Last updated on July 20, 2026
Siege-Gang Lieutenant | Illustration by Warren Mahy
Ever notice how military ranks don’t necessarily translate from one military to another? Like how a “captain” in the army and a “captain” in the navy have totally different authority, responsibilities… and salaries.
As a Magic player, you’re probably at least a little familiar with the Commander format. You’ve seen what a commander's partner can do, too. But what about a commander’s lieutenant? No matter if you pronounce it in U.K. or U.S. English, I’ve got all you need to know about lieutenant in MTG!
How Does Lieutenant Work?
Loyal Apprentice | Illustration by Joe Slucher
A creature with lieutenant gains a benefit and/or grants one to you or your board while you control your commander, . Many lieutenants have a relevant keyword ability.
There are 13 creatures in the game with lieutenant. They’re all mono-colored, and none of them are legendary creatures. Unfortunately, you can’t give your lieutenant a Battlefield Promotion and run it as your commander.
The History of Lieutenant in MTG?
The first cycle of lieutenants was introduced in Commander 2014, and included:
- Angelic Field Marshal
- Demon of Wailing Agonies
- Stormsurge Kraken
- Thunderfoot Baloth
- Tyrant's Familiar
These first lieutenants (pun not intended) gain +2/+2 when you control your commander, and grant another benefit.
The second cycle came in Commander 2018, all of which were uncommons with slightly smaller effects than the first wave:
These “Loyal” creatures all check whether you control your commander at the beginning of your own combat phase.
The remaining lieutenants are all one-offs from various products:
- Ironwill Forger is a myriad engine from Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander.
- Skyhunter Strike Force was added as a Set Booster exclusive for Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander.
- Siege-Gang Lieutenant was a one-off lieutenant in Modern Horizons 3 Commander.
#13. Demon of Wailing Agonies
Demon of Wailing Agonies gets a passive buff while your commander is on board. Flying should help you sneak through some combat damage, though all-in-all this is a clunky card best reserved for demon decks.
#12. Skyhunter Strike Force
This cat knight’s got melee, and it wants your commander’s permission to let your other creatures join the fray. Skyhunter Strike Force is also a flier, one of the more common forms of evasion of lieutenants. It pays you off for swinging with lots of creatures aimed in different directions.
#11. Loyal Unicorn
A damage prevention effect is par for the course when a graceful unicorn is teeing up. Loyal Unicorn has vigilance and can grant it to your other creatures at the start of your combats. There aren’t a heck of a lot of unicorns though, so don't expect a typal focus here.
#10. Angelic Field Marshal
Angelic Field Marshal becomes a formidable flier with your commander in play. It’s tailormade for your angel commander, which is probably one of the reasons it used to be a $10 card. Giada, Font of Hope lets you cast this as a 6/6 on turn 3, which in turn gives Giada vigilance to pair with its mana-making ability.
#9. Stormsurge Kraken
Stormsurge Kraken is hexproof, making it harder to get rid of. It draws you two cards when it’s blocked if your commander is on board. Your kraken lieutenant won’t force you to draw yourself out of the game, and it's a nice source of card advantage for midrangey blue decks.
#8. Siege-Gang Lieutenant
Siege-Gang Lieutenant exists mostly just to make the pun, especially since the deck it came in doesn't have any real goblin synergies. Funnily enough, it's not even the only Siege-Gang Commander reference in Modern Horizons 3, which also had Spawn-Gang Commander in the mainline set.
This is a fine card though, potentially spitting out two extra creature tokens per turn, which is exactly what goblin decks want to do anyway.
#7. Loyal Subordinate
“Loyal Subordinate”. “Zombie”. The jokes write themselves.
Loyal Subordinate’s evasion comes in the form of menace, which, yes, zombie, I get it. Its lieutenant ability stacks up over time, making this a great follow-up to a 2-mana commander and scaling well with legends that care about your opponents losing life, like Abaddon the Despoiler.
#6. Ironwill Forger
Ironwill Forger is the bodily form of Blade of Selves in that it makes sure you can always attack with a myriad creature. You can pretty much always figure out a way to profit from myriad and break the game wide open.
#5. Loyal Drake
Loyal Drake can be a pretty consistent source of card draw as-is. Of all the things you could have on board, your opponents are probably going to prioritize removing something else.
Like the other cheap lieutenants, this is at its best when you can curve into it after playing a cheap commander like Fblthp, the Lost, guaranteeing the first card right away.
#4. Tyrant’s Familiar
I think it would be silly to build a “lieutenant” mechanic for a format that also goes by “Elder Dragon Highlander” without having a dragon lieutenant. Tyrant's Familiar is so satisfying because of that.
Getting to burn an opponent’s creature for 7 when you attack with it is great on its own, but the greedy, treasure-trove-sitting dragon in me wants it to burn planeswalkers, too.
#3. Loyal Guardian
The more combat phases you can take with this rhino and your commander on the board, the bigger your creatures get. Counter strategies like this are primed for doublers, and big tramplers like Loyal Guardian are always welcome in aggressive decks.
#2. Thunderfoot Baloth
Thunderfoot Baloth is one of the most impactful lieutenants, and it’s a beast of a beast. It’s a friendly beast, though, because it believes that sharing is caring: It gives +2/+2 and trample to your other creatures with its lieutenant ability, and is honestly an effective and underrated alternative to Craterhoof Behemoth.
#1. Loyal Apprentice
This apprentice artificer generates token thopters for you at the beginning of combat.
Loyal Apprentice has all kinds of uses, especially as a red 2-drop human. It can be used to add to your token strategies, your artifact strategies, your humans-matter strategies, flying-matters… the list goes on. This is the sort of token generation you get from cards like Bitterblossom, but even better when it's online.
Best Lieutenant Payoffs
Each lieutenant is unique from the next, so their best homes are specific to their individual abilities and creature types. For example, Loyal Subordinate is more powerful in zombie decks or ones that care about opponents losing life, like Rakdos, Lord of Riots.
That said, lieutenants collectively benefit from cheap commanders, plus any partner-like ability that lets you play two commanders at the same time. Whether playing with backgrounds, “partners with”, doctor's companion, or any other variation of partners, having two commanders means you're more likely to have one in play at any given time, and your lieutenants won't be turned offline by a single removal spell.
Is Lieutenant an Activated Ability?
No. Lieutenant isn’t an activated ability because there isn’t an activation cost attached to it. It also isn’t a triggered ability or a keyword, rather it’s an ability word in the same vein as domain. That means you can't just shorthand the text to “lieutenant” and leave it as that; you have to spell out each creature's individual lieutenant ability.
Some of those end up being activated or triggered abilities, but the keyword “lieutenant” itself is neither.
What if Your Commander Isn’t on the Battlefield?
Lieutenant abilities only apply if you control your commander on the battlefield. For triggered lieutenant abilities, the commander must be in play for the ability to trigger at all, and if your commander leaves play before the ability resolves, the ability will have no effect.
What if You Don’t Control Your Commander?
Lieutenant abilities do not apply if another player controls your commander. The rules text of lieutenant always involves you controlling your commander.
What if You Steal a Lieutenant Creature?
If you take control of a creature with lieutenant from an opponent, that creature checks if you control your commander. Your opponent loses its benefits the moment the lieutenant leaves their control.
Stealing a commander will not cause your lieutenants to work, but stealing a lieutenant works if you control your commander.
Commanding Conclusion
Angelic Field Marshal | Illustration by Scott Murphy
While you may be tempted to build a deck around your commander's color identity more than its abilities and mechanics, lieutenant encourages you to keep your commander on the board. But if you must leave your commander in the command zone, don’t forget to crack a window or leave the AC on, okay?
Does your commander have a lieutenant in its War Room? Would you like to see the mechanic again? In full card cycles, or one-offs? Sound off in the comments or come have your say in the official Draftsim Discord.
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