The 47 Best Equipment Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on April 2, 2026

Akiri, Fearless Voyager | Illustration by Ekaterina Burmak

Magic is a game of imagination, adventure, and high fantasy. It’s also a game where you can equip Charging Badger with Colossus Hammer and Greataxe to flatten your opponents.

I kind of take it for granted how ubiquitous equipment is in modern Magic, especially considering the first equipment wasn’t introduced until 2003’s Mirrodin. Equipment is evergreen now and we expect to see it every set.

With any evergreen mechanic you’re bound to see legendary creatures designed specifically to carry that mechanic into Commander’s ever-growing expanse of deckbuilding choices. This list highlights the best commanders ever to pick up a sword and shield, and the ones that reward you for stocking your armory full of equipment. Let's get into it!

What Are Equipment Commanders in MTG?

Bruenor Battlehammer | Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

For this list, “equipment commander” refers to a commander that specifically mentions equipment in its card text. This will mostly include creatures, but there are planeswalker commanders that care about equipment. I am more specific than just artifact-centric commanders or ones that care about increasing their power. If you don’t see the word “equipment” in its textbox then you won’t see it on this list.

I want to zone in on the cards that were specifically designed to interact with equipment. There’s no shame in running Zirda, the Dawnwaker at the helm, no pun intended, but the creatures on today’s list are more thematically focused.

Enough talk, let’s get into the list.

#47. Zamriel, Seraph of Steel

I didn’t even know Zamriel, Seraph of Steel existed until I did my research. It’s another fine support piece, but card advantage and cost reduction abilities are necessary for an ideal equipment commander. Zamriel does neither.

#46. Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

Valduk, Keeper of the Flame does a great red impression of Kemba, Kha Regent. You can’t make a permanent army of elemental tokens but you can deal a bunch of damage if Valduk is holding enough equipment.

#45. Kemba, Kha Regent

Kemba, Kha Regent does a better job than Raksha Golden Cub if you’re looking to combine cats and equipment. It’s still a painfully slow way to benefit from your equipment, and it falls for the “eggs-in-one-basket” mistake that equipment decks often do.

#44. Dalakos, Crafter of Wonders

Dalakos, Crafter of Wonders can hook you up if you’re looking to staple a pair of Fleetfeather Sandals‘ onto all your equipment. Even though Dalakos generates mana for your equipment, I’d rather run a card like Cloak of the Bat in my main deck and choose a more impactful commander.

#43. Shagrat, Loot Bearer

Free equips are nice, but you're hoping for a little more with Shagrat, Loot Bearer. It sits around looking dopey until it gets the first attack in, and the amassed army is a nice bonus, but nothing to get worked up over either.

#42. Eivor, Battle-Ready

Eivor, Battle-Ready is interesting as an equipment commander that still functions even if you never actually equip anything. It's at its best with living weapon and for Mirrodin! equipment, since those give you extra creatures to pile on the aggression while still adding equipment to the board for Eivor's attack trigger.

#41. Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale sits at the crossroads of equipment decks and knight typal. There’s nothing saying you have to do both, but Syr Gwyn exists for players who want to combine these two strategies.

#40. Rhux, Hexgold Nabber

Rhux, Hexgold Nabber‘s cute, but having success with this creature implies you're already doing pretty well. Sure, you get to transfer equipment to Rhux free of charge, but it had to be equipped to something already, so you're probably not getting a huge mana advantage. Haste and trample means you could be representing a huge swing at any point, though, even if opponents will anticipate this with Rhux as your commander.

#39. Astor, Bearer of Blades

Whether you’re building a deck focused on equipment, vehicles, or both, Astor, Bearer of Blades is a great pick for the job. Astor provides card advantage and cost reduction, and those are the two things equipment decks are most interested in.

#38. Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith

Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith creates Rock tokens with its landfall ability. Where you throw those Rocks is up to you, just make sure you bring a decent partner along.

#37. Cass, Hand of Vengeance

I feel like Cass, Hand of Vengeance works better with auras than equipment. Sure, it circumvents having to re-equip your swords when they fall off, but it's actively removing a core risk of playing auras in the first place, so I'd lean in that direction. Nothing wrong with running a hybrid build though, as these Boros commanders often push you to do.

#36. Danitha, New Benalia's Light

Selesnya colors on Danitha, New Benalia's Light would suggest auras more than equipment, especially since auras tend to go to the graveyard more often. Still, this is a fine base body for all your attachments, whichever direction you end up going.

#35. Godo, Bandit Warlord

There are a few different directions you can take Godo, Bandit Warlord, MTG's best extra-combat commander. You can go all in on samurai, push for a heavy equipment theme, or build a straightforward combo deck featuring Helm of the Host.

#34. Kosei, Penitent Warlord

Kosei, Penitent Warlord seems like a natural fit for a green equipment deck. You have to split your attention across equipment, auras, and counters all at once, but you can prioritize equipment that grants counters, like Bone Sabres and Ring of Kalonia.

#33. Kodama of the West Tree

Legendary creatures with “modified” text have built-in synergy with equipment. While Kodama of the West Tree fits more naturally with +1/+1 counter decks, I’m intrigued to see someone’s take on a Kodama equipment deck.

#32. Koll, the Forgemaster

Koll, the Forgemaster can be a bit confusing since one ability affects tokens and one doesn’t. The best uses are pumping Phyrexian Germ tokens on living weapon equipment like Batterskull, or looping a creature by feeding it to Mortarpod or Mask of Immolation.

#31. Stangg, Echo Warrior

Much like Kosei, Penitent Warlord, Stangg, Echo Warrior decks want a healthy mix of auras and equipment. Stock up on those and Stangg leaves your opponents seeing double.

#30. Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith

Hammer of Nazahn is so good that Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith gets a bump in power purely by association. The Bladesmith can certainly hold its own, but the real reason to make Nazahn your commander is to guarantee access to one of the best equipment spells in Commander.

#29. Cloud, Planet's Champion

Sometimes you need a rock solid magnet for your equipment and Cloud, Planet's Champion has that gravitational force. The cost reduction is strong and the keywords Cloud gains are two of the strongest in the game.

#28. Ratonhnhaké꞉ton

And Esper equipment commander, eh? There are two ways to go about playing Ratonhnhaké꞉ton. The first is to try and ditch a powerful equipment to the graveyard as soon as possible and bring it back with Ratonhnhaké꞉ton's damage trigger. The second is to sit behind the safety net of temporary hexproof, pile as many modifications onto Ratonhnhaké꞉ton as possible, then try to one-shot at least one player while it's still unblockable.

#27. Jor Kadeen, First Goldwarden

Simple, but maybe a bit unexciting. Jor Kadeen, First Goldwarden attacks well enough for a 2-drop, especially when backed up by equipment that come in attached to their own creatures, like Citizen's Crowbar or Barbed Spike. It maxes out at one extra card per turn, so there's no real “getting away with anything” going on here.

#26. Sram, Senior Edificer

Sram, Senior Edificer was once a key piece of the puzzle for making equipment decks tick. I find that to be less true with cards like Glimmer Lens covering white card draw well enough these days. You're still slotting Sram into the 99 of most equipment decks, but gone are the days where you get a huge advantage out of having this be your commander.

#25. Codsworth, Handy Helper

Codworth, Handy Helper is better used in the 99 than in the command zone, though ramp like this is unprecedented enough for equipment decks that I'd at least consider it. That said, this robot‘s called the Handy Helper for a reason, and much like Sram, Senior Edificer, it's one of the best support pieces you could ask for in equipment decks.

#24. Sokka and Suki

As nonbenders, Sokka and Suki call upon equipment in their battles and make it effortless to use. Allies love this pair so it's no wonder that if you play equipment and play allies, good things will happen.

#23. Nahiri, the Lithomancer

Nahiri, the Lithomancer provides free equips with its +2 ability, which makes it a stellar equipment commander. The -2 also circumvents expensive mana requirements by cheating an artifact into play for free and offers a bit of recursion if one of your equipment gets destroyed.

Nahiri’s -10 is a fun achievement to pull off, but it’s not a necessary part of the card.

#22. Kassandra, Eagle Bearer

A focus on legendary equipment makes Kassandra, Eagle Bearer stand out from the rest of the Boros equipment crowd. At the very worst you always get The Spear of Leonidas for free, wherever it may be, and then you get the promise of extra card draw as your equipped creatures deal combat damage. Plenty of Magic's best equipments are legendary, including Shadowspear, Embercleave, and Blackblade Reforged.

#21. Chishiro, the Shattered Blade

Chishiro, the Shattered Blade puts a Gruul () twist on equipment decks. It creates an army of tokens to wield your equipment and then pumps your modified creatures on your end step.

#20. Bruenor Battlehammer

Don’t be misled by Bruenor Battlehammer’s uncommon rarity. Having free equip costs is one of the best abilities for these decks. It’s what makes cards like Sigarda's Aid and Puresteel Paladin staples for equipment decks.

Bruenor even stacks some extra power on your creatures.

#19. Barret, Avalanche Leader

Barret, Avalanche Leader brings in some solid rebel tokens and saves you mana that you would spend equipping stuff. This Final Fantasy 7 card is missing the flavor text “For Mirrodin!“

#18. Reyav, Master Smith

Reyav, Master Smith isn’t that different from Halvar, God of Battle, and it exists in that middle ground of unexciting and forgettable Boros commanders. I might sound like a broken record at this point but Reyav is better suited for the 99, not the lead commander, though this is a nice one for fast-paced games.

#17. Danitha, Benalia’s Hope

The second coming of Danitha is exactly what you’re looking for in an equipment support card. Danitha, Benalia's Hope combines the best keywords on Danitha Capashen, Paragon with the equipment free-rolling of Nahiri, the Lithomancer.

#16. Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms

Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms costs a lot but makes up for it by freely putting equipment onto your battlefield. Plant a samurai in there and you become a massive threat with any amount of attacks you can pull off.

#15. Halvar, God of Battle / Sword of the Realms

Halvar, God of Battle turns all your equipment into functional Fireshriekers. That plus the ability to move equipment around freely makes it a formidable commander. Sword of the Realms is no slouch of a card either.

#14. Tetsuo, Imperial Champion

Grixis () isn’t the color shard that comes to mind when I think of equipment decks. Tetsuo, Imperial Champion offers an interesting take on these types of decks, rewarding you for expensive equipment rather than the cheap efficient ones that most commanders prefer.

#13. Dogmeat, Ever Loyal

If anything was going to get me to play a Fallout game, it's this little pup here. Dogmeat, Ever Loyal is all about card advantage; it probably draws you a card or two on ETB, then sits around creating Junk tokens as you attack with your modified creatures.

#12. Cid, Freeflier Pilot

Cid, Freeflier Pilot has cost reduction in just the right place in the mana curve. This pilot does as much or more than an Arcane Signet, and also gives you a very inexpensive way to retrieve equipment that got destroyed.

#11. Galea, Kindler of Hope

Once again, cost reduction and card advantage are the secrets to making powerful equipment decks. Galea, Kindler of Hope covers both areas. Playing equipment off the top of your library is a form of card advantage, and auto-attaching that equipment counts as cost reduction.

#10. Catti-brie of Mithral Hall

Catti-brie of Mithral Hall is best friends with deathtouch-granting equipment like Basilisk Collar and Gorgon's Head. Catti-brie gets +1/+1 counters when they attack and makes it near impossible for opponents to interact in combat.

#9. Captain America, First Avenger

When I first made this list back in 2022 I probably would've chucked at the idea of adding Captain America, First Avenger. I mean, we already had The Walking Dead cards, but Marvel? No, never!

Except here we are, and the First Avenger is not only real, but pretty darn good. It cheats equip costs and then hurls equipment at other targets for massive damage. The catch-and-throw dynamic gives the card some personality, and seems pretty strong for Jeskai‘s first true equipment commander.

#8. Wyleth, Soul of Steel

Wyleth, Soul of Steel draws plenty of cards whenever it gets a good attack in. Inherently having trample makes Wyleth a Voltron commander that your opponents should definitely be scared of.

#7. Balan, Wandering Knight

Equipment decks are usually designed with the intention to kill players in just one or two attacks. Balan, Wandering Knight threatens lethal commander damage with just 2 mana and a few pieces of equipment on board.

#6. Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER

Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER has haste, draws cards and grants you treasure as one of the best reasons to invest equipment and resources onto your commander.

#5. Kellan, the Fae-Blooded

Kellan, the Fae-Blooded is already Open the Armory before you even account for the creature half of this adventure. Am equipment commander that sets itself up with the first equipment is already a nice starting point. Double strike‘s even more enticing. Beyond that, Kellan rewards you for going wide while also going tall with your commander, making it a unique dynamic for this category of cards.

#4. Nahiri, Forged in Fury

Nahiri's was compleated, desparked, and retained her usual character trait of being royally pissed off about it. Nahiri, Forged in Fury just offers a ton of potential card advantage, and affinity for artifacts is a nice way to circumvent commander tax and the hefty starting mana value of 6.

#3. Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist

You’re probably noticing that a lot of these equipment commanders double up as aura/enchantment cards. Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist is no exception. It has the ability to auto-attach all of your equipment and auras at once.

The partner keyword also gives them a buddy, and Ardenn is often paired with Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh for some quick kills.

#2. Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary is a high contender for top rank even if it's missing other colors and ramp. The immediate tutor for equipment and the potential to double triggers on Sword of the Animist or Sword of Feast and Famine are simply brutal.

#1. Akiri, Fearless Voyager

Akiri, Fearless Voyager lacks the cost reduction aspect of other powerful equipment commnaders, but makes up for it with an effective protection ability. You even draw multiple cards per turn if you attack different players, and holding up mana allows you to detach equipment to save your creatures.

Best Equipment Commander Payoffs

Puresteel Paladin is pure card draw and ramp into an excellent 2-drop from 2011's New Phyrexia that holds up to this day. Sigarda's Aid, and Hammer of Nazahn both offer multiple benefits, and are favorites for good reason.

Combat trickery is important to equipment commanders, so as long as you have a creature and an equipment in play you have options with cards like Inventory Management, Brass Squire, and Leonin Shikari.

Commanding Conclusion

Tidy Conclusion | Illustration by Bastien L. Deharme

We often think of Boros () as the primary equipment colors, but Magic is still exploring ways to push equipment decks in different directions as you can see from the ranking. Swords, shields, and other weaponry are such integral parts of high fantasy that we can safely expect new equipment with each release.

How you use that equipment and which commander you decide to suit up is entirely your choice, but there’s a wide enough swathe of commanders to choose from to make your deck stand out from the rest.

Who’s your favorite equipment commander? What are your favorite pieces of equipment to suit them up with? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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