The 55 Best Halloween Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on October 1, 2025

Reaper King | Illustration by Justine Jones

Gather ‘round, my ghouls, goblins, and gremlins. Set some mood lighting, grab your favorite warm beverage, and join me as we thumb the tomes of Magic’s history, seeking the scariest creatures and most valiant heroes to bring to your Halloween gaming sessions.

Whether you’ve already got these decks in your collection or are planning for another year’s festivities, here are my picks for some of the most interesting and thematically appropriate Halloween commanders!

What Are Halloween Commanders in MTG?

Grist, the Hunger Tide | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

Up to you! Legendary horrors, nightmares, demons, and spirits are a good place to start, followed by anything from Magic sets that take place on planes like Innistrad and Duskmourn. And let’s be honest: A lot of cards that dip into black get at least a lil creepy or theatrical.

But I want to expand the search. I want commanders that send a chill down my spine. I’m also looking for commanders that fit some horror and monster movie archetypes and roles. That means cards with final girl energy are eligible, and you’ll even find a kaiju or two.

These rankings are very subjective. Vibes-based, if you will. Don’t take them as a definitive list, but rather a jumping-off point.

I take the liberty to bundle a lot of cards together if they represent the same character from Magic’s story. I also bundle some commanders based on theme to make space for cards we might not talk about otherwise.

For some spooky printings of some Commander staples like Beast Within and Blasphemous Act, might I recommend the Monster Movie Marathon Secret Lair.

Last call for bets on how many Innistrad: Double Feature and Duskmourn cards I’ve listed.

Ineligible: Ashiok

Unless you have a Rule 0 conversation or have a playgroup that’s generally okay with planeswalkers in the command zone, regardless of their actual text, you can’t have any Ashiok card as your commander. Which is a shame, because… well, just look at them.

#55. Grusilda, Monster Masher

I’m only bringing up Grusilda, Monster Masher because I get to link to the Mash (the Monster Mash).

#54. It Came from Planet Glurg

Absolute silliness. It Came from Planet Glurg fills our alien quota.

#53. Charix, the Raging Isle + Ragost, Deft Gastronaut

Charix, the Raging Isle and especially Ragost, Deft Gastronaut are not really scary, but if you have a phobia of crabs or lobsters, you want to scroll past this. The alien food in Magic is sometimes downright strange, so if you want some gross in your Halloween, hire this gastronaut.

#52. Tovolar, Dire Overlord / Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge

Tovolar, Dire Overlord is basically the werewolf commander. Thematically appropriate for what we’re doing, but it’s also incredibly obvious and doesn’t deserve any points for creativity.

#51. Silvar, Devourer of the Free + Trynn, Champion of Freedom

I wanted at least one cat commander to have a full suite of witches’ familiars, but cats don’t really do witchy things in Magic. But I like the notion of feeding humans to Trynn, Champion of Freedom, so its “partners with” buddy Trynn, Champion of Freedom gets to come along for the ride.

#50. Hokori, Dust Drinker

Maybe I’m biased because I watched Ju-on: The Grudge sometime while researching this, but the art on Hokori, Dust Drinker gave me pause… nope, nope, nope, nope!

#49. The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, and Godzilla Commanders

I’ll say one thing for these Secret Lairs: Wizards at least tried to keep some kind of spooky flavor in the art of the Universes Within printings. I’m mentioning them because you could argue that Stranger Things and The Walking Dead suit the season, especially the black and white episodes of TWD.

Only three of the Godzilla cards are eligible commanders, but that’s a conversation to have with your playgroup if you’d rather run Godzilla, Primeval Champion over Godzilla, King of Monsters.

#48. The Wise Mothman

I wanted to avoid listing Universes Beyond cards, then I remembered that this insect mutant from Fallout was a thing. Just staring into The Wise Mothman’s eyes gives me the creeps and makes me think of my favorite cryptid stories, so it felt like a flavor loss to leave this Sultai commander off.

#47. Ihsan’s Shade

How often do I get to talk about shade typal decks? That’s enough for Ihsan's Shade to make the cut.

#46. Valor's Flagship

I know that when you cycle Valor's Flagship you create pilots, but the art says alien abduction to me and a vehicle as a commander is horror for many.

#45. Yargle and Multani + Slimer and Stay Puft

Big frog is big. Yargle and Multani also has a Ghostbusters Secret Lair printing as Slimer and Stay Puft. I don’t want to ask how it makes sense that Slimer and Stay Puft keep the frog spirit elemental creature types.

#44. Obzedat, Ghost Council

Obzedat, Ghost Council is part of the ghosts and spirits theme, but I like picturing them having some kind of Python-esque dysfunction.

#43. Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist + Kraum, Ludevic’s Opus

This partner pairing is Magic’s answer to Victor Frankenstein and his “monster.” You usually want your partner pairings to complement each other by adding colors, and Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist and Kraum, Ludevic's Opus don’t really do much with each other besides a draw-based shell. But does that really matter if you’re going for seasonal flavor?

#42. Abomination of Llanowar

Abomination of Llanowar earns a spot on the art and flavor text alone.

#41. Toby, Beastie Befriender

How old is Toby? We don’t get many cards that represent actual children in Magic. Which is understandable: Do we really want to be killing children at our Commander tables? Heckin’ morbid….

Toby, Beastie Befriender, to me, represents outsiders in movies like E.T. the Extraterrestrial that find a place among the stranger creatures of our world.

#40. Zellix, Sanity Flayer + Haunted One

I wanted to use the Haunted One background from Battle for Baldur’s Gate for reasons I hope I don’t have to explain. Its most common pairing is with Zellix, Sanity Flayer to make a Dimir () mill deck, a strategy that got a lot better with Duskmourn’s The Mindskinner (another worthy consideration as your Halloween commander).

#39. Zoraline, Cosmos Caller

Bats are one of the least supported among a witch’s (or vampire’s!) familiars who can be your commander, but at least the choice is fairly obvious! Zoraline, Cosmos Caller is the best bat commander we have so far, so it’s the most appropriate one for this Halloween-themed search. And honorable mention goes to Timothar, Baron of Bats: Its abilities tie into bats and vampires in a neat and fun way that’s perfect for your Spooky Season Magic sessions.

#38. The Wandering Rescuer + Odric, Lunarch Marshal

Alien had Ripley; Duskmourn has The Wandering Rescuer. The Wanderer follows a long line of tenacious protagonists who are here to get you out of trouble. In my headcanon, Odric, Lunarch Marshal serves a similar unyielding protagonist role, this white commander rallying his troops to survive against all odds.

#37. Acererak + the Beholders

Maybe your GM decided not to host a Halloween themed session this year, so you’re all playing Magic instead. But you still want to scratch that D&D itch. Acererak the Archlich gives you a zombie option that has you venturing into a dungeon, specifically Tomb of Annihilation. You also can’t go wrong with beholders, whether your pick is Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant or Xanathar, Guild Kingpin.

#36. Dennick, Pious Apprentice / Dennick, Pious Apparition

I’m using Dennick, Pious Apprentice to talk about the horror, often horror-comedy trope of a character that dies with unfinished business and winds up lingering in limbo. Abbott and Costello did a (pretty bad) movie when they weren’t on speaking terms called The Time of Their Lives, but this trope has come up in all kinds of movies like The Sixth Sense and more.

#35. Norin, Swift Survivalist + Norin the Wary

There’s that old adage about how I don’t have to outrun the bear; I just have to outrun you.

We’ve all got that friend we wouldn’t trust in a sticky situation, and horror movies are full of them. Norin, Swift Survivalist is indeed a coward, running at the first sign of danger. You also can’t go wrong with Norin’s other card, Norin the Wary. If you've ever worked a haunted house, this is your favorite kind of guest.

#34. Egon + Tergrid

Kaldheim gave us not one but two mono-black MDFC gods, and they both fit a Halloween theme for different reasons. Egon, God of Death / Throne of Death gives us some death-worshipping flavor, and the art is evocative, scythe and all. Tergrid, God of Fright / Tergrid's Lantern has a name worthy of Spooky Season, and it’s a far more viable black commander in general, albeit a bit of a saltier one.

#33. Emrakul, the Promised End + Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

Eldrazi are, by nature, annihilating world enders, which is a spooky premise itself. Of all our Eldrazi commanders, I’m choosing to highlight Emrakul, the Promised End and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger because their names paint a picture of the kind of doom they bring to the planes (and Commander tables) they visit.

#32. Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor

I really want to build a Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor deck. Curses is the play with this Grixis commander (). Torture with a smile. And you’re passing around curses to other players after partaking in some of the pain yourself, which… look, I have to keep these safe for work.

#31. Bruna + Gisela = Brisela

This is a bit more of a story deck where you run either Bruna, the Fading Light or Gisela, the Broken Blade in the command zone (my pick is Bruna) in the hopes of melding them into Brisela, Voice of Nightmares. Brisela is a wonderful keyword soup of combat keywords, it counts as your commander for commander damage tracking, and it taxes the board, locking out many combat tricks, counterspells, cantrips, hatebears, and more.

#30. Sea Creatures

The depths of the ocean remain as alien to us as outer space, and that’s been fuel for many a folk tale and nautical legend over the years. Sea creature commanders as a category are scary because they can ambush you, sting you out of nowhere, capsize ships and pull sailors to their drowning demise. I’m partial to Wrexial, the Risen Deep for maximum spooky factor, especially its Secret Lair Drop printing.

#29. Mutate Decks

If you want to go the body horror route, mutate decks are by their very nature appropriate. Whether you use one of the commanders from Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths or a commander that can be built into a mutate deck like Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief or Ramos, Dragon Engine, go out there and make David Cronenberg proud!

#28. Anzrag, the Quake-Mole

If sea creatures represent what lurks below the surface of the seas, Anzrag, the Quake-Mole represents the untold horrors that lie below our beloved terra firma. Go the extra mile to mess with your opponents by building a mechanism that makes the table shake when you’re about to cast your commander.

#27. Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder

You just know that someone out there has taken some Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder art and put Supreme Leader Snoke in the tanks. This black commander pumps out Thrull tokens, but the catch is that you have to sacrifice your commander if you generate too many of them. Or if you forget to sac them for value first. This is definitely one of those commanders who can succumb to its own hubris.

#26. The Jolly Balloon Man

Clown be clowin’.

The Jolly Balloon Man can be scary on its own, but those balloons, man…. I don’t feel like making Corner Gas gifs, but just know that there’s a whole episode that features globophobia as a subplot.

#25. The Mycotyrant

If I’m going to list a fungus that can be your commander (The Last of Us Secret Lair when?), I may as well go with The Mycotyrant. In the story of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, its hivemind assimilates pirates, very reminiscent of sci-fi entities like the Borg of Star Trek or the Reapers from Mass Effect. I just wish the cards' abilities played into that a little more, but creature theft cards are more of a Grixis than Golgari () thing.

#24. The Gitrog Monster

You can make the argument for any version of The Gitrog Monster to be included here, but I’m taking the classic. I mean… look at that arm dangling out of its mouth.

#23. Toys

Toy Story is cute and all, but not all toys play nice. There’s some more recent entries in the toy-from-hell genre including M3GAN, but you can’t argue with a classic like Chucky. Kardur, Doomscourge and Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire have a couples costume as Chucky and Tiffany, Bride of Chucky in a Secret Lair Drop, while DSK gave us Arabella, Abandoned Doll and Marvin, Murderous Mimic if you’d rather play actual toy cards.

#22. Reyhan + Yoshimaru

This one goes out to everyone who has DoesTheDogDie.com pinned or bookmarked. I wanted a pairing that I could latch my “lone wanderer and their pup” fantasies onto, and dog commander Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful gives Reyhan, Last of the Abzan a canine partner to adventure with. Reyhan allows your creatures to lend each other their +1/+1 counters when they die, which can help to prevent lost time and mana investments.

#21. Tinybones, Bauble Burglar

The smallest things can be very scary and skeletons are a must for many around Halloween. Tinybones, Bauble Burglar also happens to be a decent image of a kid on my block that tries to get as much candy as possible. If only all rogues and burglars were polite enough to offer a “trick-or-treat” before they stash goodies away.

#20. Old Stickfingers

There’s just something that makes my skin crawl when I look at Old Stickfingers’s art. So… spindly. Like I look at this art and I hear bony fingers tapping at a window, impossibly long yet firm nails scratching a chalkboard…. I get icky feelings just writing about it.

#19. Marina Vendrell

Marina Vendrell’s role in the story of MTG’s Duskmourn set is enough to earn her card a spot on this list. The way that this 5-color commander’s abilities play with the room enchantments make it a fairly simple recipe to cook up. Pick your favorite rooms, add some enchantment payoffs including constellation and eerie, then fill out your mana base and support packages and you’re set!

#18. Massacre Girl

Massacre Girl’s first card has art and abilities that scream slasher flick. Who is this girl and why is everyone else in frame dead?

#17. Oozes

If you’re a fan of The Blob, there’s plenty of legendary oozes to choose from, like Mimeoplasm, Revered One, Slogurk, the Overslime and Aeve, Progenitor Ooze. The Mimeoplasm is another option, and its Secret Lair printing as Slimer, Voracious Apparition to tie-in with Ghostbusters gives you the same abilities with a whole new flavor angle. Experiment Kraj gives you a +1/+1 counters theme that’s fun to play around if you want to build a story with the cards in your 99.

#16. Halana and Alena, Partners

You’re always more likely to survive a horror movie if you have someone to watch your back. That’s just a numbers game. Halana and Alena, Partners is the perfect representation of that, and it’s a card that returns to Standard thanks to Foundations.

#15. Ishkanah, Grafwidow

If you want a spider as your witchy familiar in the command zone, Ishkanah, Grafwidow is a good way to go. A spider typal deck headed by this delirium commander is a good way to dust out the cobwebs, using cards like Shelob, Child of Ungoliant and The Swarmweaver to give your spiders deathtouch and bite and fight spells to clear away problematic threats.

#14. Blim, Comedic Genius

I really like my trickster archetypes. Blim, Comedic Genius is an impish Rakdos commander (), and it plays around with giving your opponents things they don’t want. Rakdos has plenty of that, and chaotic creatures like Khârn the Betrayer or Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos can supplement your deck nicely.

#13. Millicent, Restless Revenant

Maybe you want a more viable spirit deck for your All Hallows’ Eve festivities. Millicent, Restless Revenant fits the bill with its spirit-reliant ability and its token generation, and there are enough spirits in the game that you can tune your deck to your budget and gameplay environment.

#12. Marrow-Gnawer + Karumonix, the Rat King

We have more rat commanders than you might expect, but you can’t go wrong with Marrow-Gnawer or Karumonix, the Rat King. The former is stronger overall, while Karumonix lets you play around with poison, which feels like the better flavor to me.

#11. Grolnok, the Omnivore

Since frogs and toads are common witch’s familiars (see: Witch's Familiar), any frog commander will do, technically. I like the Grolnok, the Omnivore option because you can run its Innistrad: Double Feature printing. I just want to annoy my pod with a soundboard that has everything they used in that Magic School Bus: Animal Kingdom minigame where you get to eat mosquitos as a frogified Arnold while you avoid hungry snapping turtles. I’m probably showing my age with that one….

#10. Gwenom, Remorseless

Isn't a hero without remorse more scary than a villain? Gwenom, Remorseless is a fantastic representative from Spider-Man. This is my chance to mention Costume Closet, Chameleon, Master of Disguise and Impostor Syndrome because of all the Spider-Man costumes you see every year.

#9. Kefka, Court Mage / Kefka, Ruler of Ruin

One look at Kefka, Court Mage‘s face and you can see the chaos churning inside its twisted mind. By the time it transforms to Kefka, Ruler of Ruin even an opposing cracked fetch land will draw you a card, so this is brutal.

#8. Grist, the Hunger Tide

Grist, the Hunger Tide… I mean, she’s a sentient swarm of bugs. Need. I. Say. More?

#7. Gisa + Geralf Cards

• Ghoulcaller Gisa
• Gisa, Glorious Resurrector
• Gisa, the Hellraiser
• Geralf, the Fleshwright
• Geralf, Visionary Stitcher
• Stitcher Geralf
• Gisa and Geralf

Gisa and Geralf are characters that are steeped in zombie lore. Many of their cards are viable commanders, and I’m not here to tell you which one is better than the other. So I’ll just slap them all into an image gallery and let you pick the one that calls to you.

#6. Vampires

It’s not a Halloween ranking without at least a few bloodsuckers. It feels classic to call out Olivia, Crimson Bride and Edgar, Charmed Groom since they’re good vampire commanders and linked by the story of Innistrad: Crimson Vow. Edgar is also a dual-faced card that includes the vampire’s coffin, which is on point. Olivia and Edgar also have Dracula printings to make the seasonal tie-in even that much better!

If you’d rather play with Blood tokens, my pick is Strefan, Maurer Progenitor.

#5. Gyome, Master Chef + Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar

Aside the cauldrons in their art, my main reason to include Gyome, Master Chef and Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar is that I wanted at least one deck that can run a cat/oven combo (Cauldron Familiar + Witch's Oven). There’s plenty of food payoffs like Experimental Confectioner that also get to brewing in their art that you can use to supplement these decks, and thematically appropriate removal like Bake into a Pie and Feed the Cauldron.

#4. Zombie Typal

We have so many legendary creatures that can be zombie commanders whether zombies themselves or not, but I wanted to include a few more that are just plain good zombie commanders.

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver has the advantage of having been the face of a Midnight Hunt Commander precon, and you may still be able to find sealed product to upgrade. Varina, Lich Queen and Sidisi, Brood Tyrant each use the graveyard for their zombie strategy, using Esper () colors for discard abilities and Sultai () colors for self-milling, respectively.

#3. WOE Witches

Wilds of Eldraine featured a trio witches (aura commander Eriette of the Charmed Apple, stun commander Hylda of the Icy Crown, and activated ability commander Agatha of the Vile Cauldron), and they along with Talion, the Kindly Lord are responsible for a curse that’s affecting the plane, which… am I the only one getting Far Cry 5 vibes? Any of these three warlocks is a strong pick out of the command zone, although Marvel fans might prefer Agatha of the Vile Cauldron for no specific reason….

#2. Witches

It’s hard to go wrong with a card that literally has the word “witch” in its name. I personally like Tasha, the Witch Queen because it lets you play with your opponents’ cards, but Baba Lysaga, Night Witch works nicely for Halloween since it asks you to use your graveyard for value. Lyzolda, the Blood Witch leads in the aristocrats direction, while Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch plays with +1/+1 counters.

#1. Reaper King

All hail! I don’t care whether this pick is obvious or not. If you knew it exists, you knew it was somewhere on this list. And if you didn’t, you’re welcome.

Duskmourn’s legendary scarecrows don’t really support a scarecrow archetype, so Reaper King maintains its crown. Extra points for supporting a creature type we don’t see that often.

Spooky Sign-Off

Halana and Alena, Partners | Illustration by Jason Rainville

Early Magic is full of non-legendary creatures that either have great art or names, but I sadly couldn’t justify talking about except in passing. Apologies to Frankenstein's Monster and Uncle Istvan.

I also somehow managed to leave off Liliana, Heretical Healer, and many, many other possible commanders. Let me know in the comments below who your personal picks are, and which commanders I should consider for the sequel. Continue the discussion over on the Draftsim Discord. Be especially chatty for this one, my pets: I want to show the elders of my coven that you enjoy these silly yet thematic digressions and want to see more!

Happy hauntings, and remember scary monsters don't have plaque!