The 2 Best Rabbit Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on April 17, 2024

Kwain, Itinerant Meddler | Illustration by Lucas Graciano

Creature types in Magic aren’t all equally represented across the many cards in the game. Some creature types show up in almost every set and have lots of cards to choose from, like how there are over 3000 human cards. Other types, like elves, have smaller numbers overall but have a strong and cohesive theme that you can easily build entire decks around. On the opposite end of this spectrum are the types that only show up on very rare occasions, have never been focused on in a set, and have no cohesive themes. This is the case with rabbits.

There are only 10 rabbit cards in Magic, making them one of the least represented creature types. While some of the smaller creature types, like wraiths, have clear patterns they follow, rabbits aren’t like that. They seem to just pop up randomly in sets as a one-off card. When it comes to rabbit commanders, there aren’t very many to look at. However, this could possibly change in the future, so it might be worth keeping an eye on the creature type. Of the 10 rabbits in Magic, six were printed in just the last few years, including the two commanders. We may eventually see a surge in the type, similar to how squirrels became more prominent over time.

Let’s take a look at the few rabbit commanders that currently exist.

What Are Rabbit Commanders in MTG?

Rabbit Token | Illustration by Andrea Radeck

Rabbit commanders are legendary creatures that also have the rabbit creature type. In situations like this, I’d also usually include commanders that aren’t themselves rabbits, but would make for a good commander of a rabbit themed deck. However, there aren’t really enough rabbits in Magic and none of them have abilities that specifically target the creature type, so it’s not really a workable theme.

#2. Preston, the Vanisher

Preston, the Vanisher has a very unique ability. By blinking, cheating out, or reanimating creatures, you can make 0/1 copies of them. You can use these token copies as a form of removal, but they can also become powerful additions to your board state. You can copy powerful ongoing effects like Archivist of Oghma’s, or you can cash in on ETB effects from cards like Meteor Golem multiple times. White also has a good number of blink spells you can include in this deck.

#1. Kwain, Itinerant Meddler

Kwain, Itinerant Meddler has a relatively simple ability, but it’s one that can be pretty powerful. Being able to draw extra cards each turn is always helpful, and Azorius has ways to benefit even when your opponents draw. You can also build in ways to benefit from Kwain’s lifegain, be those triggered abilities or ways to pay life for abilities.

Best Rabbit Commander Payoffs

With only two commanders that are pretty different, there isn’t exactly one perfect payoff for both, but each rabbit commander does have good cards to consider including.

For Kwain, The Council of Four can be a helpful way to get even more out of this commander’s ability. Simply activate Kwain on an opponent’s turn and you may get to draw an extra card or else discourage that player from choosing to draw. If you build your deck around drawing cards, you may also want to include wheels like Jace's Archivist and win cons like Laboratory Maniac or Thassa's Oracle. Shabraz, the Skyshark is another good way to benefit from the extra cards you’ll be drawing.

If you lean more heavily into lifegain with Kwain, you may want to include something like Aetherflux Reservoir that you can spend your extra life on, or Felidar Sovereign.

As for Preston, you’ll want to include flicker cards like Ephemerate to help make extra copies of your creatures. Eerie Interlude can be very powerful in this deck because you can make illusion copies of all your creatures, though the legendary tokens will need to be sacrificed.

Harmonious Archon is another good choice for this deck because it makes all your illusion copies just as strong as most other creatures on the field. Moonshaker Cavalry is another good inclusion that can help buff your illusions. Though this buff is temporary, you can possibly get it several times thanks to the flicker effects you’d include in your deck.

Token doublers would also work well for Preston. White options include Mondrak, Glory Dominus and Anointed Procession.

Commanding Conclusion

Preston, the Vanisher | Illustration by Christina Kraus

There may not be very many rabbit commanders in Magic right now, but the ones that do exist are fun cards to play with and present unique deck building opportunities. It’s hard to say that rabbits are necessarily a creature type to keep an eye on at the moment, but if this trend of good rabbit commanders continues they may become more popular over time.

Which of the two rabbit commanders are your favorite? Would you like to see more rabbits? What mechanical themes do you think would fit this creature type? Let me know in the comments or on Draftsim’s Twitter/X.

Thank you for reading and see you next time!