Rankings for the 32 Best Foundations Commanders

Last updated on September 10, 2025

Krenko, Mob Boss | Illustrated by Lie Setiawan

Foundations looks like one of Magic's more powerful Core Sets I can remember, and Foundations Jumpstart has a much wider selection of powerful commanders than is typical for recent Jumpstart MTG sets. Is there a new banger like Allosaurus Shepherd?

Almost.

The majority of the most powerful cards are reprints, but there are some niche typal commanders in here that I’m sure many players have been waiting for.

There’s a lot to like here. Take a look!

How Many Commanders Are There in Foundations?

Rodolf Duskbringer | Illustration by Billy Christian

There are 41 legendary creatures in the Foundations main set and 56 in Foundations Jumpstart. If this is WotC putting the brakes on legendary creatures, I think they might be confusing the brake pedal with the gas. We'll be looking at the best across both sets.

#32. Taborax, Hope’s Demise

Kind of the go-to commander for mono-black Shadowborn Apostle decks, but Taborax, Hope's Demise is likely just a worse version of that deck than Athreos, God of Passage.

#31. Urdnan, Dromoka Warrior

I don’t have a ton of faith in a mono-white +1/+1 counter commander in a world of green powerhouses like Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, but I kind of dig how fast it is to get Urdnan, Dromoka Warrior down with a counter on it to get started. Especially compared to the best deck in this space, Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion plus Noble Heritage, which is much more powerful but much slower. I have my doubts, but the more that Wizards continues to print cheap cards like Metastatic Evangel, the better this white commander gets.

#30. Sai, Master Thopterist

I’ll admit I no longer know how powerful Sai is as a blue commander, as I just shove it into the 99 of all of my artifact decks. Sai, Master Thopterist is really good, though. I think. That’s a pre-pandemic memory, though, so take it or leave it!

#29. Balmor, Battlemage Captain

Balmor, Battlemage Captain is a solid, mid-tier Izzet commander () that works well as a  go-wide token commander. And you likely already have eight copies of it.

#28. Pol Jamaar, Illusionist

A blinkable Distant Melody in the command zone that also counts tokens doesn’t seem terrible. Wait until the time is ripe and jam with Pol Jamaar, Illusionist. Sure! I don’t quite see the creature type you’d want in mono-blue just yet, but I think there’s a build of this.

#27. Slinza, the Spiked Stampede

Beast typal decks have been forced to use Simic commanders () with Tawnos, the Toymaker or Radagast, Wizard of Wilds or commanders that don’t really synergize to get the red pip. Slinza, the Spiked Stampede is an immediate best beast commander with that cost reduction. How good are beasts in EDH? I don’t know exactly, but with this Gruul commander () and Quartzwood Crasher, Herald of Ilharg, Rhythm of the Wild, Spellbreaker Behemoth, and Gruul Ragebeast, I think it’s going to show up at a lot of casual EDH tables and do well.

#26. Plagon, Lord of the Beach

Plagon, Lord of the Beach is going to be a strong option in the toughness matters space. In Bant (), Arcades, the Strategist is the ruler of these kingdoms, but this is now in competition for the best big-butts-matter commander that doesn’t care about defender, which opens up a lot of space. Plagon’s only Azorius (), which limits its access to ramp options.

#25. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

A classic groan-worthy black commander who is half the Exquisite Blood combo in the command zone, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose is a fine deck, and better now with more support like Enduring Tenacity.

#24. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar

Adeline, Resplendent Cathar is a good enough aggro commander in mono-white who can go tall and win quickly if you protect it.

#23. Rodolf Duskbringer

Apparently, people have been playing Rodolf Duskbringer as a vampire plus angels typal lifegain deck since this Orzhov commander () was printed in Jumpstart 2022! Cool, cool, cool. Where’s the Allosaurus Shepherd reprint, WOTC??

#22. Loot, Exuberant Explorer

A nearly better Azusa, Lost but Seeking is a fascinating space. I don’t think this green commander is enough to make green ramp compete with Simic ramp and the Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait decks, but with more and more Tooth and Nail-style cards like this in green in the past few years, perhaps that’s going to end up a decent deck. If so, this seems a solid choice.

#21. Aphelia, Viper Whisperer

Golgari () snakes plus gorgons might just be the two great tastes that taste great together to make these creature types viable as EDH decks. Losing the blue is a bit of a hit, but being able to fill out the low curve with snakes and the high curve with gorgons is pretty reasonable. When the time is right, you drop Aphelia, Viper Whisperer and start throwing damage in all directions. There are some super power cards in this space, and maybe this Golgari commander will be competitive?

#20. Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate

I like that Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate triggers off raid so you can attack with the nonsense you want to recur like Accursed Marauder, Plaguecrafter, Fleshbag Marauder, and Orcish Bowmasters. Then there’s Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, Fear of Missing Out, Dauthi Voidwalker, and other cheap powerhouses. In other words, I don’t think you have to try to buff this Rakdos commander () to make a cool deck here. But there's always the buffing build, which is harder to figure out but potentially very powerful.

#19. Kykar, Zephyr Awakener

At base level this is a new version of Talrand, Sky Summoner. The fliers are 1/1s, not 2/2s, but they’re spirits, which is quite good, and you can play white. And there’s the blink situation, which can save other creatures and reset your ETBs. Fliers, tokens, blink. There’s a lot going on here, and getting the build right will be tricky, but Kykar, Zephyr Awakener is an immediate force to be reckoned with.

#18. Averna, the Chaos Bloom

Averna, the Chaos Bloom is a solid reprint of one of the best cascade commanders. How good is cascade? That’s a rookie question. How fun is cascade? All the fun.

#17. Zimone, Paradox Sculptor

Ezuri, Claw of Progress and Vorel of the Hull Clade are top of the Simic +1/+1 counters space, and Zimone, Paradox Sculptor has clearly been studying, because this card design has learned plenty from both. I kind of like this Simic commander better than either of them, as it seems more flexible with its mix of abilities.

#16. Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

I love this option as a cheap mono-black zombie commander! The existing suite of popular commanders in black is filled with expensive cards like Ghoulcaller Gisa. Self-mill and some haste enablers like Sting, the Glinting Dagger, and you have some kind of engine here. And it’s possible that it might be better for getting back high-cost targets like Rot Hulk than if you’re running Liliana, Heretical Healer. None of this is likely better than Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver, but this zombie warlock might be a nice way to power down that deck while still giving you fun things to do, if that’s on your radar.

#15. Brigone, Soldier of Meletis

I’m here for mono-white heroic! It’s trivial in that color to give Brigone, Soldier of Meletis extra acceleration. If you play the Sergeant John Benton deck, you know how far you can get with some well-timed protection spells, and this looks good. This is, perhaps surprisingly, a new archetype for mono-white in EDH, where Voltron strategies have largely been aura and equipment based, all the way back to Sram, Senior Edificer. You can still do that here, but you can also play the best white cards in your Feather, the Redeemed deck.

#14. Ovika, Enigma Goliath

A surprisingly good enchantment commander, Ovika, Enigma Goliath got a huge shot in the arm from rooms, which can be cast for cheap but have an alternative high mana value option.

#13. Tinybones, Bauble Burglar

Less salty than Tergrid, God of Fright, but more salty than Tinybones, Trinket Thief, Tinybones, Bauble Burglar is, first of all, shockingly yoked for a little guy with no flash on his Outlaws of Thunder Junction card! I need to know the backstory here, assuming this card is set in his past!

On to power level. I think this is better than Trinket Thief because it actually gives you more card advantage. You eat your opponents’ graveyards and get the cards right away, but you’re of course subject to the power level of those cards, like Tergrid lite. And the cuteness gives you a bit more time before they all decide to stop playing with you.

#12. Ramos, Dragon Engine

A solid, if fading 5-color commander, Ramos, Dragon Engine is getting a bit of new attention as a mutate commander.

#11. Neerdiv, Devious Diver

This might be a hot take, but I think that Neerdiv, Devious Diver could be a strong combo or control commander. Self-mill and untappers like Fatestitcher, disturb and flashback and jump-start cards, capped with things like Secrets of the Dead. And you can add a merfolk package and/or slow roll your way to Thassa's Oracle. I don’t have a clear decklist in my head yet, but that’s usually a sign of a powerful blue card with a lot of build options.

#10. Zada, Hedron Grinder

The best budget commander is back! Make some goblins. Use some pump spells. An aggro commander that can take down expensive decks is always a good check in EDH. Zada, Hedron Grinder is here to dance across the corpse of battlecruiser Commander.

#9. Braids, Arisen Nightmare

A brutal black commander to play against, especially when you're pumping out tokens with cards like Ophiomancer and doing the Blood Artist sacrifice stuff. Braids, Arisen Nightmare is a nightmare of a reprint.

#8. Giada, Font of Hope

Giada, Font of Hope is so good that it has basically put other angels commanders out to pasture. Giada is a powerful and efficient card to reprint.

#7. Fynn, the Fangbearer

A shockingly effective green commander focused on poison, Fynn, the Fangbearer is a cheap build and a solid reprint.

#6. Niv-Mizzet, Visionary

In glorious fashion, we have a new Niv card which combos best with… previous Niv-Mizzet cards!

Probably one of the best Foundations cards across formats, Niv-Mizzet, Visionary loves to hang with one of Magic's best spellslinger commanders, Niv-Mizzet, Parun, and other Izzet iterations for some very powerful Izzet combos. I don’t know if this Izzet card supplants other Nivs, but it does make a new version of the Niv gatling gun style deck that seeks to loop cards and direct damage. This is easier to cast and draws cards faster if you build a Niv burn deck with cards like Boltwave, which would theoretically draw you nine cards! So you can find your Parun? Or other damage multipliers?

The trouble is that no one will let this Izzet commander live, and this doesn’t synergize with counterspells and protection the way other Nivs do. It’s a tough build. Perhaps just a deck of Dragon's Approach to grab Hellkite Courser?

However it stacks up, this is a powerful commander and probably the best new card in the Foundations sets. It's also among the most expensive FDN cards at the time of writing!

#5. Marwyn, the Nurturer

The top five are all reprints. Hey, that’s what happens when we get high quality reprints! Arguably the best mono-green elfball commander, Marwyn, the Nurturer is a nice card to see again.

#4. Muldrotha, the Gravetide

Ultimate Sultai graveyard shenanigans are back on the menu, and it’ll be wild to see this Sultai commander () as a regular card in Standard. Muldrotha, the Gravetide is the apex predator in this space.

#3. Lathril, Blade of the Elves

Lathril, Blade of the Elves is the most popular elf commander for a reason. Lathril EDH decks can play elfball in two colors and also just taps to win the game sometimes.

#2. Krenko, Mob Boss

One of the most popular and powerful commanders, you can build a budget Krenko, Mob Boss deck on the cheap, and it’s a good, easier red commander for a new player. Krenko, Mob Boss is a slam dunk reprint.

#1. Tatyova, Benthic Druid

Always eclipsed by the new hotness in cEDH, Tatyova, Benthic Druid remains a powerful Simic commander, and if you can drop it on turn 1 (cEDH, am I right?), it’s a very good day. At this point, everyone has their copy of this excellent uncommon commander, which makes it easy to overlook.

Tatyova's also a very good signpost in Foundations Limited, so this is another stellar reprint!

Commanding Conclusion

Lathril, Blade of the Elves | Illustration by Caroline Gariba

These Foundations products are designed to support newer players, and I think the high-quality reprints are exactly what will help them get into the Commander format. And there are some obscure gems in here that more experienced players might find just right for that deck they’ve been wanting to make. And the other 60 legends in the sets are really good 99th cards like Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin.

There’s something here for everyone, and there are at least five new commanders here I’m going to build around as soon as I get my hands on them. Does anything spark your interest? Let us know in the comments or on Discord.

Happy deckbuilding!