinosaur.

#9. Ancient Brass Dragon

CLB’s black elder dragon rolls dice to plunder everyone’s graveyards, and that’s extremely powerful no matter if you’re playing just a dragon theme or a reanimator theme. As a Fallout fan, I personally like Mr. House, President and CEO, since rolling d20s tracks the deck in your favor, as it were. Ancient Brass Dragon’s “only” weaknesses are removal, flying hate, and graveyard hate, but the upside is worth forcing your opponents to react.

#8. Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

Zetalpa, Primal Dawn has been reprinted in so many Commander precons that it’s practically a meme now. It’s easy to acquire for your dinosaur decks and any commanders that care about keywords like Kathril, Aspect Warper and Odric, Lunarch Marshal. It’s worth it if you can ramp into it with a deck that deals damage based on toughness, and it’s a worthwhile threat if you can cheat it out or cast it from exile. We stan the versatility.

#7. Zacama, Primal Calamity

Zacama, Primal Calamity is so much value on its own, but it’s much better when you pair it with Zirda, the Dawnwaker’s cost reduction. Dinosaurs also have their own cost reduction, and you’re usually going to benefit from Zacama’s ETB trigger if you play it from the command zone. Even if you don’t, you can get value when you use it in the deck of other dinosaur commanders.

#6. Nezahal, Primal Tide

Nezahal, Primal Tide fits perfectly into decks that want to put things into play for free like Braids, Conjurer Adept and Marvo, Deep Operative. It’s uncounterable, and it removes the hand size restriction for you while providing constant card draw. You can also discard three cards to blink it, whether for protection or to take advantage of “when a creature enters” effects.

#5. Ancient Silver Dragon

You only need Ancient Silver Dragon to hit once for it to affect the game in a major way. By removing your maximum hand size, you aren’t at risk if someone blows up your Decanter of Endless Water and Thought Vessel.

#4. Etali, Primal Conqueror / Etali, Primal Sickness

MOM gave us team-up cards for the creatures that survived the Phyrexian Invasion, and it gave us transforming dual-faced cards for the creatures and characters that succumbed to phyresis. Who am I kidding; you know this card already and are probably groaning. Or cheering.

Etali, Primal Conqueror enters and lets you steal something from everyone’s library without paying their mana costs, then transforming it into Etali, Primal Sickness gives you a creature that can deal 11 damage worth of trampling poison on its own. It’s a major threat, and you can accelerate it with unblockable abilities and extra combats, along with much, much more.

#3. Ancient Copper Dragon

Given that you can build an entire Karumonix, the Rat King deck for less that you might pay for a copy of Ancient Copper Dragon, you could say that this red creature is in high demand. Or you could just proxy it. Its combat damage trigger rolls to give you Treasures, so you can almost expect it to pay its mana back the first time it hits. Unless you’re me. I have decent luck when I’m opening boosters, but I pay for it in my dice rolls.

#2. Ghalta, Primal Hunger

Don’t be intimidated by the mana value: Ghalta, Primal Hunger’s cost reduction makes it a fantastic late-game threat for all kinds of decks. Dinosaurs are obvious, but it doesn’t matter whether you’ve gone wide or tall. It’s a massive ramp play if you saddle it and sacrifice it to The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride, and it pairs nicely with fight spells and bite spells, including pseudo-punches like Monstrous Emergence. You can even run it as a mono-green vehicle commander, if that tickles your fancy.

#1. Etali, Primal Storm

Since its original printing, Etali, Primal Storm has returned in multiple Commander precons. It has an attack trigger that just begs for Wulfgar of Icewind Dale to double it, and gives you cards to cast from exile, which plays into all kind of exile payoffs and exile commanders we’ve had. It’s got a good power stat to fling at a problem, and it has a good mana value to cascade into or to give cascade to. Etali, Primal Storm remains a must-answer threat that’s also accessible due to the number of reprints floating around.

Elder Ending

Ghalta, Primal Hunger | Illustration by Chase Stone

And that’s our rundown on the elder creature type in Magic. It’s a bit like mana-weaving a bunch of cycles of big dinosaurs and dragons, but it’s obvious that some of them stand above the rest. Expect their ranks to grow whenever we encounter ancient or primordial beings, though there’s no telling when we’ll get full cycles and when we’ll get one-offs.

Which elders do you run from the command zone, and which do you play in other formats? What kind of elders do you want to see, and on which planes? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord.

And don’t forget to respect your elders!