Commander is great because you can really do anything you want in the format. Even if you do want to do something popular, you can do so in a number of ways that help mark you as something a bit different.
That’s one of the greatest things about the best token commander in MTG too, the sheer variety of it all. Sure, you’re making Creature tokens, but aside from that, there are a lot of different ways to go about actually winning the game. So, we put together this list for you, so you can find your next favorite token commander.
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The best token commanders in MTG
Our honorable mention for today goes to Marath, Will of the Wild. Marath is an undeniable powerful commander, that comes in with counters on them, and you can then pay mana and remove counters to deal damage, put +1/+1 counters on things, or create an X/X token on the battlefield.
The trouble is, that if you’ve got enough mana and counters to make a lot of tokens, then you’ve probably got enough mana and counters to just kill everyone with direct damage, which is often far more efficient than making tokens. With that out of the way, let’s get stuck into the main list of the best token commanders in MTG.
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10 – Ghave, Guru of Spores
Ghave, Guru of Spores almost falls foul of the same issues that Marath does, but it’s a lot easier to make tokens with them, so we’re putting them on the list. For five mana, you get a White, Black, and Green 0/0 that enters with five +1/+1 counters.
You can then pay one mana to remove a +1/+1 counter from a Creature you control to make a 1/1 Saproling token, or pay one mana and sacrifice a Creature to put a +1/+1 counter on a Creature. We really like leaning into the Saproling theme here with cards like Slimefoot, the Stowaway and Tendershoot Druid, but you can have a huge amount of success with basically anything that makes tokens or counters here.
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9 – Teysa Karlov
Teysa Karlov is a White and Black 2/4 for four mana. She makes it so that any effect that you control caused by a creature dying is triggered an additional time, which is great for aristocrats decks.
The thing that makes her great for token decks is that she also gives all of your tokens vigilance and lifelink. Basically, you’ve got a few ways to attack with Teysa as your commander, and you can even pair them with our next pick for some incredibly powerful turns.
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8 – Thalisse, Reverent Medium
The first of the incredibly new cards on this list is Thalisse, Reverent Medium. Thalisse is a five mana White and Black 3/4 who reads, “At the beginning of each end step, create X 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying, where X is the number of tokens you created this turn.”
What’s cool about this, other than it effectively doubling the number of tokens you have, is that the staggered effect means you can use your other tokens as sacrificial pawns and be completely safe in the knowledge that you’ll be getting a new army later on.
7 – Riku of Two Reflections
Riku of Two Reflections is a five mana Green, Blue, and Red 2/2 who can copy Instant and Sorcery spells you cast if you pay a Blue and a Red, and can make tokens of nontoken Creatures you control if you pay one Green and one Blue.
This means you can have a nice mix of token-creating spells, and gigantic Creatures that you’d like more of. Riku is a fairly mana-intensive Commander, but their ability and the colors they allow you to play are both huge boons for anyone looking to flood the board with tokens.
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6 – Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer
Some commanders cost a fair bit of mana, but they’re usually worth it. Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer is a six mana Blue and Red 4/4 that gives all of your Creature tokens haste. That’s already a great ability, but they also have this chunk of text, “At the beginning of combat on your turn, create a 2/1 blue Myr Artifact Creature token. Then you may choose a token you control. If you do, each other token you control becomes a copy of that token.”
In essence, when playing Brudiclad, you’ll be aiming to make a lot of tokens, but also one or two tokens based on your best Creatures. This will allow you to suddenly be swinging in with an army of very real threats, all of whom have haste. It’s a huge amount of fun to build around Brudiclad, so we recommend giving it a try.
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5 – Rhys the Redeemed
Rhys the Redeemed is a one mana Green and White 1/1 with two abilities. The first allows you to pay three mana and tap them to create a 1/1 Elf Warrior token. That’s very dull, but it’s fine in a pinch.
The second ability though, costs six mana and you have to tap them, but you get to create a copy of every Creature token you control. It’s very easy to bring out an obnoxious amount of Creatures with Rhys because of the Selsnya colors, and it’s even easier to then win the game with them.
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4 – Krenko, Mob Boss
Obviously, any list about the best token commanders in MTG would be severely lacking without Krenko and his lackeys. Krenko, Mob Boss is a four mana Red 3/3 that you can tap to create X 1/1 red Goblin tokens where X is the number of Goblins you control.
If you combine him with some Goblin lords like Goblin King and then throw in some ETB cards like Purphoros, God of the Forge, you can very rapidly wipe out everyone in the game with you and also ensure you’ll never get invited to another game of Commander again.
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3 – Esix, Fractal Bloom
It says a lot about how powerful recent cards have been that this is the second-highest entry for a brand-new card on this list. Esix, Fractal Bloom is a six mana Blue and Green 4/4 with flying.
Also, “The first time you would create one or more tokens during each of your turns, you may instead choose a creature other than Esix, Fractal Bloom and create that many tokens that are copies of that creature.” That means that you can just make an army of Craterhoof Behemoths if you want to. It also means that’ll end the game on the spot, so that’s nice.
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2 – The Locust God
The penultimate entry on our list of the best token commanders in MTG, is The Locust God. This god is a six mana Blue and Red 4/4 with flying that creates a 1/1 Insect token with flying and haste whenever you draw a card. It also allows you to pay mana to draw and discard a card, and if it dies, you can put it back in your hand in the next end step.
Just fill your deck with wheels and draw spells and then win the game. That sounds reductive, but it really is how you’re going to find games going if you build a deck around this insecty boi, and you do it well.
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1 – Adrix and Nev, Twincasters
Our final entry is another new card, and it’s Adrix and Nev, Twincasters. The Twincasters are a four mana Green and Blue 2/2. They have a ward of two mana, which means spells that target them get countered unless the player pays two mana.
They also double the number of tokens you create. If you then throw in cards like Parallel Lives and Doubling Season, you’ll need a degree in mathematics to keep up with how many Creature tokens you have, and we just think that’s wonderful, you know?
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