Last updated on April 10, 2024
Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch | Illustration by Chris Rahn
Each Magic set leaves its own mark on the game as a whole. Ixalan’s primary contributions were some of the best Magic story we’d seen in the years before or since and the official canonization of dinosaurs and pirates as proper creature types.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan expands on these genuinely fun creature types as it plunges to the core of the plane, exposing an ancient civilization and the magical threats that forced them to sequester themselves within the plane. Amid the dinosaurs and pirates, what are the best commanders from LCI?
Let’s check it out.
How Many Commanders Are There in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan?
Nicanzil, Current Conductor | Illustration by Fariba Khamseh
Including reprints in the main set and the precons, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has a very nice 69 potential commanders. This is a pretty sharp uptick from Wilds of Eldraine’s combined 37 commanders; this discrepancy primarily seems to come from far more legendary creature reprints in the LCC Commander precons.
Of these 69 commanders, a little over half of them are multicolor, with 43 multicolor legendary creatures and 26 mono-colored commanders. A significant portion of the mono-colored commanders are reprints except for green, whose two mono-colored commanders are from the main set.
#69. Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider was a delight in Standard and a lot of fun in lower-powered Cubes, but it isn’t something I want in the command zone. I don’t think the kind of aggressive play pattern Kari Zev wants is good in Commander, especially when I don’t get to keep the token and can’t attack into two 2/2s.
#68. Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
One of the biggest meme cards, Zetalpa, Primal Dawn doesn’t deserve the flack. It’s a cool card that’s fantastic for precons. Zetalpa is the kind of card a new player looks at and is mind-blown by – how could something with this many words ever lose?!? That said, if I’m putting the effort to play an expensive commander in the worst ramp color, I’d much rather have something like Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Zetalpa’s comfortable, perhaps even ideal, home is in the 99 of precons.
#67. Uchbenbak, the Great Mistake
The first of those Limited-only uncommons, Uchbenbak, the Great Mistake lacks the power for Commander. You need more from your commander than a 5-mana beater with mediocre evasion. The descend ability adding a finality counter prevents you from establishing cool loops by sacrificing Uchbenbak and reanimating it, so this is just meh in all regards.
#66. Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath
Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath ranks #1 in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan’s cutest commanders, but that’s another article. This commander is basically a modal card: 2-mana 2/3 haste, or a 4-mana Ravenous Chupacabra. You could try to exploit this with cards like Conjurer's Closet and Panharmonicon, but this isn’t worth the effort.
#65. Zoyowa Lava-Tongue
Zoyowa Lava-Tongue is nearly interesting. This could be a powerful commander if its ability could be triggered more than once per turn. Getting a single descend trigger isn’t hard, though it’s worth noting that you can’t descend with tokens. This might have potential in Pauper Commander, but regular EDH probably isn’t interested in this outside the 99 of casual decks.
#64. Kellan, Daring Traveler
Kellan has become the protagonist of the Omenpath arc, but Kellan, Daring Traveler is a drastic step down from the last set’s Kellan, the Fae-Blooded. A small creature that attacks and maybe draws a card is great in 60-card formats, but it’s outpaced with ease in Commander. Making three artifact tokens for has potential, but Selesnya () makes better use of creature tokens.
#63. Thassa, God of the Sea
A 3-mana 5/5 indestructible creature isn’t something to sneeze at, but Thassa, God of the Sea doesn’t offer much else. Scry 1 each upkeep isn’t worth a card. The unblockable ability works with Coastal Piracy and other such effects, and I guess it lets you win with commander damage if you string together infinite extra turns, but this is overall underwhelming unless you want to play the God of the Sea for flavor.
#62. Etali, Primal Storm
Etali, Primal Storm just isn’t good. At many tables, Commander’s power has crept beyond a 6-mana creature that needs to survive a turn so it can attack and maybe cast a few spells. Haste enablers can help, but if you want to cast your opponent’s spells from exile, there’s no reason but nostalgia to play this over Etali, Primal Conqueror, which is stronger in every way.
#61. Zegana, Utopian Speaker
Zegana, Utopian Speaker is okay. Its primary downfall comes from how competitive the command zone for Simic () counters is as a well-developed archetype. Some more efficient commanders offer greater value than a single card and team-wide trample, especially with how easy the latter ability is to grant.
#60. Akawalli, the Seething Tower
Big beaters in the command zone aren’t always good enough, but Akawalli, the Seething Tower does get quite big for only costing 3 mana. It may take too long to buff Akawalli for it to be viable as a Voltron commander, but the high power could be interesting with cards like Greater Good and Rishkar's Expertise.
#59. Captain Storm, Cosmium Raider
Pirates and Treasure go hand in hand. Captain Storm, Cosmium Raider shares the bounty with its crew, proving how fair pirates can be. Except this might be too fair. There are ways to exploit this, like loops with Dockside Extortionist that make all your pirates infinitely large. Captain Storm is ultimately a commander you’ll play for flavor over power.
#58. Captain Lannery Storm
Treasure tokens are among the most powerful mechanics in recent years. While Captain Lannery Storm does generate them and utilize them, it’s just weak. Eventually, it needs to stop attacking, and I want my 3-mana commander to make more than two or three Treasures before it’s forced into defense or trading off.
#57. Breeches, Eager Pillager
Breeches, Eager Pillager has a lot of good text but feels solidly like an inclusion for the 99 of a pirate deck. Going mono-red pirates removes so many good playables that it’s not worth the cost. If you insist on playing Breeches in the command zone, it can at least attack for far longer than some alternatives.
#56. Ghost of Ramirez DePietro
Evaluating partners can be tricky because their power depends on the other card you slap in the command zone. Ghost of Ramirez DePietro wants to go with a black or green commander for solid self-mill synergies beyond what blue has on its own. In exchange, you get a repeated source of card draw as long as your opponents don’t have too many small creatures.
#55. Nicanzil, Current Conductor
Nicanzil, Current Conductor will likely be a beast in Limited. In the command zone, it has potential. The first ability is especially powerful on a 2-mana commander that, while small, scales with the game, unlike some of the other 2-drops. The main issue comes from support. Getting a critical mass of explore cards means scraping the bin for draft chaff.
#54. Admiral Beckett Brass
Admiral Beckett Brass was the first real pirate commander, but it’s a little too demanding. Getting all the applicable colors and a lord in the command zone works, but its second ability asks so much of you. Not only do you need three pirates, but they also need to connect. Plenty of pirates fly, but this is still a lot of requirements for a payoff that’s hit-or-miss.
#53. Prime Speaker Zegana
While we’re still not in the upper echelon of Simic counter commanders, Prime Speaker Zegana outstrips its newest printing. This often represents a lot of card draw attached to a formidable, if expensive, threat. Paired with some flicker effects, this commander lets you see a lot of cards.
#52. Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
Getting to cast free spells with Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel is appealing. This offers a lot of potential value, especially with proliferate cards like Experimental Augury and Flux Channeler helping you get to four counters faster. Malcolm might be a little too fragile, but this has tons of potential – especially if you can find a way to loop Time Warp and friends.
#51. Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
Two of the most potent abilities in the command zone are mana production and card advantage. The addition of a stax effect makes Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar quite interesting. It may be a little weak in the command zone but will at the very least become a staple alongside commanders like Jetmir, Nexus of Revels that buff your creatures.
#50. Vona, Butcher of Magan
Seven life is a steep cost to kill a creature, but Orzhov excels at life gain. Vona, Butcher of Magan offers board control when you have life to spare. Cards like Drumbellower allow you to get multiple activations.
#49. Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
White doesn’t mind making a flurry of tokens. Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle requires a lot of attacks but doesn’t need to get into the red zone itself, which is good because it’s pretty small. This could be quite lethal alongside a few token doublers that effectively let you sacrifice one creature to make several tokens. Lifelink is a great keyword for white to capitalize on.
#48. Timothar, Baron of Bats
Timothar, Baron of Bats is a little expensive, but mono-black is a great home for vampires. Turning your dead vampires into bats that bring them back opens the door to interesting sacrifice synergies, potentially making this more of a specific aristocrats commander than a typal one.
#47. Vorel of the Hull Clade
While it’s likely good game design that Vorel of the Hull Clade can’t double counters on planeswalkers, it’s a little sad. When you’re putting counters on creatures, there are better options; if you want to double counters on other permanents like Darksteel Reactor this becomes much spicier.
#46. Kopala, Warden of Waves
Merfolk has lots of options for commanders. Kopala, Warden of Waves offers potent protection from spot removal but little else for value. This could be a meta call if you find your playgroup tends to run heavy on Swords to Plowshares and friends, but I’m otherwise disinterested.
#45. Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation / Temple of Civilization
Tripling your tokens is a step up from Anointed Procession, and Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation will see tons of play in the format, but I’m not convinced it’s a good commander. The closest comparison is Mondrak, Glory Dominus, and getting one extra token and weaker, more mana-intensive protection doesn’t seem worth the costs.
#44. Abuelo, Ancestral Echo
Abuelo, Ancestral Echo has stiff competition in the command zone for Azorius () flicker decks. A cheap commander with ward 2 is quite welcome; Abuelo will rarely eat a direct removal spell unless your opponents feel like sinking an entire turn into removing it. The delay on its activated ability stops nonsense with Peregrine Drake effects but also protects your creatures from incoming wraths.
#43. Akal Pakal, First Among Equals
Making an artifact each turn is tricky but well within the realm of possibility. Akal Pakal, First Among Equals pays your efforts off handsomely with four extra cards each turn and a stocked graveyard. You need to make the effort to trigger it on turns other than your own, but the payoff is there.
#42. Huatli, Poet of Unity / Roar of the Fifth People
Huatli, Poet of Unity is an okay card. It replaces itself with a land, but all the power is in the flipside, Roar of the Fifth People. The saga offers tokens, mana advantage, and a potent finisher if you’re playing dinosaurs. Huatli is a little slow but ultimately a fine way to build dinosaurs in EDH.
#41. Tishana, Voice of Thunder
Tishana, Voice of Thunder rewards you richly for going wide, even if it’s a bit mana-intensive. It works amazingly alongside mana dorks who play Tishana quickly while giving fodder for the card draw. With a way to grant evasion, this commander becomes quite dangerous.
#40. Zara, Renegade Recruiter
You can do cool things with Zara, Renegade Recruiter. Namely, steal your opponents’ creatures! If you use Zara’s ability and then flicker the creature with an effect that specifies the flickered creature comes back under your control, you get to keep the creature forever since it counts as a new instance of the permanent.
#39. Wayta, Trainer Prodigy
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy is meant to be an enrage build-around, but the effect goes much deeper than Ixalan’s dinosaur-centric mechanic. This ability works with Stuffy Doll and friends who already want to be in Naya for access to solid ramp to back up expensive spells like Star of Extinction and access to every version of that effect, namely Boros Reckoner and Spitemare.
#38. Caparocti Sunborn
Caparocti Sunborn is a solid creature. Discover is a powerful mechanic, though the costs may be a little steep here. This deck needs ways to give Caparocti evasion; the cards to tap are less troublesome, as Boros () excels at token production. This commander’s strength lies in how much value you can get from repeated discover triggers.
#37. Svyelun of Sea and Sky
Ward 1 is more of an annoyance than a real protective ability, but Svyelun of Sea and Sky has built-in resilience, so your opponent can’t brush it aside. Indestructible keeps this card playable, letting it attack any opposing board state to keep cards flowing.
#36. Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood
Might I interest you in Freyalise's Winds as a way to force your opponents to take every other turn off from playing the game? Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood is pretty expensive but rewards careful deck building that seeks to get counters where they normally wouldn’t be. Putting charge counters on artifacts with Coretapper is another way to go about it.
#35. Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal / Temple of the Dead
Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal fathered vampires on Ixalan but is a little slow. Making your opponents discard and maybe getting a few tokens isn’t a particularly powerful payoff. Temple of the Dead looks like the hardest temple to flip back into the god. This could be a fine replacement for Tergrid, God of Fright at lower-powered tables.
#34. Drana, Liberator of Malakir
If you want to get aggressive in mono-black, Drana, Liberator of Malakir is a pretty good option. Evasive and strong, Drana has an ability that dominates a game, but its primary weakness is board wipes that deal with your board. If you can avoid those, there are some strong +1/+1 counter synergies in black, like Hagra Constrictor and Oona's Blackguard.
#33. Emperor Mihail II
Emperor Mihail II is much more of what I want out of a typal commander. Getting card advantage and board presence in a compact package is beautiful. The triggered ability especially helps out the curve; it ensures we’ll waste little, if any, of our mana each turn for maximum efficiency.
#32. Ramirez DePietro, Pillager
Ramirez DePietro, Pillager isn’t the best commander in the world, but it does everything I could want from a 4-mana commander. It generates mana and card advantage with a theme. Subjectively, this is a perfect commander design.
#31. Francisco, Fowl Marauder
Whoever named Francisco, Fowl Marauder deserves an immediate bonus and increased naming privileges. This is also a really solid card. The difference between triggering off combat damage and triggering off damage is immense. After one or two explore triggers, Francisco starts triggering itself, which is even better.
#30. Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Making all your creatures explore offers a ton of card advantage. Hakbal of the Surging Soul is very powerful. A commander who draws cards and/or grows your board does a lot. You even get a bit of ramp for all the extra lands going to your hand. Adding green to your merfolk deck opens up some strong merfolk from the original Ixalan and makes it easier to deal with permanents.
#29. Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon
Not needing to attack boosts the utility of Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon. You can effectively sacrifice one token to make several more, and it only gets better with extra combats. Making artifact tokens lets you utilize white’s token synergies as well as cards like Reckless Fireweaver and Alibou, Ancient Witness.
#28. Breeches, Brazen Plunderer
Getting card draw from dealing damage with an aggressive archetype is a great way to extend the lead. Breeches, Brazen Plunderer takes this further by letting you steal cards. That’s a great way to access spells your color identity prevents you from playing. Triggering off all damage lets you exploit this ability through a stalled board state.
#27. Sovereign Okinec Ahau
Sovereign Okinec Ahau pumps your creatures by so much. This is especially potent with hydras since their base power is 0, but anything works. This effect is better than doubling the number of counters on your creatures because it accounts for anthems, auras, and equipment. This isn’t to say the deck should ignore counter synergies like Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider and Duskshell Crawler.
#26. Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca plays for the long game. Sitting back on a steadily growing board, drawing cards, and pumping your team sets you up well. This commander offers your merfolk inevitability alongside plenty of card draw to find the interaction necessary to protect your rapidly developing board.
#25. Tatyova, Benthic Druid
Tatyova, Benthic Druid is a solid option for a landfall commander. Making all your lands replace themselves is amazing card advantage, especially alongside Exploration effects that allow you to play multiple lands. The life gain can add up quickly and lets you capitalize on cards like Blossoming Bogbeast and Trudge Garden.
#24. The Mycotyrant
One’s first impulse when building The Mycotyrant is to reach for saproling and fungus synergies, but that may be a trap. Sacrificing tokens doesn’t count as descending since they’re not cards, so going deep on saproling aristocrats doesn’t yield the desired results. The Mycotyrant seems better suited for a dredge-style deck filling the graveyard with Golgari Grave-Troll and Hermit Druid, accruing the tokens as a welcome bonus instead of the deck’s focus.
#23. Yahenni, Undying Partisan
Yahenni, Undying Partisan shines thanks to their activated ability. A free sacrifice outlet is crucial for many combos that sacrifice creatures and win with Blood Artist and similar effects. Attaching that to a 3-mana commander that protects itself is even better. Yahenni is one of the strongest mono-black sacrifice commanders – though this set offers an intriguing alternative that might power creep Yahenni out of the format.
#22. Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant
Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant strikes me as the kind of Timmy card that overruns casual tables unprepared for a turn 5 or 6 Ghalta accompanied by an Eldrazi but falls apart when prodded with interaction from a prepared table. I’m much more interested in Ghalta as a tool in the 99, especially for blue decks where every spell replaces itself twofold, and Displacer Kitten is ready to help abuse the powerful triggered ability.
#21. Clavileño, First of the Blessed
Clavileño, First of the Blessed provides an interesting commander for vampire kindred decks. You need to lean into aristocrat synergies to make this commander work, but the payoff is immense. Free card advantage takes over games. The Demon tokens represent an extra piece of sacrifice fodder but are also likely to be more formidable than whatever you sacrificed. Since the creature becomes permanently marked, you can also set up some nice wrath insolation or take things over with your own Damnation.
Ward 3 is pretty inconsequential in Commander, so don’t count on that protecting Amalia Benavides Aguirre. It does have amazing potential. Black uses the graveyard as a resource enough that exploring each time you draw a card is practically the same as drawing a card. If you generate infinite life, you can rip through your entire deck, make Amalia infinitely large, and get a board wipe to let it attack your opponents. The board wipe is extra text; it seems unlikely to come up without gaining infinite life.
#19. Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch / Temple of Cyclical Time
Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch boldly asks what no person has asked before: Just how many times can you cast Sublime Epiphany in one game of Commander? Giving your instants rebound offers an amazing advantage. It’s great with permanents that care about you casting spells, like Displacer Kitten and Murmuring Mystic, and pairs especially well with modal cards like Cryptic Command and Mystic Confluence.
#18. Xavier Sal, Infested Captain
Xavier Sal, Infested Captain is an odd one. Confining its abilities to sorcery speed hampers its power, but perhaps necessarily. It’ll work well with sagas because you can keep them around to keep getting their second-to-last ability. There are probably a billion and a half combos with Xavier utilizing Intruder Alarm as well, and it looks good with cards like The Sixth Doctor that allow you to make copies of legendary permanents.
#17. Xenagos, God of Revels
A classic Gruul commander, Xenagos, God of Revels, hits your opponents hard and fast. Haste and a power boost are amazing with creatures that care about dealing damage or attacking, like Ilharg, the Raze-Boar, or Professional Face-Breaker. Getting extra combats with Bloodthirster and Combat Celebrant only extends the fun.
#16. Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth / Temple of Cultivation
Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth cheats plenty of Eldrazi and other devastating threats into play and ramps you in one package. Haste enablers like Concordant Crossroads and Crashing Drawbridge are important to help get extra triggers without relying on your opponents not having interaction.
#15. The Ancient One
While a 2-mana 8/8 is pretty sick, most of the buzz on this commander surrounds it being an infinite mana outlet. You can draw through your deck to empty your library for Thassa's Oracle or mill the table out by looping through your deck with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. Playing this fairly is also possible for a spicy Dimir () Voltron build.
#14. Admiral Brass, Unsinkable
Admiral Brass, Unsinkable promises to keep the pirate fun going well after they meet Davy Jones. You can do some neat tricks with Conspiracy and Arcane Adaptation, but playing the Admiral fairly works wonders. Pirates are aggressive enough to force your opponents into combat and utilize haste quite well.
#13. Zacama, Primal Calamity
Zacama, Primal Calamity makes a fine dinosaur commander but does a lot besides. A “free” 9/9 with these activated abilities lets you overwhelm your opponents with value that can be extended with Wilderness Reclamation and Seedborn Muse. Naya decks excel at generating infinite mana, and Zacama is a fantastic outlet for that mana should you take that route.
#12. Gishath, Sun’s Avatar
When you’re doing dinosaurs, the deck's focus is always going big and fast. Gishath, Sun's Avatar does that better than anybody. The game plan is as simple as it is cool: Smash face with dinosaurs! Gishath was already a respectable commander, but it’s only gotten better with an influx of new dinosaurs from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
#11. Tetzin, Gnome Champion
I doubt we’ll remember Tetzin, Gnome Champion as one of the objectively strongest commanders from LCI, but there’s no denying it’s the most interesting build-around card in the set. Jeskai () artifacts have some solid support, and there’s no shortage of double-faced artifacts; a quick Scryfall search shows 50 double-faced artifacts in these colors. The mill also plays well with the ample Goblin Welder effects red has access to alongside blue’s self-mill.
#10. Don Andres, the Renegade
Theft decks are fantastic fun for the whole table, as long as the theft player isn’t eating Cheetos. Don Andres, the Renegade is a great payoff for Grixis () theft. It doesn’t steal cards itself, but there are plenty of effects that allow you to do so. The buff to stolen creatures is especially interesting because it works well with Zealous Conscripts and other Treason effects, which theft commanders don’t typically care about since they often focus on casting stolen spells.
#9. Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
Anything that lets you cast spells for free is at least a little broken. Pantlaza, Sun-Favored may not be the best dinosaur build-around, but I think there’s potential if you stretch the deck a little further and focus on casting cards from exile. There’s plenty of support in cards like Passionate Archaeologist and Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald. This would see the dinosaurs as enablers rather than the focal point, which is an exciting spin on big creatures go smash.
#8. Inti, Seneschal of the Sun
Inti, Seneschal of the Sun offers incredible card advantage for a 2-mana commander. Red often discards cards anyway, as we see with Thrill of Possibility, Faithless Looting, and Big Score. Converting those cards into extra card advantage is amazing, and you get a full turn cycle to sequence those cards into your game plan. The attack trigger is nice, but the second ability is why you’ll put Inti in the command zone.
#7. Elenda, the Dusk Rose
Elenda, the Dusk Rose has been a powerhouse Orzhov commander since our original venture to Ixalan, and it’s still quite powerful. Aristocrat commanders have no issue stacking a kill count, but counting your opponents’ creatures lets Elenda grow out of control. It poses your opponents with a nasty choice to deal with either the steadily growing commander or the army that rises from its ashes.
#6. Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz
Hello, Smothering Tithe! While Treasure is the most obvious way to break Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz, this is just an amazing card. Lifegain and sacrifice effects go hand-in-hand, and the demons represent a lot of power to go along with the constant pressure from your commander alongside cards like Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose and Blood Artist.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator’s primary claim to fame is going infinite with Glint-Horn Buccaneer for an a+b combo right out of the command zone. This is a pretty good reason to be famous, and Malcolm has graced many a cEDH table. Even if you play it fairly, a cheap commander that generates this much mana is well worth the effort of building around.
#4. Saheeli, the Sun’s Brilliance
Saheeli, the Sun's Brilliance underwhelmed me at first, but after further consideration, I’m impressed. This is an incredibly efficient version of the copy ability. Making Inferno Titan and Scourge of Fleets every turn prevents your opponents from maintaining a board and puts a clock on them. Saheeli’s also got potential as a combo commander; this, Dockside Extortionist, and Intruder Alarm wins on the spot. Those are some powerful cards to serve as the basis for your combo deck.
#3. Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher
The more I read Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher, the more I fall in love. It’s expensive but grows fast: with fetch lands and Treasures, players are sacrificing permanents all the time, especially once you throw in a few Fleshbag Marauders to get 4 counters. Since Carmen says permanent, this not only ramps you by getting back fetches but lets you put stax pieces like Damping Sphere and assemble permanent-based combos like Animate Dead + Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward without putting a spell on the stack. It’s flexible and powerful. What more could you want except completely broken?
#2. Bartolomé del Presidio
Yahenni, Undying Partisan was one of the strongest sacrifice commanders, but I think Bartolomé del Presidio has power crept it out of the format. You get the free, unrestricted sacrifice ability while getting to sacrifice a wider range of permanents, accessing a second color, and a cheaper mana cost. Losing the protective ability is detrimental, but this is such an obliquely powerful enabler for 2 mana that it may not matter. I’m coming in really hot on Bartolomé, but I honestly expect this to be one of the most impactful and played cards in the entire set.
#1. Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might / Temple of Power
Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might is a beast of a commander. It’s especially potent with cards like Manabarbs and Ankh of Mishra to raze the table as they attempt to cast spells, but it could also work with creature-based strategies leveraging Hellrider and similar effects. Axonil is significant because it represents a significant power boost to other mono-red burn commanders, notably Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and Torbran, Thane of Red Fell. It’s more effective even before you start making Axonil huge with Downhill Charge and Tavern Brawler.
Commanding Conclusion
Bartolomé del Presidio | Illustration by Randy Gallegos
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan brought us back to a plane made iconic for its inclusion of pirates and dinosaurs into the official lore of Magic as cards we could play with instead of seeing referenced. The set brought an eruption of new commanders that strengthened those archetypes and gave new options to plenty of established archetypes and even a few generals who promised to revolutionize their decks.
With so many new commanders and a few nice reprints, there’s no shortage of the brewing fun you can have with LCI. Which commander from the new set are you looking forward to brewing around? Which of Ixalan’s factions is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!
Stay safe, and keep spelunking!
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