The 48 Best Token Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on March 13, 2024

Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse | Illustration by Izzy

Tokens are one of mthe best strategies in Magic. You get to swarm the board with more creatures than your opponents can keep up with and rush them down with an army that’s too big for your playmat to contain. Tokens can also make a lot of other strategies work well.

Beating your opponent with an army of 1/1s is a uniquely satisfying experience. It lets you build a deck that’s more than the sum of its measly parts and crafts an interesting story in the deck around how your armies unified to take down the opposition. Of course, no army is complete without a competent general, so let’s look at the best token commanders in Magic!

What Are Token Commanders in MTG?

Krenko, Mob Boss | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Token commanders are legendary creatures that either produce a bunch of tokens or care about and benefit you for producing a bunch of tokens. Some abilities that want you to create lots of tokens include cards that pump your entire team or draw you cards around how many tokens you’ve made.

This list focuses on commanders that benefit you from producing creature tokens. It excludes commanders that only care about or produce Treasures and other nontoken creatures because those strategies exist in a different gameplan than creature token commanders.

I’m also only looking at commanders that create or care about a number of tokens rather than commanders that incidentally generate tokens. For example, Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is a fantastic commander that creates a token, but it doesn’t care about tokens in general. This list is for players who want to use tokens as Richard Garfield intended: to beat down your opponents with an Overwhelming Stampede of small critters!

Best White Token Commanders

#9. Prava of the Steel Legion

Prava of the Steel Legion sets you up with a powerful token commander that keeps your team larger. It enables lots of attacks and works well with cards that give you vigilance. Its token-producing ability is expensive but gives you a valuable mana sink in the late game.

#8. Lena, Selfless Champion

One weakness of a token deck is board wipes. Destroying all the tokens you spent turns cultivating can be crippling. Lena, Selfless Champion gives you an answer to that in the command zone while making a bunch of tokens. It doesn’t scale off the tokens you already control, which makes it a bit weaker, but it has a lot of potential.

#7. Brimaz, King of Oreskos

Brimaz, King of Oreskos gives you a steady stream of tokens that attack and block as needed. It’s strong with cat tribal cards like King of the Pride and cards that generate value when creatures come into play, like Cathars' Crusade.

#6. Darien, King of Kjeldor

Where Brimaz is a king with a steady supply of troops, Darien, King of Kjeldor commands the masses by dropping huge numbers of tokens at once. It’s hard, if not impossible, for your opponents to race this card, and it works well with effects like Ankh of Mishra that damage you to make tokens.

#5. Myrel, Shield of Argive

Myrel, Shield of Argive is a very powerful commander in general. It makes a bundle of tokens and provides excellent protection on your turn. There’s a big overlap between white token cards and white Soldier tribal strategies, so it lets you mingle two well-supported archetypes for a powerful combination.

#4. Elesh Norn / The Argent Etchings

Elesh Norn doesn’t look like a token commander on the front face, but once you flip it into The Argent Etchings, you’ll find yourself with a full board. It also gives you several powerful closing abilities as a saga. This commander asks you to make as many artifact creature tokens as possible, which is an interesting constraint for white.

#3. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar

Much like Brimaz, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar exerts tons of pressure on your opponents as you attack, but it does so far more effectively. It doesn’t need to get into the red zone itself, makes far more tokens, and hits everybody equally. This is a terrifying commander to face if you’re not equipped to deal with tokens.

#2. Bennie Bracks, Zoologist

White is a famously weak color in Commander, with one of its biggest drawbacks being a lack of card draw. Bennie Bracks, Zoologist challenges this as an intriguing white commander with card advantage and cost reduction worked into the card.

This commander asks you to find ways to make tokens on your opponent's turn with cards like Raise the Alarm and Secure the Wastes to get multiple draws a turn cycle.

#1. Mondrak, Glory Dominus

Crowning mono-white’s best token commanders is Mondrak, Glory Dominus. Doubling tokens is one of the strongest abilities in Commander. This card gets out of control incredibly fast and has built-in protection with its ability to gain an indestructible counter. This is the best value you can get out of the command zone in mono-white because it makes your other strategies twice as good.

Best Blue Token Commanders

#4. Talrand, Sky Summoner

Wizard’s favorite blue commander, Talrand, Sky Summoner gets reprinted more times than Colossal Dreadmaw. But maybe there’s something to it. This is a powerful blue tokens commander that leans into what blue innately wants to do: cast instants and sorceries. It might be a little vanilla, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

#3. Alandra, Sky Dreamer

The only thing blue might be better at than casting instants and sorceries is drawing cards, which is what Alandra, Sky Dreamer needs to make its own fleet of flying Drakes to defeat your opponents. It gets a nod in power level over Talrand because it has a built-in finisher thanks to its second ability.

#2. Minn, Wily Illusionist

Who said blue doesn’t care about permanents? Minn, Wily Illusionist is a fantastic commander that functions on several levels. It builds a wide board, which becomes a tall board as the Illusion tokens die.

This card is great because it forces your opponents to make interesting choices. They can block the token and risk a massive card coming into play, or they can take the damage and risk losing the game! It’s just neat.

#1. Deekah, Fractal Theorist

Deekah, Fractal Theorist gives you the biggest tokens in blue. The magecraft ability is easily abusable with copy effects like Swarm Intelligence and storm cards like Temporal Fissure to bury your opponents beneath fractions and multiplied spells. Token production doesn’t get bluer than this.

Best Black Token Commanders

#5. Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder

Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder generates huge chunks of tokens at a time. Too many tokens are risky; Endrek’s ability is a state-based ability, and it’ll still die when it resolves, even if you lose some of the tokens while it's on the stack. That said, black has plenty of sacrifice outlets to keep your Thrull count below seven.

#4. Tormod, the Desecrator

Black is as good at getting things out of the graveyard as it is at sacrificing tokens. Tormod, the Desecrator makes a steady stream of tokens for you. It’s a fantastic engine that generates tokens while pulling cards from our graveyard.

Zombies are also a relevant creature type, and both Tormod and its tokens enable those strategies.

#3. Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia

Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia is a cheap option that generates tokens every turn. It generates a guaranteed death or sacrifice trigger each turn since you can throw the Zombie token into combat and get the trigger, either off the decayed trigger or because the opponent blocked the 2/2. Two mana is also a fantastic cost. You can play it several times and always get to play it out on turn two.

#2. Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel

Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel isn’t a cheap commander, but it punches hard for its cost. Black tokens decks almost always sacrifice their tokens for value, so this guy gets pretty big quickly. It also offers wrath protection; if the opponent wipes the board, you get a swathe of tokens right after.

#1. Ghoulcaller Gisa

Black cares about sacrificing tokens, and it cares about Zombies. Ghoulcaller Gisa does both and produces more Zombies. It’ll get out of control slowly and surely. It even sacrifices its Zombies to make more Zombies each time. This card works great with big creatures that want to die, like Junji, the Midnight Sky.

Best Red Token Commanders

#5. Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician

You’ll notice a common theme among red token commanders: they like goblins. And are goblins. Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician turns Mountains into tokens, which can be strong later in the game. It also enables some powerful attacks since your opponents' can’t easily block your goblins without losing their board state.

#4. Ardoz, Cobbler of War

Ardoz, Cobbler of War is a super cheap commander. It falls into the tokens payoff category: give your team +2/+0 when they come into play ends games very quickly. This card works best with goblin synergies like Goblin Chieftain or other haste makers like Mass Hysteria.

#3. Pashalik Mons

Once again, Pashalik Mons gives you a token generator, a sacrifice outlet, and a payoff for all your tokens. This is a fantastic token payoff because it gives your board a ton of inevitability. If you attack your opponent with 13 1/1s, they take damage regardless of how many they block. It also produces tons of tokens if you ever run out of cards to cast.

#2. Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin

Krenko is one of the most iconic goblins in Magic, and it comes with a host of goblins ready to grab whatever they can. Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin might be the best Voltron option on this list since its token production scales with its power, which makes suiting it up with a bunch of equipment such an appealing option.

#1. Krenko, Mob Boss

The OG Krenko, Krenko, Mob Boss is a powerful token commander for mono-red. It doubles your board presence each time you tap it, which works incredibly well with cards like Mana Echoes. This card’s token generation is insane and works great with cards that pump a wide board like Escape to the Wilds.

Best Green Token Commanders

#5. Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer

Steady token production is always worth looking at. Making a 3/3 whenever you make a land drop makes Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer a force to be reckoned with. When has green ever had trouble putting multiple lands into play at once? This swarms the battlefield with Badgers to overwhelm your opponents.

#4. Aeve, Progenitor Ooze

The only creature card ever printed with storm, Aeve, Progenitor Ooze makes plenty of tokens if you can pay the cost. There are plenty of other Oozes that care about token production, like Biogenic Ooze and Biowaste Blob for a tribal/Voltron deck built around making a wide board and a massive Aeve to close things out.

#3. Jaheira, Friend of the Forest

Token decks go incredibly wide, so making all your tokens into Llanowar Elves produces an intense amount of mana. Jaheira, Friend of the Forest doesn’t just give this ability to creatures, either. Now all your Clues, Food, and Treasures act as mana rocks as soon as they come into play.

#2. Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse

At first glance, Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse reads more like a blue card than a green one. But green has plenty of card draw to help generate it tokens. Its activated ability is also a great finisher once you’ve built your swarm of tokens, through Jolrael or other means.

#1. Titania, Nature’s Force

Titania, Nature's Force is rather like a souped up Greensleeves. It’s powerful for all the same reasons: green makes an abundance of land drops, and making them be Forests instead of any lands isn’t that big a blow.

Titania makes 5/3s instead of 3/3s and enables strategies like Zuran Orb with its other abilities.

Best Multicolored Token Commanders

#20. Ovika, Enigma Goliath

We’ve looked at a few ways to do mono-red goblins, but Ovika, Enigma Goliath gives you a blue-red option. Ovika also doesn’t need any goblin synergies at all; the typing of their tokens is simply upside.

This powerful spells-matter token commander gives you all the joy of a spellslinger strategy with the endgame of a tokens deck.

#19. Queen Allenal of Ruadach

Making an additional 1/1 whenever you make tokens isn’t as good as truly doubling them, but Queen Allenal of Ruadach still offers a pretty good value by increasing your token count. Her tokens won’t be copies of the other tokens you’re creating, but they’ll enter attacking if you create them attacking.

This could be an excellent choice for a Pauper Commander token deck.

#18. Akim, the Soaring Wind

Akim, the Soaring Wind is another token generator that makes an extra token when you create tokens, but these tokens come with evasion. Akim also has a built-in finisher with its activated ability. Jeskai is also a unique color combination for a tokens deck, making this a solid choice overall.

#17. Ghalta and Mavren

This is a 7-mana 12/12. I mean, Ghalta and Mavren makes tokens, but this is a 7-mana 12/12. With trample. It’s also a great tokens commander. It doesn’t even need to attack to start making tokens, so you get some value the turn it comes down. The choice to go wide or go tall is incredibly flexible, as most token commanders’ default to going wide.

#16. Elenda and Azor

Another team card from March of the Machine, Elenda and Azor attaches your token production to your ability to draw cards. It even have built-in card draw. This is a great option for a more controlling tokens commander that wants to bide their time before going for the win instead of rushing everybody down as soon as possible.

#15. Neyali, Suns' Vanguard

Boros is another color pair that often feels weaker due to a lack of card draw, and Neyali, Suns' Vanguard gives you some help in that category by giving you access to multiple cards each turn. It’s worth noting that its ability that allows you to play the exiled cards persists even if it’s no longer on the battlefield. This great commander gives you card advantage and a bunch of pressure thanks to double strike.

#14. Lathril, Blade of the Elves

Lathril, Blade of the Elves wants to helm an Elves token deck more than a generic one, but it’s quite the powerful payoff when you do so. This card produces tons of tokens on its own, especially with support from cards like Elvish Champion and Timberwatch Elf, then turns that army into lethal damage without even attacking.

#13. Maja, Bretagard Protector

We’ve exalted green’s ability to make plenty of landfall triggers already, so you know Maja, Bretagard Protector produces plenty of tokens. It also serves as an anthem to help close out games and pairs well with some of the mono-green commanders we looked at as part of the 99. Again, a great choice for Pauper Commander.

#12. Ghired, Conclave Exile

Another commander who rewards you for going big with your tokens is Ghired, Conclave Exile. Since it only makes one token a turn and it comes in attacking, the big ones are what you want. It works great with cards like Advent of the Wurm or even Eldrazi token generators like Idol of Oblivion and Desolation Twin.

#11. Slimefoot, the Stowaway

Another great tribal token commander is Slimefoot, the Stowaway. Saproling support has always been about making a bunch of tokens, and Slimefoot gives these decks a way to close out the game. It’ll easily close out a game without attacking and gains you some life.

#10. Thalisse, Reverent Medium

Thalisse, Reverent Medium produces a bundle of flying tokens each turn. This commander works best with cards that produce a steady supply of tokens each turn, like Bitterblossom and Elspeth, Sun's Champion, so you can set up a board state that allows you to rake in the tokens once you get Thalisse down.

#9. Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer

You don’t see many blue-red token commanders, but Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer is one of the strongest. Its ability creates a surprising board state from nowhere. It’s best paired with the abundant sources of Treasure in Magic these days since you can make a bunch of Treasures and turn them into a lethal attacking force.

It also works well with the Construct tokens that come with cards like Urza, Lord High Artificer. I’ve literally added hundreds of power to the board by making all my Treasures, Thopters, and Servos into Constructs.

#8. Cadira, Caller of the Small

Cadira, Caller of the Small rewards you for going wide much as some of the other commanders reward you for going big. You’ll want a few ways to sneak Cadira through your opponents’ defenses, like Rogue's Passage and Whispersilk Cloak, but it’ll get out of control quite quickly once you start stacking tokens.

#7. King Darien XLVIII

King Darien XLVIII gives you a powerful commander that does many things you want your token commanders to do. It provides protection, and additional power, and even produces tokens. It’s powerful in a general sense but gets edged out by future options that are more specifically powerful.

#6. Teysa, Orzhov Scion

Teysa, Orzhov Scion is perfect for a player who wants to make an Aristocrats-style token deck. Turning all your white tokens into removal and your black tokens into more creatures let Teysa produce and utilize all the tokens in the deck. It also gives you some wrath protection since it’ll see all your other black creatures die.

#5. Jinnie Fay, Jetmir’s Second

Jinnie Fay, Jetmir's Second turns your tokens into a much stronger force than they would be otherwise. You’ll often want to make the Cat tokens, which is a great deal. Most token generators create 1/1s, so you get to effectively double the power you put into play and give them haste.

#4. Rhys the Redeemed

Commanders don’t get much cheaper than Rhys the Redeemed. It’s a classic token commander. Rhys’s ability to make 1/1s is a little slow and expensive, but it also doubles your board state with its second ability. It produces tokens en masse for incredible value, and it’s hard to keep it down since it’s so cheap.

#3. Chatterfang, Squirrel General

Chatterfang, Squirrel General doesn’t quite pull a Doubling Season, but it comes pretty close. This still doubles your board presence, and flooding the board with squirrels is pretty funny. It only takes fifteen to beat an Emrakul! Chatterfang is one of the best snowballing token commanders with an interesting tribal synergy.

#2. Jetmir, Nexus of Revels

Craterhoof Behemoth is one of the best cards in green token decks. Jetmir, Nexus of Revels is about as close as you’ll get to Craterhoof in the command zone. Jetmir doesn’t directly care about tokens, but nothing ends the game faster than this guy dumping an additional six power and trample on every creature you control.

This is pretty much the ultimate Naya tokens finisher.

#1. Adrix and Nev, Twincasters

Much like Mondrak, Glory Dominus, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters finds itself at the top of the list simply for being Doubling Season in the command zone.

Doubling tokens is incredibly powerful. It’s powerful in blue since you get spells like Double Major and Irenicus's Vile Duplication that let you make token copies of Adrix and Nev. Which are then doubled, and then they all go nuts with anything else you have going on.

Best Token Commander Payoffs

There are tons of ways to benefit from token strategies in Commander. Some of the simplest are cards that care about tokens. Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, and Second Harvest give you additional ways to double up on your token production. Cards like Intangible Virtue help make your tokens stronger.

Tokens strategies also often benefit from cards that care about the number of creatures or smaller creatures. Craterhoof Behemoth is a classic tokens finisher because it's obscene on a board with twenty creatures. Cards like Welcoming Vampire and Tocasia's Welcome can give the token decks (especially white ones) some much-needed card draw.

Another payoff for token decks is tribal synergies. Some of Magic’s best-supported tribes, like Elves, Goblins, Soldiers, and Zombies, utilize tokens heavily. These can lead to powerful archetype crossovers with decks that manage both strategies for unique gameplay.

Can a Token Be a Commander?

A token can’t be a commander because it’s not a card.

What Commander Makes the Most Tokens?

One of the commanders that makes the most tokens is Prossh, Skyraider of Kher. Since the commander tax theoretically scales infinitely, you can make endless tokens by casting, sacrificing, and recasting Prossh.

What Commander Doubles Tokens?

You have a few options for this effect. Mondrak, Glory Dominus and Adrix and Nev, Twincasters double tokens as you’re making them.

Chatterfang, Squirrel General doubles the number of tokens you make by adding its squirrel army but doesn’t double the type of tokens you make.

Rhys the Redeemed can double any tokens you already control.

Do Tokens Count as Cards in Commander?

Tokens aren’t cards. They are helper pieces that indicate a part of the game other cards create. They only exist on the battlefield if they’re created, and they cease to exist in other zones, including your hand, graveyard, and library.

Do Tokens Do Commander Damage?

Tokens can’t deal commander damage.

Do Token Copies of Commanders Do Commander Damage?

Token copies of commanders can’t deal commander damage. Being a commander is a property unique to the card you chose as your commander. Token copies of a commander and copies made by Clone effects don’t have this property, so they can’t deal commander damage.

Do Tokens Go to the Graveyard in Commander?

Tokens go to the graveyard, then they cease to exist. Since they go from the battlefield to the graveyard, they trigger abilities that care about creatures dying like Blood Artist.

Commanding Conclusion

Titania, Nature's Force | Illustration by Heonhwa Choe

Token strategies are a fantastic choice for players who want to unleash a massive army onto their opponents and march to victory around a small number of blockers. Token decks can come in various flavors: going big, going wide, or leaning into tribal synergies.

They’re also a heavily supported strategy in almost any color. Many token producers end up as two-for-ones, giving the archetype lots of reach and power. Do you have a tokens deck in Commander? Who’s your favorite token commander? Let me know in the comments below, or on the official Draftsim Twitter.

Stay safe and keep creating those tokens!