Last updated on October 8, 2025
Kaalia of the Vast | Illustration by Michael Komarck
Mardu () is the color combination of all-out aggression, going wide with tokens, and sacrificing them for value. WotC has designed nine Commander precons with these colors in mind, and we’re going through all of them.
For each precon, I’ll talk about the themes, the strongest cards, and what that precon deck brings to MTG as a whole. We’ll see that newer products have better cards, and, unlike other color combinations, Mardu themes tend to be less creative and more similar.
In the Mardu style, let’s attack these precons, shall we?
What Are Mardu Commander Precons?
Zurgo Stormrender | Illustration by Lie Setiawan
Mardu Commander precons are preconstructed Commander decks with the Mardu color identity. With one Brawl deck exception, these are all 100-card decks playable right out of the box, usually with a main Mardu commander and another one to offer a different experience, or even partners that add up to Mardu colors. I’m considering how well these decks have been built and not how you should upgrade them, or which commander is better in a vacuum. I’ll also discuss the top cards in each deck, be they new cards to MTG as a whole or significant reprints.
#9. Knights' Charge
Knights' Charge is a Brawl precon deck from Throne of Eldraine, led by Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale. These cards were all legal in Standard when the deck was released, so the overall power level is lower, and the deck was designed with 1v1 in mind.
Deck Themes
The main themes of this Brawl precon are knights and equipment. Many equipment cards in this deck already play well with knights, not to mention the commander that cuts the equip cost to 0. Most of this deck’s creatures are knights, because the creature type encompassed Boros (), color (), and Orzhov () in Throne of Eldraine, and some cards have the adventure mechanic. Rakdos in particular had a theme of equipping knights, with some attaching to knights for cheaper, like Steelclaw Lance.
Commanders
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale is the only offering here. The name of the game is equipment, and this card goes very well with some knights and Colossus Hammer. If you surround it with good knights and good equipment (which can be expensive to equip), you have a nice Commander deck on your hands.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As the only Brawl deck in this list, I think the easier way to evaluate it is to compare with other Brawl offerings from the same set and, unfortunately, this is the worst, especially when compared to Chulane, Teller of Tales or Korvold, Fae-Cursed King. This deck is slow in a 1v1 format, the commander doesn’t do enough when it hits the battlefield late, and it’s a big tempo swing if it gets removed and you need to cast it again for 8 mana. Furthermore, you can equip your knights with the equipment easily without your commander, so it doesn’t do enough on the battlefield.
Notable Cards
Arcane Signet was designed for these Brawl decks, and, like Sol Ring, you’re hardly playing an EDH deck without it.
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale is a competent commander when built properly. Syr Konrad, the Grim is a black Commander staple.
Colossus Hammer sees play in many different Constructed formats.
#8. Heavenly Inferno
Heavenly Inferno is one of the first Commander precons released in Commander 2011, focused on Kaalia of the Vast’s ability to put mighty demons, dragons, and angels onto the battlefield.
Deck Themes
Here, you want to pair angels, demons, and dragons together, with this bizarre coalition led by Kaalia of the Vast. The deck has a very weird lifegain subtheme that doesn’t connect to anything our commanders are promoting, although one or two demons can exchange this extra life for advantages.
Commanders
Kaalia of the Vast is the main commander, and the whole deck is built around the dragons, demons, and angels it puts into play for free. It doesn’t make sense to run the other two options: Tariel, Reckoner of Souls and Oros, the Avenger, which are conveniently good targets for Kaalia as angel and dragon, respectively.
Strengths and Weaknesses
When we think Kaalia of the Vast, we think Griselbrand, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, or some badass 9-drop. But this precon wants us to cheat Dragon Whelp and Serra Angel into play.
WotC used this precon to reprint old cards from the 2005-2010 era, so we have cards like Orzhov Guildmage and Razorjaw Oni, or Wrecking Ball. The mana base is also bad, with some utility lands and bounce lands. At least we can pull off some combos, like Diabolic Tutoring for a good creature the same turn you attack with Kaalia.
Notable Cards
This deck gave us Kaalia of the Vast, and it is the most notable card here, one of the first commanders people think of in the Mardu colors. Stranglehold is an interesting tutor hate card, too.
Of note, we have the first reprints of Mother of Runes and Pyrohemia, and the first printing of red Commander staple Chaos Warp.
#7. Legends’ Legacy
Legends' Legacy is the Dominaria United precon, with a planeswalker, Dihada, Binder of Wills, at the helm.
Deck Themes
This is a legen… wait for it… dary precon, as the legend theme is all over the place. Dominaria United had a strong legendary-matters theme, and the Commander set took advantage of old cards and added much more. This precon is all about legendary creatures, and permanents are divided between historic cards like legendary artifacts or even legendary lands.
Commanders
Dihada, Binder of Wills is the main commander, with Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge as a close second. Both work ok, and many people say that they prefer to run Shanid instead of Dihada. Both add to the legendary theme, but in Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge’s case, you’ll probably want a lower curve so that you can draw more cards more often, and, as the original precon list stands, Dihada is a slightly better option.
Strengths and Weaknesses
For a precon, Legends’ Legacy is very cohesive with the legend/historic theme, with a good chunk of the deck meeting this condition. Dihada’s +2 and -3 ability work directly with legendary creatures.
Outside of that, though, we can consider that it’s each legendary creature for itself, since cards like Adriana, Captain of the Guard, Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, or Drana, Liberator of Malakir don’t work very cohesively together. But this is a small complaint, as you have a reasonably good-stuff Mardu deck tied around the legend theme.
Notable Cards
Dihada, Binder of Wills is excellent as a card that works with the legendary theme, considering that you can get a lot of card advantage, Treasure tokens, and fill your graveyard. It hasn’t been reprinted since.
Cadric, Soul Kindler is interesting as a legend that makes tokens of other legends you control. We also have the first and only printing of The Peregrine Dynamo, a card that copies the abilities from legends.
Noteworthy reprints are legendary cards like Blackblade Reforged, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, and the first reprint of Shizo, Death's Storehouse.
#6. Vampiric Bloodlust
Vampiric Bloodlust is a Mardu precon from Commander 2017, led by the famous Innistrad vampire aristocrat Edgar Markov.
Deck Themes
Vampire typal! The deck screams it, as loud as it can. You want to cast vampires, make vampire tokens, pump your vampires, and so on. As secondary themes, we have lifegain / life drain, or sacrificing tokens for value.
Commanders
Edgar Markov is awesome in a deck filled with vampires, and it’s the #1 best choice here. With eminence being such an easy mechanic to build around, you don’t even need it on the battlefield.
Licia, Sanguine Tribune takes the deck into a lifegain route, while Mathas, Fiend Seeker appeals more to the aristocrats crowd. Each other commander bolsters a secondary theme in the deck, so there are interesting routes to explore.
Strengths and Weaknesses
It’s easy to build around Edgar Markov considering that each vampire we cast gives us another 1/1 token, and this deck has plenty of vampires and interaction right out of the box. We have a commander that creates and buffs tokens. But the vampire selection could be stronger, as most of these creatures were reprints from the 2010 Zendikar set or Core Sets with vampire themes. The deck would be much better if it had a higher vampire count overall, and if there were more cheap vampires that cost 1-4 mana.
Notable Cards
With almost 40k decklists posted online, Edgar Markov is the #1 Mardu commander. It’s easy to build around, and good vampires keep being printed. But the most famous card in this precon is Teferi's Protection, a total white EDH staple. Besides the other two commanders, Kindred Charge is a nice addition to typal decks overall.
We also have the first reprint of vampire support cards Blade of the Bloodchief and Malakir Bloodwitch, as well as a reprint of the black staple Sanguine Bond.
#5. Ruthless Regiment
No products found.No products found. is a Commander 2020 precon, with themes from Ikoria: Lair of the Behemoths, and it brings Jirina Kudro’s mighty regiment of human soldiers to the battlefield.
Deck Themes
When your commander gives your humans +2/+0, it’s hard not to think of attacking with humans, or making a bunch of them. With Jirina Kudro at the helm, this deck is pretty much a go-wide Boros tokens deck with black added for card draw, or to profit from your humans dying. Like Xathrid Necromancer, which turns your 1/1 tokens into 2/2 Zombies. The other commanders take this deck into a more aristocrats route.
Commanders
Jirina Kudro simply gives your other humans +2/+0, and it’s a clear reason to build around humans and going wide. It’s as good as you get for a typal experience right out of the box. However, we have strong competitors here.
The partner duo Silvar, Devourer of the Free and Trynn, Champion of Freedom makes a competent sacrifice engine. Tryna makes tokens while Silvar devours them.
Kelsien, the Plague isn’t a bad commander, you just need to build around it better than this deck does.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This deck can play MTG right outside of the box. You have a commander that makes and buffs human tokens, supplemented with ways to sacrifice them for value like Skullclamp, and more ways to go wide. It’s also coherent to play sweepers like Citywide Bust to get rid of only big creatures. Increasing Devotion and Call the Coppercoats make huge armies out of nowhere. As for critiques, we have a go-wide and sacrifice deck mixed together, so there’s plenty of room for improvement if you want to highlight one theme or another. The mana base is playable but not great, especially if you’re taking the aggressive route.
Notable Cards
C20 brought us the infamous cycle of Commander free spells, and here we get Flawless Maneuver; one of the weaker ones, but still incredibly strong.
This precon brings interesting typal cards to MTG. Cards like Molten Echoes and Species Specialist are excellent in decks that share a creature type. Shared Animosity too, but that’s a reprint. On the human typal side, we have Call the Coppercoats, a card that creates a bunch of humans for cheap.
Interesting reprints include Zulaport Cutthroat, Terminate, and Knight of the White Orchid.
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#4. Most Wanted
Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander introduced the Most Wanted precon deck, an outlaws-focused deck commanded by Olivia, Opulent Outlaw.
Deck Themes
Outlaws of Thunder Junction defined outlaws as assassins, rogues, warlocks, pirates, and mercenaries. Outside of rogues and pirates, these types don’t receive premium typal treatments. Disregarding Academy Manufactor, all creatures in this deck are outlaws. The idea is to deal damage with outlaws, make a Treasure, then use Treasure later to strengthen your creatures via Olivia, Opulent Outlaw, or with other cards that care about the trinkets. Vihaan, Goldwaker turns them into 3/3 outlaws, and many other cards make Treasure or care about it in general.
Commanders
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw is the main commander for the deck, and it’s the main pillar, doing everything on its own, like dealing damage, creating Treasure, and buffing your creatures. Olivia is, of course an outlaw so attacking with it every turn is the way to go.
Vihaan, Goldwaker offers a long-term approach, focusing more on steadily producing Treasure, and it can easily be the main commander with some upgrades.
Queen Marchesa is an interesting reprint for this deck considering that they're an outlaw and makes an outlaw assassin token.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This deck is very balanced, with a playable mana base right out of the box and a coherent theme. The deck contains good interaction, sweepers, or cards that give you value, and multiple cards support the Treasure theme. The main problem I see is that outlaws don’t have a common theme besides being outlaws, and, for a deck that wants them to connect, it has little to offer regarding evasion or saboteur abilities. I want more cards like Mari, Killing Quill that give our outlaws deathtouch and a relevant saboteur effect, though even with that card, pirates and warlocks are left out.
Notable Cards
Vihaan, Goldwaker is a very popular treasure commander. Orochi Soul-Reaver is a hard-hitting ninja with a 4-mana ninjutsu ability, and Back in Town is excellent in decks that support any of the outlaw creature types. Four mana is not bad for a reanimation spell, and it scales.
This deck has its fair share of good reprints, with Mari, the Killing Quill, Academy Manufactor, Seize the Spotlight, and more. Command Beacon is very interesting as a way to bypass commander tax (or to cast Phage the Untouchable).
- CRIME ALWAYS PAYS—Amass treasure and hire fierce outlaws to overpower your foes with this Red-White-Black deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
- EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
- INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless.)
- COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Most Wanted Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box
#3. Revival Trance
Revival Trance is the Final Fantasy Commander Mardu precon, with the iconic Terra, Herald of Hope, one of the main protagonists from Final Fantasy VI, as its main character.
Deck Themes
The main theme is the game Final Fantasy VI, particularly what happens in the second part of the game. In MTG terms, this deck is all about bringing the fallen back to the battlefield. Both possible commanders in this deck synergize with effects like Reanimate or Unearth, and you have a few ways to bring creatures back from the graveyard to the battlefield. As usual, we’ll find secondary themes, like sacrificing your own creatures for value, or looting and rummaging.
Commanders
Both possible commanders are tied to the graveyard in some way, but do different things. Terra, Herald of Hope gives you a repeatable reanimation effect when it deals combat damage, while Celes, Rune Knight buffs your whole team whenever you bring something from your graveyard to the battlefield. Although it’s easier to trigger Terra, Celes is the more busted commander, but that requires different support than the precon offers, so you could go with either.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The initial card selection is very solid, with strong commanders and cards, as you’d expect form a modern EDH precon. The mana base is excellent and can be used as a base for future Mardu builds. The biggest critique is that it’s a deck built to include as much Final Fantasy VI content as possible at the cost of deck cohesion. It’s a very graveyard-centric deck, so it’s soft to graveyard exile and exile removal as well. Terra, Herald of Hope only works with creatures that have power 3 or less, while Celes, Rune Knight only cares if the creature came from a graveyard, so you have some divisive themes as well.
Notable Cards
Celes, Rune Knight is a great combo enabler with persist creatures and a sacrifice outlet. Gogo, Mysterious Mime is super interesting as a creature that can be a copy of another one, but with haste, and buff both creatures. Considering how many commanders are better with haste and a buff, this card is a nice addition to red decks. The Warring Triad is super interesting as a 3-cost mana rock that can mill and become a cheap 5/5 flier.
For reprints, Reanimate is a black MTG staple being reprinted here, which makes total sense given the goal of the deck. Another interesting black card for EDH is Rise of the Dark Realms. The reprint of good lands, such as the filter lands, doesn’t hurt either.
- FINAL FANTASY VI-THEMED DECK—Battle your friends with FINAL FANTASY VI’s iconic heroes, villains, and spells with the strategic gameplay of the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game
- YOU CAN’T DESTROY EVERYTHING—Fill your graveyard and revive your fallen heroes as you fight alongside Terra, Herald of Hope to restore balance to the world.
- 25 NEW CARDS plus ALL NEW ART—All 100 cards in this ready-to-play deck feature new FINAL FANTASY-themed art, including 25 Commander cards entirely new to Magic: The Gathering
- 2 FOIL LEGENDARY CARDS—Each deck includes 2 Legendary Creature cards with a shiny Traditional Foil treatment that can be played as your commander
- COLLECT SPECIAL ALT-BORDER CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alternate-border cards of rarity Rare or higher
#2. Mardu Surge
It’s only fair that the original Mardu clan made an appearance in Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander, mobilizing its battle-hardened warriors in Mardu Surge, with Zurgo Stormrender at the helm.
Deck Themes
The main theme for this deck is the mobilize mechanic, which creates one or more temporary 1/1 tokens that are tapped and attacking. The deck thrives on tokens and aggression. Many cards trigger when tokens are created, die, or leave the battlefield.
Commanders
I like that the options for commanders are a clan leader and a spiritual dragon. In this case, both work with tokens but diverge in how to best use them. Zurgo Stormrender is the deck’s face commander. Neriv, Crackling Vanguard wants different tokens being created, which is a solid option to explore, and we have Goblin token creators, Myr tokens, human tokens, and even some myriad cards that make tokens of the attacking, nontoken creatures. Zurgo is best supported by the precon cards, but I wouldn’t fault you for playing Neriv as a commander.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This precon is overall very solid, with very high card quality, and a strong focus on attacking, making tokens, and profiting from them. It doesn’t have a strong late game, with Zurgo Stormrender having difficulty attacking on a board with larger creatures. This is a common problem with aggro overall in Commander. Maybe some ways to add evasion to your creatures (like menace or deathtouch), better buffs, or improved removal would do the trick.
Notable Cards
Grand Crescendo is very interesting as a way to defend your creatures, create a bunch of tokens, or just use your mana efficiently. Will of the Mardu is a good, flexible spell, especially when your commander is in play. Infantry Shield goes well in any Commander deck that wants to make tokens and has a commander with high power (think Jetmir, Nexus of Revels attacking with 8 power). Finally, Ainok Strike Leader packs a punch as a token creator and protector.
Solid reprints include Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, good in tokens decks or Voltron decks, and the card draw machine Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor. Hero of Bladehold is a classic that packs a punch.
- FIGHT DRAGONS WITH DRAGONS—Return to Tarkir for an epic battle between dragons and clans; discover which clan fits your playstyle with distinct three-color gameplay, and add draconic power to your collection
- STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT—Ally with the Mardu clan to make attacker tokens and sacrifice them for value with this Red-White-Black Commander deck
- 2 FOIL BORDERLESS COMMANDERS—Command your army with the Mythic Spirit Dragon, Neriv, or Zurgo, leader of the new Mardu; every Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck includes 2 Traditional Foil Legendary Creature cards featuring gorgeous Borderless art
- BATTLE ALONGSIDE YOUR CLAN—The Mardu are nomads who defend and expand their vast territory through agile tactics and the exploitation of weakness. A unified force, they are revered for their lightning-wielding fighters, expert beast riders, and commitment to their clan.
- INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—Each deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
#1. Hail, Caesar
Hail, Caesar is the Mardu offering from Fallout, commanded by Caesar, Legion's Emperor himself.
Deck Themes
Aristocrats—tokens and sacrifice—is a near-and-dear theme to Mardu, with red and white generating tokens and black sacrificing them for value. Caesar, Legion's Emperor demands plenty of sacrifices, and thus you want token creature creators and ways to profit from all the sacrifice. A subtheme of this deck is artifact tokens and Treasure. Since you need to sacrifice a creature token when attacking, cards that put tokens into play tapped and attacking offer the necessary fodder.
Commanders
Caesar, Legion's Emperor is the best choice for your commander, considering that the card synergizes with creature tokens, and the deck is built around them, with cards like Intangible Virtue, Heroic Reinforcements, and Assemble the Legion.
Mr. House, President and CEO cares about dice rolling, and it fixes the dice with Treasure, but this deck lacks dice rolling support, and little Treasure support.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This deck plays well out of the box, and that’s a huge compliment. The mana base is solid, and it’s very easy to use Caesar, Legion's Emperor since its abilities are very well supported. Once you have enough supporters on the battlefield, you can just win. Since Caesar doesn’t have to enter the red zone at all, you don’t have to worry about combat tricks and the like.
The deck should be more aggressive and all-in on token-making, trying to maximize Caesar’s win condition. As usual with Universes Beyond commanders, people tend to resonate with what they already know from the main material, so your mileage may vary on this deck.
Notable Cards
Caesar, Legion's Emperor is a popular Mardu commander. Mr. House, President and CEO is strong if you surround it with cards that allow you to roll D20, and you’ll trigger its ability a lot this way. MacCready, Lamplight Mayor is an interesting way to give your tokens evasion and avoid getting hit by big creatures.
Luck Bobblehead is an interesting alternate win condition that you can use to generate some treasure here and there. Powder Ganger is a nice way to turn mana into creatures and artifact destruction.
For reprints, Pitiless Plunderer sees play in many infinite sacrifice combos, using free sacrifice outlets to generate mana, while Black Market is a way to power up your mana while sacrificing stuff.
- THE VAULTS ARE OPEN—Journey through the wastes with a 100-card deck introducing 37 never-before-seen Magic cards featuring fan-favorite characters, thematic game mechanics, and art that explores the post-nuclear world of the Fallout series
- BATTLE YOUR FELLOW WASTELANDERS—Battle your friends in epic 3–5 player MTG games full of strategic plays and social intrigue; ready-to-play right out of the box, these preconstructed decks let you jump straight into the action
- HAIL, CAESAR—Choose the Hail, Caesar deck to battle beside Caesar, a shrewd tactician who will lead your army to a ruthless military victory
- COLLECT SPECIAL FALLOUT CARD TREATMENTS—Each deck comes with a Collector Booster Sample pack containing 2 special alt-frame cards, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare card
- EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PLAY AND MORE—Each deck also comes with 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, 1 strategy guide, and 1 deck box (can hold 100 sleeved cards)
Commanding Conclusion
Kaalia of the Vast | Illustration by Michael Komarck
And that’s about it for all Mardu precons. Mardu () colors are very well served in EDH precons, with great offerings and most importantly, excellent commanders. A quick look at EDHREC shows that the most popular Mardu commanders come from precons rather than Standard sets. It’s hard to recommend the older precons, but the newer ones are very solid and can offer some resistance in a Bracket 2-3 table right out of the box.
What do you think about Mardu precons, folks? Would you rank these in a different way? Let me know in the comments section below, or let’s take the issue to our Draftsim Discord. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.
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4 Comments
Hey Pedro, your evaluation of “Terra, Herald of Hope” has a pretty major flaw in its logic. Terra does not give one single care to the mana value of creatures she brings back, she cares about their POWER. It may not change its rating on the list, but does change completely your comment about how awkward the deck is when its not 10 creatures she works with out of the box, but 22 creatures. Still not as dense as I’d like but also more than twice as dense as the article would suggest.
Yes, looks like writer mistook it for MV instead of power. I’ve fixed the entry, though still agree Celes is generally the better card.
Thanks for pointing this out, Duncan!
How the actual %@$& did you put Dihada, Edgar and Kaalia at the bottom of the list? As someone who plays all three of those, I am usually the number one target because of how good those commanders are… Caesar isn’t bad, ive played against it, but the three I mentioned are easily the better option.
These are rankings of the precons, not the commanders. And I have to agree with the writer here, most precons pre 2020 are pretty poorly put together.
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