The 25 Best Soldier Commanders  in Magic Ranked

Last updated on March 13, 2024

Sisay, Weatherlight Captain | Illustration by Anna Steinbauer

Warriors are more fun. Soldiers are organized and disciplined and part of a hierarchy, working together toward a common goal that dwarfs each person’s significance.

So, pretty much like work, right?

Still, there are some really interesting soldier decks and soldier commanders in MTG, some of which play into that vibe, and some of which just turn things sideways a lot. And there are a lot of great soldiers cards printed in the last few years, from Boromir, Warden of the Tower and Horn of Gondor to Esper Sentinel, Siege Veteran, and Call the Coppercoats, so it’s a good time to see if soldiers in Commander can work.

We’re going to look at the best two dozen or so soldier commanders, so ready to take up arms? Then, forward, march!

What Are Soldier Commanders?

Odric, Master Tactician | Illustration by Michael Komarck

Commanders are legendary creatures. Many of these cards are legendary soldiers that run decks of other soldiers, but many are also soldier type legends that want to run other kinds of decks entirely. There are even a few non-soldiers that lead soldier armies.

The soldier creature type is predominantly in white, and all of these cards touch on white, at least a bit.

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

Kytheon, Hero of Akros is usually just a good soldier card you pop in one the decks to come, but Gideon planeswalker typal is really a deck. It feels a bit like a time capsule from 2015, but the deck has gotten a lot of recent cards that upgrade it, like Deification, Elspeth's Talent, Gatewatch Beacon, and Luxior, Giada's Gift.

#24. Darien, King of Kjeldor

Boomer Darien, King of Kjeldor doesn’t hold a candle to our #1 in the mono white soldiers space. I see the power here, but in a game that’s been power crept since Coldsnap (?!??), a 6-drop that opponents have to decide they let trigger seems like a terrible deal.

#23. Odric, Master Tactician

So banding, eh? Odric, Master Tactician basically kills their board if they let you attack and they decide to block. That feels like it was wicked cool in 2013. So was One Direction.

And I can’t muster any enthusiasm for Odric, Lunarch Marshal, so don’t even start with me!

#22. Daxos the Returned

Wilds of Eldraine printed a lot of cards for this Orzhov () enchantress space to support the Neva, Stalked by Nightmares draft archetype. But even then I find it hard to imagine Daxos the Returned actually works anymore.

#21. Iroas, God of Victory or Tajic, Legion’s Edge

The official commanders for Boros () soldier boomers who haven’t yet bought a copy of General Ferrous Rokiric, Iroas, God of Victory and Tajic, Legion's Edge are good cards that are better serving the General.

#20. Perrie, the Pulverizer

I’m not sure I buy Perrie, the Pulverizer as a counters commander, but the Bant colors () let you run a lot of cool stuff with blue pips you don’t get in Selesnya () commander counters decks like Brokers Ascendancy, Elusive Otter, Fathom Mage, and Goldberry, River-Daughter.

#19. Rhoda, Geist Avenger & Timin, Youthful Geist

This Azorius () tapping matters deck got some tapping buddies in Wilds of Eldraine for Timin, Youthful Geist, especially in Hylda's Crown of Winter, and some payoff buddies for Rhoda, Geist Avenger in Hylda of the Icy Crown and Sharae of Numbing Depths. It’s a deck where no one will lecture you on why you’re overrating Theft of Dreams when you play it, so there’s that.

#18. Alistair, the Brigadier

Obviously, I haven’t played with this Doctor Who card yet, but Alistair, the Brigadier seems impressive. Legendary soldiers in Bant might be a thing, sure, but I think packing this deck with mana rocks to make tokens and pay for Alistair’s pump ability sounds pretty good. You could also build a deck that uses great cards from your Urza, Prince of Kroog and Shorikai, Genesis Engine decks and adds some of the good green artifacts like Sarinth Steelseeker and a few powerful enablers like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy.

#17. Lavinia, Azorius Renegade

Stax and control? Lavinia, Azorius Renegade promises a great time for, well, honestly, just you, with its un-rowdy crew of Drannith Magistrate, Narset, Parter of Veils, Containment Priest, Archon of Emeria and friends. I’d probably still just use Grand Arbiter Augustin IV for my stax deck and just soak in the groans like a happiness vampire. Which, if I play that deck, I am.

#16. Faramir, Prince of Ithilien

Faramir, Prince of Ithilien is likely still a meme and a Limited bomb. But.

There are sacrifice outlets in Azorius, and since Faramir likes to make tokens, what could you do with OP things like Ashnod's Altar, just to get you thinking? Also consider lifegain cards like Diamond Valley, bouncers like Dispersing Orb, card draw like Drowned Rusalka, total nonsense like Demonmail Hauberk, and even cards that don’t start with the letter D.

#15. Jirina Kudro, Trynn, Champion of Freedom and Silvar, Devourer of the Free

Mardu () humans or soldiers is an attractive idea, as you can run cards like Jirina Kudro’s dad, General Kudro of Drannith, along with new favorite Riders of the Mark, Commissar Severina Raine, Teysa Karlov and the Zulaport Cutthroat package of drain and gain effects, as well as a lot of cool cards you can’t run in Selesnya humans. I think Jirina is a bit better as a commander, but having access to both Trynn, Champion of Freedom and Silvar, Devourer of the Free is excellent.

#14. Duke Ulder Ravengard

Not a lot of soldiers in this deck, but Duke Ulder Ravengard is sneaky good and can pop off. It goes infinite with Port Razer, and when it’s not doing that, it loves to use its myriad ability to duplicate creatures like Charming Scoundrel that drop Treasure on ETB or card draw creatures like Spirited Companion. This deck is probably the best place for Agrus Kos, Eternal Soldier, and it also might be the best home for Moonshaker Cavalry.

#13. Licia, Sanguine Tribune

So this is a card! I’ll be honest. I’ve never seen this card in real life and hadn’t heard of it until doing this article! Licia, Sanguine Tribune feels like the card you play when your group forbids you from using Edgar Markov. Vampire and lifegain strategies work well with this card, which, like Millicent, Restless Revenant, is way easier to cast than it would seem.

#12. Harbin, Vanguard Aviator

Harbin, Vanguard Aviator is a wincon on its own, which you saw if you watched any of the 2023 World Championship coverage of Simon Nielsen’s deck in action. Harbin also gives you access to countermagic to Protect the Negotiators, among other better counterspells. There are some powerful synergy pieces you get access to in blue, like Titan of Littjara, Skystrike Officer, and Tobias, Doomed Conqueror, but I don’t think this is the best build of soldier typal in Commander.

#11. Lagrella, the Magpie

This is the commander of my soldiers deck, and it’s a hidden gem! Lagrella, the Magpie seems to see more play in blink decks, which makes sense, as its ETB is bonkers. Banisher Priest something from everyone is not only powerful, but it’s great politics for when you really just want to nab a Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator but can act all diplomatic and even-handed. And if Lagrella’s nabbed something powerful, anyone who attacks you risks letting loose whatever kraken they’re sitting on.

Having a removal spell in the command zone is so good, folks. Usually I don’t play them until I need to nab some stuff to eliminate someone with a massive soldier attack, so if I can avoid commander tax for as long as possible, the potential for Lagrella to come down just gets more and more oppressive.

Finally, Bant is my favorite sets of colors for a soldier deck in EDH, as it gives you access to all the blue pipped cards from the Harbin deck but also King Darien the Superbowl, aka King Darien XLVIII, March of the Multitudes, Dauntless Escort and other green cards that take advantage of your plentiful cheap creatures like Collective Unconscious and Shamanic Revelation.

#10. General Ferrous Rokiric

Listen, I can’t handle this name. Had WOTC already reserved “Chad Chadworthy” for another card? Dr. Strangelove had already nabbed “Buck Turgidson.” Anyway, General Ferrous Rokiric is a pretty decent Boros beatdown commander, and it’s nice Boros has something to do besides fish for equipment. Although, wait a sec. Rokiric does exceptionally well with Sunforger, so we are not equipment free in these colors just yet.

#9. Saskia the Unyielding

Beatdown town! Often with humans, but I could see someone trying soldiers for like hipster cred. Saskia the Unyielding tries to end the game quickly and can sometimes do that, classically coming down just before the strike that eliminates two foes.

I can see a future of this deck subbing out Saskia for Aragorn, the Uniter if enough dual color soldiers are printed, but there aren’t quite enough yet for this to work.

#8. Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis

The classic group hug commander, Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis is also popular as a wheels general that draws everyone cards and then punishes them for it. And multicolor landfall. These aren’t my kind of decks, but I’ve seen other folks go off with this card. Not a soldier in sight in the 99, though, except perhaps Veteran Explorer!

#7. Roon of the Hidden Realm

One of the more popular blink commanders, Roon of the Hidden Realm’s green pip allows you to play sweet cards you can’t use in Brago, King Eternal, like Coiling Oracle, Thragtusk, Reclamation Sage, and Eternal Witness. Solid, and, like all blink decks, liable to get out of hand eventually.

#6. Zethi, Arcane Blademaster

Zethi, Arcane Blademaster is the in-universe version of Chun-Li, Countless Kicks. This card can get crazy with the spells, especially with stuff like Snap and Frantic Search that untap lands. It plays a bit like Feather, the Redeemed in that here’s where you might actually sleeve up a Show of Confidence, but in these colors, also cantrips like Leap. If you haven’t tried this deck, it’s really a lot of fun.

#5. Millicent, Restless Revenant

Azorius spirits precon leader Millicent, Restless Revenant is by far the most popular spirits commander. They can really start popping off with tokens and snowball. There are some decent spirit soldiers for flavor, including Drogskol Captain and Drogskol Reinforcements. Like Azorius spirits in 60-card formats, a decent splash of countermagic can help the overwhelming pile of flyers stay alive to finish the game.

#4. Myrel, Shield of Argive

You’ve got to give up other colors to play the most popular soldier typal commander, Myrel, Shield of Argive, but they give you a lot in return. Turning off opposing interaction during your turn helps you get down the cards you need, especially more expensive cards like Rescue Retriever that get a LOT better if you can’t counter them. And Myrel can get out of hand quickly with their token abilities. You’ll need enough Teferi's Protection style things to get you out of board wipes, but this is a nice, fast, aggressive deck.

You’ll see Myrel targeted for bounce and spot removal a lot, and the rest of your deck is pretty efficient, so save them for after some of the spot removal at the table has been applied.

#3. Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

The most popular soldier commander, Sisay, Weatherlight Captain is the second most popular 5-color legend commander behind Jodah, the Unifier. With enough legends out to buff Sisay’s power, they eventually become a -tapping toolbox who has very little to do with actual soldier typal builds. Jodah is probably the better legends deck, and easier to play, but there is something fiddly and interesting about Birthing Pod style toolboxes that’ll always pull certain players in.

#2. Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

Did you know eminence lifegain machine Oloro, Ageless Ascetic was a soldier? Neither did I! This old chestnut of a deck, which usually runs all the lifegain and drain combos, from Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood to Felidar Sovereign nonsense, has a new buddy in Will, Scion of Peace. Still powerful, still likely to at least keep you around for second place, at worst, I’m not sure how good this deck is at an LGS that bans combo, as it’s kinda hard to build a lifegain deck that doesn’t at least accidentally go infinite occasionally.

#1. Captain Sisay

I know, right? This old thing?

Supplanted by other soldier commanders in recent years, Captain Sisay lives on in Cube and in cEDH builds which use them to tutor up infinite mana, stax pieces, or the nightmarish lock of Living Plane and Linvala, Keeper of Silence. This deck is probably best at a cEDH table and is definitely not fun to play a more casual deck against!

Best Soldier Commander Payoffs

If you’re going to run a commander with a powerful deck build that’s only incidentally a soldier, then okay. But if you want to rock with the soldiers themselves, there are a lot of good cards to support the army.

Here’s a list of my favorite must-include cards for a soldier deck. These are soldier-specific, so although you likely want to run a Teferi's Protection, I’m not listing generically awesome cards like that here. I’m also only going to list cards that could be played in mono white. Every commander on our list today has a white pip, so it seems useful to list cards for all:

• Boromir, Warden of the Tower
• Call the Coppercoats
• Daru Warchief
• Defiler of Faith
• Deploy to the Front
• Esper Sentinel
• Finale of Glory
• Firemane Commando
• Horn of Gondor
• Horn of Valhalla
• Martial Coup
• Preeminent Captain
• Rescue Retriever
• Reverent Hoplite
• Selfless Squire
• Siege Veteran
• Valiant Veteran

And there are plenty more that fit some of these decks better than others, like Mobilization.

Wrap Up

Oloro, Ageless Ascetic | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

Well, you soldiered through that valiantly, and I hope you grabbed a few ideas from the list. I only started building EDH soldiers decks when I drafted enough in recent years to end up with a decent pile of good soldiers. Finding the right home for them has been a journey, but well worth it, as I’ve won some huge blowouts with my Lagrella, the Magpie deck.

What’s your soldier build of choice? And are there any other soldier commanders for non-soldier decks I’ve missed out on? Got a sweet Dennick, Pious Apprentice brew I need to hear about or a Soulja Boy alter? Let us know in the comments or on Discord.