The Best MTG Cards from the Warhammer 40K Commander Decks

Initially released back in 2022, the Warhammer 40K Commander precons marked Magic’s first major step into Universes Beyond. What a step it was, too, bringing nearly 170 all-new cards, many of them bangers, into the game. Now that four years have passed, supply issues are starting to drive the prices on these cards up, but a recently-announced reprint could solve that. When this reprint drops, and the markets shift, these are the best MTG Warhammer 40K cards you’ll want to pick up.

8 | Bloodthirster

While it’s a little expensive at six mana, Bloodthirster is as scary as it sounds once it gets going. As a 6/6 with Flying and Trample, it’s pretty much guaranteed to get in for damage, at which point it can untap and smack the next opponent in line. Paired with Vigilance creatures, or untappers like Reconnaissance Reconnaissance {0}: Remove target attacking creature you control from combat and untap it. (If you activate during end of combat, the creature will untap after it deals combat damage.) , this can result in a huge amount of damage on each of your turns.

As with similar cards like Port Razer Port Razer Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, untap each creature you control. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
This creature can't attack a player it has already attacked this turn. , Bloodthirster also has several infinite combat combo lines available. If you can keep copying it with something like Rionya, Fire Dancer Rionya, Fire Dancer At the beginning of combat on your turn, create X tokens that are copies of another target creature you control, where X is one plus the number of instant and sorcery spells you've cast this turn. They gain haste. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step. or Mirage Phalanx Mirage Phalanx Soulbond (You may pair this creature with another unpaired creature when either enters. They remain paired for as long as you control both of them.)
As long as Mirage Phalanx is paired with another creature, each of those creatures has "At the beginning of combat on your turn, create a token that's a copy of this creature, except it has haste and loses soulbond. Exile it at end of combat." , you can bypass that pesky final clause and attack all your opponents infinitely for the win.

With all this potential, Bloodthirster is one of the more popular Warhammer 40K cards in current Commander, showing up in around 63,200 decks. Whether it serves as a great Typal option in Demons-matter decks like Kaalia of the Vast Kaalia of the Vast Flying
Whenever Kaalia attacks an opponent, you may put an Angel, Demon, or Dragon creature card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking that opponent. or a top-end finisher in Aggro lists like Kratos, God of War Kratos, God of War Double strike
All creatures have haste.
At the beginning of each player's end step, Kratos deals damage to that player equal to the number of creatures that player controls that didn't attack this turn. , this banger has no shortage of homes.

7 | Commissar Severina Raine

With deck slots getting tighter and tighter every year, flexibility is king in the current Commander format. Commissar Severina Raine excels in this department, providing a veritable Swiss Army knife of effects for aggressive Orzhov lists. The attack trigger here is pretty strong on its own, guaranteeing damage from your creatures even if they get blocked. Alongside trigger doublers like Isshin, Two Heavens as One Isshin, Two Heavens as One If a creature attacking causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time. and Firebender Ascension Firebender Ascension When this enchantment enters, create a 2/2 red Soldier creature token with firebending 1.
Whenever a creature you control attacking causes a triggered ability of that creature to trigger, put a quest counter on this enchantment. Then if it has four or more quest counters on it, you may copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy. , this can be a legitimate win condition on its own.

Alternatively, Severina is also a very passable sacrifice outlet. Two mana is a steep rate, but getting to cash in your creatures at instant speed is a big deal. This lets you respond to opposing removal for extra value, or trade in your blocked creatures after they’ve already contributed to Severina’s first ability. With top-tier Aristocrats decks like Caesar, Legion’s Emperor Caesar, Legion’s Emperor Whenever you attack, you may sacrifice another creature. When you do, choose two —
• Create two 1/1 red and white Soldier creature tokens with haste that are tapped and attacking.
• You draw a card and you lose 1 life.
• Caesar deals damage equal to the number of creature tokens you control to target opponent. and Zurgo Stormrender Zurgo Stormrender Mobilize 1 (Whenever this creature attacks, create a tapped and attacking 1/1 red Warrior creature token. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.)
Whenever a creature token you control leaves the battlefield, draw a card if it was attacking. Otherwise, each opponent loses 1 life. running the card regularly, Severina is one of the more widespread MTG Warhammer 40K cards, and certainly one of the best.

6 | Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch

Spellslinger decks have plenty of payoff options these days, with bangers like Vivi Ornitier Vivi Ornitier {0}: Add X mana in any combination of {U} and/or {R}, where X is Vivi Ornitier's power. Activate only during your turn and only once each turn.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi Ornitier and it deals 1 damage to each opponent. and Gandalf, Goblins’ Bane Gandalf, Goblins’ Bane Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, Gandalf gets +1/+1 until end of turn and deals 1 damage to each opponent. doing a ton of work. Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch is one of the more exciting options in this category, however, largely due to its first ability. One of the major hurdles Spellslinger decks face is running out of cards, and this answers that nicely by grabbing you a spell back every turn, a la Charmbreaker Devils Charmbreaker Devils At the beginning of your upkeep, return an instant or sorcery card at random from your graveyard to your hand.
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, this creature gets +4/+0 until end of turn. .

Like this Innistrad classic, Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch enables easy infinite turn combos if you can get something like Time Warp Time Warp Target player takes an extra turn after this one. into your graveyard. As long as you have no other instants or sorceries in there, you’ll get it back at the start of each turn, letting you cast it repeatedly to keep taking turns. This should win you the game by itself thanks to Flamer’s second ability, but even if it doesn’t, it’s not hard to close things out given infinite turns.

Given its versatility and game-ending potential, it’s no surprise that Exalted Flamer sees play in over 50,800 Commander decks at the present count.

5 | Shadow in the Warp

Carrying on the theme of Warhammer cards bundling multiple useful effects into one, Shadow in the Warp brings a unique ramp-and-burn combination to the table. Though it only discounts colorless costs on creatures, getting a two-mana boost for three mana is a pretty great deal. This lets you easily drop six-mana bombs like Ancient Copper Dragon Ancient Copper Dragon Flying
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, roll a d20. You create a number of Treasure tokens equal to the result. on turn three after a mana dork start, or colorless utility creatures like Metallic Mimic Metallic Mimic As this creature enters, choose a creature type.
This creature is the chosen type in addition to its other types.
Each other creature you control of the chosen type enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. for free.

On top of this, Shadow in the Warp also offers a nice noncreature punisher effect, Shock Shock Shock deals 2 damage to any target. ing each opponent for their first each turn. While this is less brutal than similar effects we’ve seen before, tacking it onto a great ramp effect is excellent. With both effects together, Shadow in the Warp has earned spots all the way up in cEDH, where pricey Commanders like Etali, Primal Conqueror Etali, Primal Conqueror Trample
When Etali enters, each player exiles cards from the top of their library until they exile a nonland card. You may cast any number of spells from among the nonland cards exiled this way without paying their mana costs.
{9}{G/P}: Transform Etali. Activate only as a sorcery. and Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers Trample, haste
Whenever Raph & Mikey attack, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card. Put that card onto the battlefield tapped and attacking and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. can make excellent use of both sides.

4 | Biotransference

One of the more unique Warhammer 40K cards, and indeed recent MTG cards in general, Biotransference offers a truly game-changing effect. Turning all of your creatures, everywhere, into artifacts unlocks all kinds of synergies, whether it’s getting a mana discount with Foundry Inspector Foundry Inspector Artifact spells you cast cost {1} less to cast. , or expanding your tutor options for cards like Repurposing Bay Repurposing Bay {2}, {T}, Sacrifice another artifact: Search your library for an artifact card with mana value equal to 1 plus the sacrificed artifact's mana value, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle. Activate only as a sorcery. . It goes especially hard with Goblin Welder Goblin Welder {T}: Choose target artifact a player controls and target artifact card in that player's graveyard. If both targets are still legal as this ability resolves, that player simultaneously sacrifices the artifact and returns the artifact card to the battlefield. , which can sacrifice itself to reanimate any of your fallen creatures with this funky enchantment in play.

As you’d expect from a card like this, Biotransference offers a ton in the combo department as well. There are countless lines available here, whether it’s using Clock of Omens Clock of Omens Tap two untapped artifacts you control: Untap target artifact. to untap Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter Haste
{T}, Sacrifice an artifact creature: Create two Treasure tokens.
{T}, Sacrifice a noncreature artifact: Create two 1/1 colorless Construct artifact creature tokens. for infinite tokens, or netting infinite mana and death triggers with Summoning Station Summoning Station {T}: Create a 2/2 colorless Pincher creature token.
Whenever an artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may untap this artifact. and Ashnod’s Altar Ashnod’s Altar Sacrifice a creature: Add {C}{C}. . Factor in its very strong playability as a token generator in fair artifact decks, and Biotransference is a wacky experiment which more than pays off.

3 | Sceptre of Eternal Glory

Given how low Commander curves have gotten lately, mana rocks above the two-mana mark need to do something special to be worth running. Sceptre of Eternal Glory passes this bar handily, essentially serving as a repeatable Black Lotus Black Lotus {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color. if you’re packing three lands with the same name. Naturally, this works best in one- and two-color decks, where basics can easily meet this condition, but it still works in three-color lists with enough land-fetching effects.

Once it’s online, Sceptre is about as good as rocks get, providing the acceleration of Thran Dynamo Thran Dynamo {T}: Add {C}{C}{C}. while also fixing your mana as well. This is great for powering out big, pip-intensive Commanders like Valgavoth, Terror Eater Valgavoth, Terror Eater Flying, lifelink
Ward—Sacrifice three nonland permanents.
If a card you didn't control would be put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.
During your turn, you may play cards exiled with Valgavoth. If you cast a spell this way, pay life equal to its mana value rather than pay its mana cost. , or single-handedly casting engines like Necropotence Necropotence Skip your draw step.
Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard.
Pay 1 life: Exile the top card of your library face down. Put that card into your hand at the beginning of your next end step. . As with Thran Dynamo Thran Dynamo {T}: Add {C}{C}{C}. there are plenty of infinite mana combos here, too, such as animating Sceptre with Karn, the Great Creator Karn, the Great Creator Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated.
+1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value.
−2: You may reveal an artifact card you own from outside the game or choose a face-up artifact card you own in exile. Put that card into your hand. then untapping it repeatedly with Voltaic Construct Voltaic Construct {2}: Untap target artifact creature. .

Thanks to its myriad applications and its colorless mana cost, Sceptre of Eternal Glory sees a ton of play in Commander. According to EDHREC data, in fact, it’s the most-played card from Warhammer 40K, appearing in around 69,400 decks overall. Given how easily it outperforms most other big rocks in Magic, I expect this figure will only grow more formidable over time, too.

2 | Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph

Warhammer 40K brought a ton of great new Commanders to the table, and Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph is clearly one of the best. Adding 2 extra damage to every ping you land on a permanent or player is a simple ability, but it’s ripe for exploitation across a range of decks.

First and foremost, Ghyrson Starn is fantastic in most Spellslinger lists. With pingers like Vivi Ornitier Vivi Ornitier {0}: Add X mana in any combination of {U} and/or {R}, where X is Vivi Ornitier's power. Activate only during your turn and only once each turn.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi Ornitier and it deals 1 damage to each opponent. suddenly dealing triple damage, sudden Storm-esque wins are very much possible here. It also greatly improves cards like End the Festivities End the Festivities End the Festivities deals 1 damage to each opponent and each creature and planeswalker they control. , which become one-mana, one-sided board wipes with Starn in play. Since Starn itself deals the additional two damage in each case, you can also get funky by equipping it with cards like Basilisk Collar Basilisk Collar Equipped creature has deathtouch and lifelink. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it. Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to gain that much life.)
Equip {2} ({2}: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.) , letting you easily ping down every creature in play and gain a ton of life in the process.

Unsurprisingly, these potent lines have quickly made Ghyrson Starn one of the most popular Commanders in Magic, leading 19,840 decks by the current count. It’s also a popular pick in the 99, with decks like Nekusar, the Mindrazer Nekusar, the Mindrazer At the beginning of each player's draw step, that player draws an additional card.
Whenever an opponent draws a card, Nekusar deals 1 damage to that player. and Niv-Mizzet, Parun Niv-Mizzet, Parun This spell can't be countered.
Flying
Whenever you draw a card, Niv-Mizzet deals 1 damage to any target.
Whenever a player casts an instant or sorcery spell, you draw a card. using it heavily. Ghyrson Starn is clearly one of the best MTG Warhammer 40K cards, and perhaps the one most in need of a reprint price-wise.

1 | Marneus Calgar

For the most part, Warhammer 40K had a big impact on regular Commander but did little in cEDH. The big exception is Marneus Calgar, a genuine meta contender in that format from these precons. While it’s a little pricey at five mana, Marneus provides both a draw engine and an infinite mana outlet in the command zone, which gels perfectly with how cEDH plays.

With cEDH staples like Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff Whenever a player casts their second spell each turn, you lose 1 life and create a Treasure token. (It's an artifact with "{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.") , Smothering Tithe Smothering Tithe Whenever an opponent draws a card, that player may pay {2}. If the player doesn't, you create a Treasure token. (It's an artifact with "{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.") , and Orcish Bowmasters Orcish Bowmasters Flash
When this creature enters and whenever an opponent draws a card except the first one they draw in each of their draw steps, this creature deals 1 damage to any target. Then amass Orcs 1. all making tokens, it’s trivial for Marneus to draw you a ton of cards each turn cycle. You can take this even further by running an infinite mana combo, like Forensic Gadgeteer Forensic Gadgeteer Whenever you cast an artifact spell, investigate. (Create a Clue token. It's an artifact with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card.")
Activated abilities of artifacts you control cost {1} less to activate. This effect can't reduce the mana in that cost to less than one mana. and Basalt Monolith Basalt Monolith This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
{T}: Add {C}{C}{C}.
{3}: Untap this artifact. , which lets Marneus make a ton of tokens and draw through your entire deck.

Once you’ve done this, Marneus’s Esper color identity gives it access to Thassa’s Oracle Thassa’s Oracle When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.) for an easy win, and you can run Demonic Consultation Demonic Consultation Choose a card name. Exile the top six cards of your library, then reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a card with the chosen name. Put that card into your hand and exile all other cards revealed this way. and friends to close sooner, too. Add in a ton of play as a regular Commander, too, and Marneus Calgar is the clear best, most impactful MTG card from the Warhammer 40K precons.

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