The 7 Best Defender Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on February 22, 2024

Arcades, the Strategist | Illustration by Even Amundsen

Magic is a game with a vast lore. Thirty years of passionate design have created all sorts of races, from fantasy classics like elves and dwarves to spins on faerie tales and even cosmic horror seen in the Eldrazi. With worlds seeped in magic until they bleed fantasy, what better creature type to play than good ole walls?

Walls have been around in Magic for its entire history. Once a creature type that couldn’t attack, they were later errata’d to have the defender keyword, which prevents creatures with it from attacking. While being unable to attack is a pretty hefty restriction that can make it challenging to win, a handful of commanders work around that challenge for the reward of sweet, sweet victory.

What Are Wall/Defender Commanders in Magic?

Rigo, Streetwise Mentor | Illustration by Scott Murphy

Defender commanders in Magic are legendary creatures that play well with defenders. They typically allow your creatures to deal damage based on their toughness rather than power, which is one of the easiest ways to break the mechanic. When creatures deal damage based on toughness, suddenly Giant Ox becomes the most efficient Titan as a 2-mana 6/6.

Another way for decks to work well with walls and defenders is by caring about high toughness or low power. Many walls have 0 power, making up for their lack of offensive capabilities with high toughness for excellent defense. Leaning on one of these disjointed stats offers another angle of utilization for wall commanders.

These commanders often utilize Assault Formation and similar effects to enable your walls to attack as though they didn’t have defender, making them essential pieces in any defenders list you’re playing.

#7. Rigo, Streetwise Mentor

Rigo, Streetwise Mentor needs you to tutor up all your Assault Formations but pays you off with plenty of card draw. Cards that let your creatures deal damage based on their toughness don’t affect their power, so all your 0/4s and 0/6s deal tons of combat damage while triggering Rigo. It’s easy to draw two or three cards a turn while dealing massive damage, which is exactly where an aggressive deck wants to be.

#6. Sapling of Colfenor

Sapling of Colfenor is another commander that works with walls to provide a stream of card advantage. With Saproling’s unique Dark Confidant ability, the last thing you want is Force of Savagery and other big hitters. This commander loves to play with high toughness, low power cards, making it a perfect fit for a deck of Wall of Blossoms and Wall of Blood.

#5. Nethroi, Death Aspect

Nethroi, Apex of Death gives you another angle to exploit the low power of your walls. You can add 0 into 10 as many times as you’d like for a mass reanimation spell that rebuilds your board in an instant. It’s a great way to exploit the stats of defenders and walls, plus it’s a pretty interesting spin on an often-built Abzan commander. You can even mutate right on top of your walls, which could be useful on ones like Wall of Mulch that sacrifice themselves or other walls to get Nethroi back in the command zone to start reanimating walls all over again.

#4. Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper + Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker

The partner pairing of Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper, and Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker creates the perfect 4-color pile for a defender deck. You’re looking at Ikra’s ability to gain obscene amounts of life. It’s not enough for Giant Ox to be a 2-mana 6/6. Now it’s got lifelink! While Ishai is a threat all on its own, it also helps for access to blue and white so you can run cards like High Alert and Arcades, the Strategist to tie everything together.

#3. Phenax, God of Deception

Phenax, God of Deception finds an alternative use for your defender’s largest asset. Rather than letting you deal damage, Phenax turns your biggest butts into an effective mill engine. Milling five or six cards at a time isn’t as efficient as dealing damage at the same pace, but it’s a great way to build a mill commander that doesn’t rely on Bruvac the Grandiloquent to chew through your opponents’ libraries at a reasonable rate. It’s also well-suited for combo finishes utilizing cards like Intruder Alarm and Isochron Scepter.

#2. Doran, the Siege Tower

Doran, the Siege Tower, is the classic defender commander. Abzan is a great color combination to get most of the best defenders, and Doran is functionally a 3-mana 5/5. This burly tree doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of some other commanders, but simplicity has its appeal.

#1. Arcades, the Strategist

Arcades, the Strategist is the best option when building a walls deck. High Alert on a stick with the most important defender colors for EDH (Selesnya ) would already make Arcades a fantastic pick for a commander. The card draw puts it over the top. You’re already playing with 2-mana 5/5s and 6/6s, so why not make them cantrip? Most walls are cheap, and the archetype can produce plenty of mana thanks to cards like Overgrown Battlement and Axebane Guardian, so it’s easy to cast numerous creatures a turn and overwhelm your opponents with your formidable offensive defenses.

Best Wall Commander Payoffs

First and foremost, the cards like Assault Formation and High Alert do Serra’s work in decks like these. You’ll want every variation of this effect you can get your hands on in your chosen color identity; they’re so important that every commander in this list touches at least green to access them.

Defenders have a bit of internal support aside from the commanders. Axebane Guardian and Overgrown Battlement give the archetype incredible mana production. Stalwart Shield-Bearers often functions as a super Glorious Anthem while Perimeter Captain and Wingmantle Chaplain provide stabilization through life and tokens, respectively. Doorkeeper even functions as an alternate win condition all on its own!

We can also exploit the low power through a few choice wraths in white. Expel the Interlopers, Dusk // Dawn, and Fell the Mighty are all excellent ways to Plague Wind your opponents for minimal mana. If you can build your creature deck in such a way that it leverages board wipes while being unscathed, you can get a huge advantage, especially at casual tables.

Commanding Conclusion

Phenax, God of Deception | Illustration by Ryan Barger

You can meme about battering your opponents to death with walls, but it’s a solid archetype with plenty of support. As they say, a good defense is the best offense. Especially when your defense has the incredibly offensive power these commanders offer a ragtag collection of defenders.

With a plethora of ways to animate your walls and exploit the low power and high toughness that defines the creature type, a defender deck is a great way to build a unique creature-based strategy that’s surprisingly aggressive considering the power of your average creature is 0. What’s your favorite defender commander? What wall do you play the most? Let me know in the comments or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and stay strong!