A Sorcery as your Commander: Mystery Booster Commander Multicolor Review

Just yesterday, Wizards of the Coast released the full card gallery of the brand-new Mystery Booster Commander cards, all of which are legendary and can be your commander. I'm writing a comprehensive review of every commander in this 80-card batch, organized by the major categories of these new commanders. Let's get into gear for the multicolor commander review for MBC!

Arzakon

For those readers who remember Garth One-Eye fondly, you'll probably be interested to see that Wizards has once again offered players the opportunity to play with a Black Lotus. Arzakon is the way to get to play this coveted card, or a token copy of one, and one you'll have to draw by hand. Wizards didn't create a token of the card for Modern Horizons 2, and after watching Gavin Verhey's guide to what we'll find in MBC packs, I expect they won't be printing a Black Lotus token for this set.

Arzakon continues the trend of ripping off Garth by providing two other classic Magic spell effects. The first ability is a Lightning Bolt anywhere but Arzakon himself, and the -7 loyalty ability is a Timetwister.

As for Arzakon's status as a commander, the Garth comparison continues to be apt. The one-eyed wizard is usually constructed around a main deck that enables you to abuse the ability to cast and recast value spells multiple times. Arzakon is even more open-ended — no tap ability, no need for haste, and far fewer options to blink planeswalkers exist. In this instance, the cardboard is your oyster. Build for proliferate and planeswalker synergies if you want to cast Timetwister over and over again, but you can do whatever you'd like with Arzakon knowing you have a Black Lotus in your pocket.

Ashaya's Enduring Bond

After starting with a warmup, we get right into the interesting stuff. Ashaya's Enduring Bond is the first sorcery spell that is legal in the command zone. No, I am not counting Extus, Oriq Overlord — a creature in the command zone that can be cast as a sorcery is still a creature commander.

As for how to construct this deck, I would expect a full suite of exile-matters cards like Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald, Wild-Magic Sorcerer, and Nalfeshnee. I'm sure plenty of people are already building this commander to storm off with, as you can always send the spell back to the command zone, as mana generation from creatures like Birgi, God of Storytelling and Electro, Assaulting Battery can accumulate quickly. You should also make sure you have plenty of low-to-the-ground, cheap, sticky legendary creatures to make sure that you're never caught without one on board; legendary sorcery spells require a legendary creature or planeswalker on your battlefield before you can cast them. Just remember to always put it back in your command zone instead of the graveyard.

Chief Magistrate of Mercadia

Two mechanics I don't often see together are the monarch and token copies of creatures, and Chief Magistrate of Mercadia combines them both. The art is pretty entertaining too — Goblins in Magic have changed a lot over the years, but these aristocratic, robe-wearing Goblins are reminiscent of the olden days of Magic art. Just look at these cards from Mercadian Masques:

This commander makes me miss my brew for The Jolly Balloon Man. Decks that rely heavily on token copies tend to be just the right kind of grindy, durdle-y decks that I enjoy playing, and the monarch rewards you even more for sitting on your hands and playing behind a pillow fort. Toss in your favorite monarch synergy pieces, buy an Anointed Procession, and add whatever creature token nonsense you'd like. My personal favorite synergy lately is combining Mirrormind Crown and Tilonalli's Summoner to make a bunch of token copies of whatever creature you can equip the crown to, even the Human Shaman itself.

Davvol, Evincar of Rath

Davvol, Evincar of Rath is a case study about how having your birthday ignored is just the first step down the road of having your brains sucked out with a straw by some interdimensional mecha-fascists.

In terms of strength, this is likely one of the strongest commanders in this set. Carnival of Souls is already a powerful spell, and Davvol enhances the ability by triggering only when creatures you control enter, instead of any creature. Having it in the command zone as a means to access the bump in mana consistently makes it that much better. All you really need is one measly Essence Warden or Bogwater Lumaret and you're off to the races. Much like Arzakon, the possibilities are limited only to your imagination. I personally recommend that you run Birthing Pod in this deck. Why? Well, the only card that's a cake isn't legal in this deck, and someone has to remember the Evincar's birthday.

Elda, Conjurer of Spectacle

I'm noticing a theme here. Elda, Conjurer of Spectacles is yet another commander with a world of potential to play with. Demonstrate is a fickle thing to abuse, given that you're the one spending the mana, but when you have a Torpor Orb effect and your opponent doesn't, an Eater of Days or a Leveler sure does suck. If you run plenty of sacrifice outlets, you can always give away Grid Monitor or Steel Golem. Of course, you don't have to give away creatures that ruin the day for your opponents. You can just add in a little extra chaos, like cloning and gifting Scrawling Crawler, Wandering Archaic, or Flumph. One interesting thing to keep in mind: Elda specifically says "each turn" and not "each of your turns," which means you can get extra mileage out of this ability by playing at flash speed — Yeva, Nature's Herald or Radagast of Rhosgobel, new from The Hobbit, are perfect for that.

Feroz, Ulgrotha's Warden

I imagine that many people were not surprised by Feroz, Ulgrotha Warden's existence, on account of being aware of Feroz's Ban. I know of Feroz because he delivers minotaurs.

Despite the fact that I'm pretty sure this card is, on some level, a practical joke, there is some merit to it. Cheating out permanents is a pretty reliable strategy, and it's something that Bant does well. You can always toss out a land if you haven't drawn something more valuable, but odds are you'll have something in your hand to get the full extent of value from that ability. Making two chump blockers on a +2 is nice as well, and as flying Bird tokens they provide more coverage than a regular 1/1 or 2/2 on the ground. As for that last ability, well, that's a difficult build-around for your average Bant deck.

Homer, the Hermit

Homer, the Hermit is an adorable little dude, and I'm positive he's going to be a popular commander. But he has also committed a grave crime. With the release of this Crab Druid and one other commander we'll see in a short while, Wizards has officially decided to retire the Homarid creature type, opting to codify the use of Lobster to signify a creature as a sentient lobster-man-thing instead. Like previous creature-type erratas, this was likely for the greater good, but all eight of the existing Homarids are certainly sad about it.

Being a Sultai commander that mills is about as exciting as watching paint dry, but when you have to play batched creature types that are about as unsupported as a creature type can possibly be, and the commander is cute, it gets much easier. Scryfall has already prepared a Homer's Benthic Buddies shortcut on this creature's Scryfall page to capture all the related creature types, but you'll need a slight refinement to see only the creatures eligible for this deck. I guess we know which Fallout card to spec on: Mirelurk Queen is looking like a juicy synergy for this crustacean commander.

Itazura, Lingering Wick

It took me about four or five attempts to read this thing all the way through when I first looked at it. The text paragraph on this creature is pretty dense. I spent some time meditating on it; Itazura, Lingering Wick has you exile the top three cards of your library, one for each opponent, then opponents secretly choose a number, and whoever chooses the largest number takes that much damage, but also gets to cast a spell for free from any of the three cards, while you choose one to draw, and the third stays in exile. I considered a Jon Irenicus, Shattered One-style deck of giving away only the worst spells imaginable and forcing your opponents to take them, time after time. Then, I realized: I had found the perfect solution.

Put this Spirit in Alexander Clamilton and be done with it.

Jandor, Fortuned Traveler

Jandor, Fortuned Traveler, of Jandor's Saddlebags and Jandor's Ring fame, is a long-awaited commander on several axes. Firstly, there are those who are fans of those classic spells and their flavor text and have been curious about the mythical Jandor for decades. Then there are those who want a Blightsteel Colossus to ride on top of Loot, Exuberant Explorer, which is maybe a little freaky. Lastly, there are people like me, who have been banging the drum since Outlaws of Thunder Junction that the Mount subtype deserved a dedicated commander, and that Naya was the best color combo to support it. Well, folks, the day is finally here, and we even get an expanded roster of creature types that can be saddled while Jandor is on the battlefield.

Even without considering creatures that actually have the Mount subtype, there are over 600 creatures eligible to carry a saddle per Jandor's first ability. You need to make sure to include some vegetables with that hefty portion of gamey meat, though; Miriam, Herd Whisperer protects your Mounts during your turn and feeds them +1/+1 counters so they can grow big and strong, Kolodin, Triumph Caster gives your Mounts haste and automatically saddles them when they first enter, and creatures like Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero, Rip, Spawn Hunter, Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist, or Centaur Omenreader are great choices of rider to achieve maximum value from every game action needed to saddle a creature.

Lyna, Veil of Vengeance

Speaking of mechanics that had no specialized commander to speak of, Lyna, Veil of Vengeance is a commander that cares about the shadow keyword, an ability that messes with blocking; creatures with shadow are unable to block and cannot be blocked, except to block or be blocked by creatures that also have shadow. Though straightforward, there are plenty of neat interactions to spawn from this. You can give your own creatures the ability to slip through your opponents' defenses, obviously, and if you don't care for Splinter, Radical Rat, this makes for a great ability for a Ninja deck.

You can also give a player's blockers shadow, so that they cannot block your board if you want to alpha strike them. Lyna can put shadow counters on Voltron commanders across the table to scare players into politicking with you so you put shadow counters on their creatures in order to block the big scary thing. Or, given that the only three commanders with shadow are the three legendary creatures with shadow in this set, you can make a new flavor of Voltron with the option to give out shadow counters as your own politics.

The Madcap Jester

Grixis Theft has been an archetype in commander for a long time, and there have been several different flavors of legendary creature that achieved the thieving in different ways. The Madcap Jester aims to bring all of those different strategies under one roof by combining conventional exile-based theft abilities with the more aggressive and exile-y mill effects in Grixis like Tasha's Hideous Laughter or Sire of Stagnation to create the ultimate misery for your opponents. Get your copy of Extract now, because plenty of Commander players out there are more than ready to become the target of their playgroup's ire with this catastrophic Clown. One quick fun fact: this insane-looking jester seems to be the very same subject of the reprints of Jester's Cap in Dominaria United, all also illustrated by Jesper Ejsing, who is somewhat famous for playing decks that make him the archenemy.

Massimo, the Magician

If your playgroup didn't like the idea of you playing Magar of the Magic Strings, or you wanted a different color combination with a similar effect or, like me, you just really like spells with cipher and are desperate to feel something in your cold dead heart, Massimo, the Magician is the commander for you. Massimo's color identity gives access to several of the best one-mana spells in the entire format — Swords to Plowshares, Ephemerate, Faithless Looting, and several more — as well as the cheap, evasive creatures in blue, blink-and-flicker synergies, and self-discard with red. There are a few moving parts to this deck, but it should be pretty simple to get the ball rolling with just one or two spells in the graveyard and a Slither Blade.

The Muckslinger Gang

In a shocking turn of events, the design team has managed to do the impossible and break new ground twice in one card. The Muckslinger Gang is the first modern card printed that references the stack, and the design team has finally given us a neat Jund commander that doesn't have anything to do with sacrifice, self mill, or graveyards in general. Hallelujah! On a serious note, this is a great commander for taking advantage of power-matters cards of all kinds, like Garruk's Uprising, Bolt Bend, Terror of the Peaks, Disciple of Freyalise, and more. Even though it does end up making the deck lean into sacrifice and graveyard synergies more, I have to recommend Varolz, the Scar-Striped as a card to include in this deck — turning cheap creatures into extra bundles of +1/+1 counters is good fun.

Nephilim Epochal

Another Kindred commander checked off the list. Nephilim Epochal is neat, has some insane art that makes me feel like I must have been drugged without my knowledge, and it certainly does well as a commander to all of the five Nephilim. Don't forget the laundry list of creatures with changeling that you'll be stuffing into this deck to finish out the list.

Olag and Miau, New Friends

Aww, that kitty is such a friendly little– wait, are those tentacles? I know this Zombie is supposedly friends with the Cat but I'm deeply concerned that Olag and Miau, New Friends is just a photo taken moments before disaster. Cats love seafood. Most of the commanders that have shown up in this set were a response to years of the community asking Wizards to print a commander for a particular creature type, or print a commander for a creature type with more colors than was previously available for Kindred commanders of that type.

Olag and Miau are the opposite — I've never once heard of Zombies and Cats wanting to coexist in one deck and I kind of wish they wouldn't. While losing blue is a big blow for Zombies, gaining access to green is a decent counterbalance, as blue-black is a pretty bad color combo for ramping. White as the balancing color is perfect, since both of these creature types love to make lots of tokens, and white is only all too happy to provide enhancers for token strategies.

Rikala, Homarid King

WotC giveth, and WotC taketh. Homarid stocks could be on the rise right now, but instead Wizards shows the Lobster-men mercy by naming Rikala, Homarid King their monarch, then stabs them in the back by removing their proud, unique creature type. For shame.

The trick to this commander is to pump up the flood counters after your upkeep so that you can maximize the extra mana through some clever proliferating. You can also use cards like Power Conduit or O'aka, Traveling Merchant to control when the Lobster monarch accumulates three tide counters. Of course, there's also the matter of having a board wide enough to smack someone with the buff you're hoping to build with Rikala, but you're in Simic. Such things are trivial.

Selenia, the Cursed Heart

While the original Selenia, Dark Angel was all about paying life down to dangerous amounts for a variety of effects, Selenia, the Cursed Heart is the opposite of her original version, enhancing lifegain effects in the two best colors for life manipulation. Whereas the original Selenia was all about fast combos and life-swap shenanigans, this Selenia is better-suited as a general lifegain enhancer, with the clear win condition being to set up a recursion plan so you can stick Selenia's Curse on each opponent without losing your commander for long. Malakir Rebirth, Not Dead After All, and Feign Death are all cards I would expect to see a lot of here, along with plenty of sacrifice outlets — shoutout to Nasty End, as it is especially useful for sacrificing a commander.

Sifa Grent

Sifa Grent is a bit of an oddball card, as we only just saw earlier that Grixis is getting a commander for stealing cards out of exile, and goading is already well established in the red-black design space. If you like these themes, but you really hate blue, or just really like goth girls, Sifa Grent is great for you.

Tresserhorn's Lord, Returned

An ode to the classic Lord of Tresserhorn, the new-and-maybe-improved Tresserhorn's Lord, Returned is a more expensive, more costly, and more powerful version compared to the original creature. At five mana in a color that doesn't ramp very well, this may be a tall ask, but almost right away this creature will be demolishing life totals, and unconditional drawing in exchange for sacrificing a creature is really strong. I certainly don't relish the idea of sitting across from this commander, even if I am drawing three cards for my trouble.

Tsagan, Raider Warlord

Alchemy players will be happy to see that Tsagan, Raider Warlord, originally released in the Alchemy set for Aetherdrift, has been brought to life in paper. Not only is this a pretty solid option for the speed mechanic, but Tsagan is a strong combat-centric commander in general. First strike and double strike are valuable keywords to have for any deck that likes to attack, and unless you count Odric, Lunarch Marshal, this is one of the few instances where a commander is built in particular for a specific keyword ability. Obviously you'll want to include plenty of creatures that can start your speed counter as early as possible, and you'll want to build up a wide board quickly so that you can knock players down before you get boardwiped. This might be the time for Kwende, Pride of Femeref to have his moment in the sun.

Uugguu, the Omniplasm

I am suddenly glad that I haven't had any Jello lately. I'm losing track of how many I've looked at, but Uugguu, the Omniplasm is another commander acting as the inaugural Kindred commander for a creature type that previously had none. There are plenty of Oozes from throughout the history of Magic, and you shouldn't have many issues putting together a solid Kindred deck for them because of Uugguu. Make sure to pack The Mimeoplasm, as the copies that Uugguu generates are non-legendary, so you can abuse the Ooze to spam out plenty of value creatures and peel important creatures out of your opponents' graveyards.

Venser, Visionary Traveler

Venser may be dead, and his corpse may have been paraded around and desecrated, but somehow, Venser returned. Venser, Visionary Traveler is here to fill the gaping hole created by the severe lack of blink commanders in Azorius. There definitely are not enough commanders in this space, so Venser is a welcome addition to the blue-white cohort.

On a less sarcastic note, Venser is a good blink commander to use if you like your commander to be more "fair." Some of the other blue-white blink commanders tend to feel oppressive at times, and as a planeswalker Venser is uniquely vulnerable in a way that none of the other commanders are, especially since his abilities are limited to sorcery speed.

The Weaver King

Like Venser, I'm not too sure what the impetus for designing The Weaver King was. Dimir has plenty of offensive mill commanders available and stealing creatures from the graveyard is pretty high up the list of blue-black capabilities as well. As mentioned previously, this is one of only three legendary creatures with shadow, so that's unique at least.

Zagorka, Mother of Sanctum

Capping off this long, long list of multicolor commanders is Zagorka, Mother of Sanctum. Another deep-cut lore reference, Zagorka was an old lady working in Aphetto alongside her mule named Chester. She participated in the war against Ixidor, whose escapades I covered in my review for mono-color legendary creatures from Mystery Booster Commander; after fleeing battle, she helped found a city of refugees named Sanctum, and was later murdered by Kamahl during the final battle between Akroma and Phage.

I actually really like this commander. The card feels like it was designed to service lore first, and mechanics second, which happens less and less these days. As for how to take advantage of land tokens and opponents not being able to attack you, well, Landfall decks exist for a reason.

Ashes to Ashes

And that is every single new multicolor commander (besides the rule-breaking Rulebreaker commanders) coming in Mystery Booster Commander. I hope you enjoyed reading about them! I can't wait to see what kind of unique and interesting brews the Commander community comes up with for the wackier commanders in this set.

The Best Way to Play Commander Online

For the easiest way to play Commander online with your friends or meet new opponents on the field of battle, use EDHLAB.gg's Play Online feature!

Join our Discord server and have a chat with us about your favorite new brew!

EDHLAB maintains a strict policy against the use of generative AI in the production of creative media. All blog articles and images hosted by EDHLAB are made without the use of generative AI.