All 44 Planeswalker Commanders in MTG Ranked

Last updated on September 9, 2026

Jared Carthalion | Illustration by Manuel Castañón

Wow, Commander really has grown over the years! It wasn’t even an officially sanctioned format when it first started. Now we’ve got Commander precons popping up left, right, and center. But many things have changed since the format was born.

The command zone experienced a fundamental change with the release of Commander 2014. That's the set that introduced the concept of planeswalkers as commanders, and it's something the designers have revisited time and time again.

Let’s take a look at how exactly planeswalker commanders work.

Can a Planeswalker Be a Commander?

A planeswalker can only be a commander if it specifically states on the bottom of the card, “this card can be your commander.” If it doesn’t have that line of text, and is not a flipwalker that transforms from a creature into a planeswalker, forget it. Pick a legendary creature instead.

Note that some formats like Brawl and Oathbreaker allow you to have planeswalker commanders as a default, but that is not the case in Commander.

How Many Planeswalker Commanders Are There?

There are 44 commanders that are or can be planeswalkers as of late 2026. Most of them have been released with Commander precons, but there are a handful of others that have come from Commander-specific sets like Commander Legends or Mystery Booster Commander Edition.

#44. Kytheon, Hero of Akros / Gideon, Battle-Forged

Unless you’re interested in running Isamaru, Hound of Konda with extra steps as a commander, best to avoid putting Kytheon, Hero of Akros in your command zone. A blisteringly fast white aggro deck might consider it, but white weenie’s not a very effective Commander strategy.

Gideon, Battle-Forged is also one of the worst Gideon cards out there, bless its soul. The +1 is fine protection, but the other abilities don’t add much.

#43. Sivitri, Dragon Master

The reimagining of Sivitri Scarzam resulted in a really cool dragon-themed commander planeswalker with subpar abilities. For one, being UB puts it in a strange (though unique) color combination for dragons, one that misses a lot of the typical dragon support.

Second, the +1 is just a poor form of protection. If Sivitri’s a threat, your opponents will just pay life to kill it, and if they’re not able to deal with it, the +1 doesn’t do anything on your way to the other abilities. Crux of Fate as an ultimate is cool and all, but Crux isn’t out there auto-winning games or anything. That means this ends up as an expensive sorcery-speed Sarkhan's Triumph more often than not, albeit one you could use multiple times throughout the course of a game.

#42. Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh / Chandra, Roaring Flame

Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh misses on too many knobs to make much of an impact. The front half is very limited, as it only deals direct damage to players and only pings a few times before force-flipping into Chandra, Roaring Flame.

The planeswalker half is in a poor position of having an extremely threatening ultimate, so players are incentivized to get rid of it, but having fairly weak alternate abilities outside the ultimate.

#41. Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath

Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath gets a low rank, largely because this particular Ob Nixilis doesn’t have any great abilities to make up for its color identity restriction. This can be a role-player in the 99 of a demon deck, but it's a lackluster commander.

#40. Nissa, Vastwood Seer / Nissa, Sage Animist

Nissa, Vastwood Seer is an excellent card, but an underpowered commander. It’s a great addition to the 99 of almost any green deck, guaranteeing your next land drop and building towards its own transform condition. Nissa, Sage Animist is fair but useful, with a +1 that's functionally a Coiling Oracle trigger each turn for some nice card advantage and ramp.

#39. Rowan Kenrith + Will Kenrith

I’m putting Rowan Kenrith and Will Kenrith together because nobody in their right mind would play one without the other. They’re “partners with” commanders that can only partner with each other.

What I don’t like about the Kenriths is their casting costs. A commander should shake up the board right away at 6 mana. Neither Rowan nor Will accomplish this. It’d be a lot better if at least one cost 5 mana because then you could curve one into the other. The twins both having the same mana value makes things awkward.

#38. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy / Jace, Telepath Unbound

Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is an excellent card that just doesn’t hold up in Commander too well. As a glorified Merfolk Looter, this once nearly-$100 card saw extensive Constructed play, but looting only gets you so far in Commander where you have more options for pure card advantage.

Jace, Telepath Unbound showcases exactly why planeswalkers don’t fair too well in Commander. The +1 is embarrassingly weak protection against three separate opponents, and the -9 isn’t even a guaranteed mill victory like it usually would be in a 1v1 match.

#37. Liliana, Heretical Healer / Liliana, Defiant Necromancer

Liliana, Heretical Healer isn’t much of a card on the front side, but ignite that spark and you end up with an average-level planeswalker and a Zombie token to play defense. Liliana, Defiant Necromancer has all the run-of-the-mill traits you expect on a Liliana planeswalker, including her hallmark discard and reanimation abilities.

#36. Nahiri, the Lithomancer

We're spoiled for choice with equipment commanders these days, and Nahiri, the Lithomancer does little to stick out from more modern designs. Rock solid support piece for equipment decks, but it's tough to justify Nahiri unless you're in a lower Bracket or you just enjoy the card.

#35. Jared Carthalion

Jared Carthalion isn't the worst card in the world, but the competition for 5-color commanders is steep. When compared to the likes of Kenrith, the Returned King, Najeela, the Blade-Blossom, and Morophon, the Boundless, you can see how Jared doesn't offer a whole lot.

The only reason you'd want to run a commander with less overall power is if it offers unique synergies, with Jared's focus on other 5-color cards being its selling point. It's not overtly powerful for its cost, but it feels distinct enough from more popular 5-color options.

#34. Urza, Planeswalker

Urza, Planeswalker is an “achievement unlocked” card that’s almost more show than it is power. It’ll have an immediate impact if you ever get this on the battlefield, but it’s not unkillable by any means. There are some hoops involved in melding this in the first place, but thankfully Urza, Lord Protector and The Mightstone and Weakstone are both fine cards on their own. It takes a hit on the ranking due to how hard it is to get the planeswalker on board in the first place.

#33. Greensleeves

Greensleeves is a mono-green planeswalker commander that’s all about the final ability. The nice part is that green is a great color for building an army to protect your planeswalker (the +2 ability can help with this). By getting a ton of mana dorks or creature tokens onto the battlefield, you can massively pump them and give them trample for a nice final ability and swing.

#32. Estrid, the Masked

Estrid, the Masked requires a very specific deck to work, and it’s not that powerful even then. Maybe I lack the deckbuilding imagination to make a great deck with it as the commander, or maybe I just don’t like auras all that much. If you're going to take on this enchantress planeswalker as a commander, stuff your deck full of aura-based ramp like Wild Growth and such.

#31. Commodore Guff

Commodore Guff was designed specifically to head Magic’s very first “superfriends” precon, an ambitious part of the Commander Masters precon cycle. As such, Guff is a superfriends commander that is all about building up a board of planeswalkers, a strategy that’s well-known for being clunky and easy to break apart in Commander.

It’s a little disappointing that the first card for a character who literally rewrites history in the lore ended up being so flat and narrow. Despite its novelty, Guff doesn’t make the superfriends Commander strategy any more or less reliable than it was before. It’s just another ‘walker to throw in the pile.

#30. Worzel, the Protector

I love the superfriends-devoted cats that Worzel, the Protector can make, but the rest of the abilities leave a lot to be desired. Having Worzel lead a Commander deck alongside planeswalkers like Elspeth, Storm Slayer and Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants is quite effective, with an army of Cat tokens that can increase all your planeswalker loyalty points.

The -1 ability is okay for getting the planeswalkers into your hand, and the final ability is a huge creature token creator for all the interactions that can come with it. However, I’d rather just create a ton of cat tokens and rely on my planeswalkers gaining a ton of loyalty points.

#29. Grist, Voracious Larva / Grist, the Plague Swarm

Grist, Voracious Larva has a restrictive transform condition, but also something the Golgari's well accustomed to. A deathtouch creature that wants to go to the graveyard is always dangerous, and that toughness of 2 really helps it stand a chance of eating tokens rather than trading with one.

The repeatable Naturalize on Grist, the Plague Swarm is consistently relevant. The +1 can provide a decent blocker and a little self-mill to fuel your graveyard shenanigans, and the ultimate is a pretty cool take on a mass reanimation effect.

#28. Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student / Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar

I find it fun to have reasons to attack with 0-powered creatures, so I want to like Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student but the defensive nature of this moonfolk, and the difficulty of drawing a third card is not as trivial as you might think. The Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar also needs quite a bit of help to really dominate. This is an 1v1 powerhouse but doesn't carry the same weight in Commander.

#27. Thomil, the Destroyer

Thomil, the Destroyer is a pinch Liliana, a sacrifice Dark Ritual, and a Lord of the Pit creator. A large demon token never hurt, unless you don’t have the sac fodder. I'd focus on the 0 ability as a way to bridge your midgame into a lategame wincon, though a +2 that creates a creature token is rarely bad.

#26. Arzakon

Five mana for an effective planeswalker isn’t that bad, and access to every color in Commander brings benefits of its own. Arzakon is a solid all-color planeswalker commander that brings a variety of loyalty abilities.

You start with removal, because you probably don’t want mana ramp after spending mana to cast this card. Next, you choose more removal to work up to the Timetwister ultimate, or create a great mana ramp token to accelerate your curve. All of these abilities can lead to strong interactions, but I’m not overly in love with this planeswalker as my commander.

#25. Tasha, the Witch Queen

This 5-mana planeswalker from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate is all about stealing instants and sorceries from your opponents' grasps. Tasha's first ability is a +1 that draws a card and exiles up to one instant or sorcery from each opponent's graveyard, then their -3 allows you to cast one of them without paying its mana cost. To round things out, Tasha creates a 3/3 demon whenever you cast one of these stolen spells.

Tasha's concept is certainly fun and powerful, especially for the typical Dimir+ theft deck, where you can make additional demons using effects outside of Tasha's own loop of abilities.

#24. Mila, Crafty Companion / Lukka, Wayward Bonder

This is technically an evaluation of Lukka, Wayward Bonder, but having Mila as the front-facing half of the card means you get to sneak this planeswalker into the command zone of a Boros deck.

Lukka’s extremely mediocre for its cost, though having Mila as an alternative option brings it up a decent amount, since the creature half is reasonable. Lukka’s just too expensive and gimmicky for a 6-mana ‘walker. Its ultimate is an emblem version of Warstorm Surge, though you could cast that card for 6 mana anyway and forget the hassle of getting enough counters on the planeswalker.

#23. Dyfed, the Guiding Hand

Dyfed, the Guiding Hand fits right into the mold of a Urza, Lord High Artificer deck as a blue commander focused on artifacts. With three great loyalty abilities that can all benefit so many different styles of artifact decks, Dyfed should be a consideration for the archetype. You can make mana tokens, untap artifacts, and search for key pieces like Panharmonicon.

#22. Quintorius, History Chaser

Quintorius, History Chaser, like all Quintorius cards, is all about history. That takes the form of spirit token generation and graveyard play. Your resulting spirit deck itches for blue, but can pick from bombs like Laelia, the Blade Reforged, Moonshaker Cavalry, and Arc of Hunger to flesh out the overall strategy.

#21. Venser, Visionary Traveler

Bounce and blink, that’s what you should think with Venser, Visionary Traveler. Venser’s abilities focus on blinking your powerful ETB permanents to great effect, or slowing down opponents. This Azorius planeswalker fits in well to the interaction-heavy blink and control style of many WU Commander decks.

#20. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah / Ajani, Nacatl Avenger

Ajani, Nacatl Pariah is a warrior that can handle itself formidably, but really shines with at least a couple cats in the litter. Trivial transform condition aside, Ajani, Nacatl Avenger is a vicious card with free token generation and targeted removal, a permanent anthem, and a one-sided variant of Cataclysm that is accessible after a single +2 loyalty ability activation. Like Tamiyo, this is a monster in 1v1 formats that gets knocked down a bit in multiplayer.

#19. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

Now Nicol Bolas, the Ravager is a flipwalker worth running in the command zone. It starts off with a solid ETB, then threatens to transform into a verstaile 4-ability planeswalker. It’s a bit of a mana investment to get it flipped, and Nicol Bolas, the Arisen isn’t insane or anything, but the front half already sets the floor pretty high.

#18. Ral, Monsoon Mage / Ral, Leyline Prodigy

I give a lot of credit to Ral, Monsoon Mage for having a planswalker's +1 ability before earning the spark, and the cost reduction feeds right into playing multiple instants or sorceries. The planeswalkers that come into play with a scalable amount of loyalty counters are really cool, and Izzet () spellslinger fans can rejoice knowing they'll have their key cost reducer available to them early in every game.

#17. Sifa Grent

Sifa Grent has a wonderful interaction between its two loyalty abilities, and a static ability that’s ripe for the circuses of Rakdos (). I love the thought of building up loyalty points while goading opponents’ creatures, and then top-deck stealing from those opponents. You can make combat hectic for your opponents and siphon life from all the death. Mixing this planeswalker with other Rakdos goad cards like Disrupt Decorum and Kardur, Doomscourge should get opponents off your back while you build towards stealing their cards.

#16. Saheeli, the Gifted

You could remove Saheeli, the Gifted’s first ability altogether and I’d still give the card the same ranking. It’s really the second ability that matters. Being able to produce potentially insane amounts of mana in a single turn is nothing to laugh at. Affinity for artifacts on your first spell each turn is a potentially huge mana advantage.

I’d build the entire deck around that one ability if I used Saheeli as my commander.

#15. Aminatou, the Fateshifter

What I like about Aminatou, the Fateshifter is its versatility. Not only are its first two abilities relevant (we can pretend the third one doesn’t exist), but Esper () is also a great color combination in EDH. You'll likely want to stick to the plan of Aminatou's original precon and focus on top-deck payoffs like miracle spells.

#14. Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury

Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury is a strong commander, but not so in-your-face powerful that opponents need to rush it down. Having a Disenchant in the command zone is always useful, but you really want to hit that -6 ability as soon as possible, which can happen two turns after you play it.

#13. Feroz, Ulgrotha’s Warden

Not only can Feroz, Ulgrotha's Warden be your commander, but it’s also a planeswalker on which every loyalty ability has great upside. This Bant commander () provides creature tokens as protection, a cheat for midrange permanents, and a way to increase creature casting costs for everyone. This all adds up to a planeswalker commander that’s fit to lead fellow planeswalkers.

Feroz is especially great in superfriends decks with a 0 loyalty ability that gives card draw and a high chance of getting a great card like Spark Double, Teferi, Master of Time, or Brokers Ascendancy onto the battlefield for free. On top of that, you can choose the +2 ability once (or twice if you don’t want to lose your commander) to get up to its final ability on the following turn.

#12. Dihada, Binder of Wills

Dihada, Binder of Wills has three strong abilities and the +2 is quite good for building loyalty to the really sick ultimate. A super-charged Insurrection is well worth working towards, but Dihada's other abilities really steal the show. There's just great card draw and Treasure-making potential here, and a +1 that offers rock solid protection.

#11. Jeska, Thrice Reborn

Partner commanders are always great build-arounds for flexible EDH decks, and Jeska, Thrice Reborn is no exception. Winning through combat damage can be difficult since players start with 40 life in Commander. but combine Jeska with a high-power partner like Dargo, the Shipwrecker and your opponents will drop like flies.

#10. The Unluckiest Planeswalker

With a great name and a rulebreaker ability, The Unluckiest Planeswalker is a wild option for an auras commander. This card only has a red color identity, but its static ability allows you to use any color aura and basic lands you want. The -3 ability is a ridiculous way to gain card advantage, and the whole interaction with curses is on-point for this character. Nothing unlucky about that!

#9. Sorin of House Markov / Sorin, Ravenous Neonate

Sorin of House Markov is one of the easiest flipwalkers to transform due to the combination of lifelink and extort on the front side, and the burn potential on Sorin, Ravenous Neonate is dangerous. Maintaining extort on the back side is nice touch, and helps to make the overall package here one of the scariest threats for a BW lifegain deck.

#8. Lord Windgrace

Yet another versatile commander, and among the best Jund commanders, Lord Windgrace is both a source of card advantage and mana ramp. Jund () is an excellent color identity for its effects. Plus, its second ability pairs especially well with fetch lands. Did I mention it's a great commander for land-based builds?

#7. Elminster

Azorius loves Elminster from Baldur's Gate. It's a spellslinger commander who gives discounts to the mana costs of your spells whenever you scry. White and blue scry like no other color combination, which makes this a great mechanic for a spell-based Azorius Commander deck. There are a few deckbuilding considerations here, but scry effects and big spells are a match already made in heaven.

#6. Daretti, Scrap Savant

Daretti, Scrap Savant‘s ability to filter through your hand makes it relevant at all times, but what really stands out is its -2 ability. You’ll pretty much always be able to reanimate an artifact from your graveyard when you cast Daretti regardless of its mana cost. Put some high-impact artifacts in your deck like Mindslaver and you’re good to go.

#5. Grist, the Hunger Tide

Grist, the Hunger Tide is one of the more unique commanders on this list, as it's simultaneously a creature and and planeswalker when it isn't on the battlefield.

Like many other Golgari planeswalkers, Grist's entire kit revolves around the graveyard and sacrifice. The first ability gains one loyalty counter, creates a small 1/1 insect token, mills one card, and repeats the process if the milled card is an insect. The -2 allows you to sacrifice a creature in order to destroy another creature or planeswalker. Those two abilities alone are an excellent duo for a 3-mana planeswalker. The ultimate ability is a whopping table-wide explosion that only costs 5 loyalty counters!

#4. Valki, God of Lies

I suppose you could cast Valki, God of Lies if you wanted to, but let’s be real: You’re here for Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor. In fact, casting Valki early might be detrimental since it’ll tack extra commander tax onto your 7-mana planeswalker if it dies first.

Tibalt’s a pretty messed up planeswalker if it goes unopposed. The +2 is basically Opportunity every turn, it picks off a creature or artifact if need be, and better yet, you can play whatever card goes away with the -3. The -8 is achievable two turns after Tibalt hits the board, and it basically lets you play with everyone’s graveyards for the rest of the game. Expensive, but potent, and sitting in colors with access to plenty of board wipes to keep it around.

#3. Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes

Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is your typical Gruul stompy commander but with ridiculously high damage potential for its cost. You'll never be short a creature to put these counters on, but the additional 1/1 hamster is a nice touch. Minsc & Boo's second ability is some great card draw and finishing power, too. It's essentially Lightning Bolt and Ancestral Recall in one, and I can't imagine a Gruul deck that wouldn't play that.

#2. Teferi, Temporal Archmage

There’s a competitive EDH deck out there that essentially goes infinite with Teferi, Temporal Archmage, The Chain Veil, and a couple mana rocks. You don’t have to be a hyper-competitive player to enjoy playing it, though. Teferi’s abilities always come in handy regardless of the situation.

#1. Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools‘ calling card is the partner keyword, so don’t worry about it being mono-colored. It starts with lots of loyalty and can immediately generate some blockers for your board, so it’s going to be tough to get rid of once it hits the battlefield.

But wait, there’s more! Just take a look at Tevesh Szat’s ultimate ability and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Pulling commanders right out of the command zone is diabolical, as is pairing Tevesh Szat with Rograhk, Son of Rohgahh for an easy -3 activation.

What Special Rules Are There for Planeswalker Commanders?

Note that some of the planeswalkers on the list are modal double-faced cards where the planeswalker is actually the back half of a legendary creature on the front. Casting the creature half of these spells adds to commander tax even if you cast the opposite side the next time. If you play Valki on turn 2 and it dies, Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor will cost mana the first time you cast it.

Can Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker Be a Commander?

Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker can’t be your commander, nor can any other planeswalker unless it specifically states otherwise. But if you really want a Bolas planeswalker as your commander, you could run Nicol Bolas, the Ravager. It’s technically a creature but can transform into Nicol Bolas, the Arisen if you’re willing to pay the mana.

You can of course Rule 0 any Nicol Bolas as your commander in a casual setting and with approval from your playgroup. Likewise, any planeswalker is legal as a commander in Oathbreaker, or in Brawl were this version of Nicol Bolas to come to MTG Arena.

Can a Planeswalker be a Commander in Brawl?

Yes, any planeswalker can be your commander in Brawl, regardless of what the text on that planeswalker says. All rules for the command zone and color identity still apply as deckbuilding restrictions in the Arena singleton format.

How About in Oathbreaker?

Nissa, Vastwood Seer | Illustration by Wesley Burt

This wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Oathbreaker, a format designed just for planeswalkers. It’s a 60-card singleton format where any planeswalker can be your commander (except it’s called an “Oathbreaker” instead of a commander) and an instant or sorcery spell also starts in the command zone.

There are plenty of other rules associated with Oathbreaker, so make sure to read up on it if you’re interested in that style of play!

Sample Planeswalker Commander Decklists

OK, so I've teased you enough. Here are a couple of really cool decklists to consider if you're interested in running a planeswalker as a commander. Hope this gets the juices flowing!

Mono-Red Daretti Artifacts

Engineered Explosives | Illustration by Lars Grant-West

This Daretti deck is all about a slow pace with artifacts like Trinisphere, Ensnaring Bridge, and Engineered Explosives. Then, with value engines like Trading Post and Staff of Domination, you slowly but surely grind out your opponents to victory.

Tevesh Szat and Kraum

Kraum, Ludevic's Opus | Illustration by Aaron Miller

Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools and Kraum, Ludevic's Opus team up in this hyper-fast combo deck. Most wins involve a Thassa's Oracle with an empty deck. You can draw most of your deck with Ad Nauseam, use Lion's Eye Diamond alongside Underworld Breach to generate loads of mana to recast cards from your graveyard, and use the rest of your cards in your graveyard to draw out your deck that way. Plus, you can always grind out your opponents with your commanders and use powerful counterspells as backup.

Wrap Up

Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

Hopefully this inspires you to try out a planeswalker as your next commander. It can be a bit skill-testing since opponents will very often try to attack your commander down, plus it's worth noting that these sorts of commanders naturally extend the length of games since players will spend time and resources attacking ‘walkers instead of reducing life totals. But they can be fun, and a nice change of pace from a typical creature commander.

The discussion doesn’t have to end here. What do you think about planeswalker commanders? Which one is your favorite? Feel free to find us on Discord to tell us what you think. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!