Part of the appeal of the Commander format is that there are simply so many legends for players to build decks around. EDH lets your ideas run wild. Of course, with seemingly unlimited options at your disposal, it can be a bit difficult to know where to start. After all, not every Commander is created equal.
With this in mind, today, we’re going to help you narrow down your search by going over the strongest Izzet Commanders in the game. If you’re a fan of slinging spells to gain an advantage, look no further. Of note, we will not be including partner Commanders that are typically paired with cards outside of the Izzet guild. Therefore, as competitive as Kraum, Ludevic’s Opus is, it will not earn a spot on this list.
Now, with that out of the way, here are the MTG best Izzet Commanders.
#5 | Ovika, Enigma Goliath
- Mana Value: 5UR
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 6/6
- Text: Flying. Ward 3, Pay 3 life. Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create X 1/1 red Phyrexian Goblin creature tokens, where X is the mana value of that spell. They gain haste until end of turn.
Kicking things off, we have Ovika, Enigma Goliath. Ovika has an extremely impactful triggered ability that makes it trivial to flood the board with tokens in short order. These tokens are Goblins, too, which opens the door for some sweet synergies (think Skirk Prospector, for example). As long as the majority of spells in your deck are noncreature spells, you’re in good shape to utilize Ovika.
The main reason Ovika isn’t higher up on the list is that it costs seven mana. Even with its Ward ability, you aren’t guaranteed to untap with Ovika after casting it to start getting full use out of it. You certainly will want lots of mana rocks if you plan to craft a deck with Ovika as the leader. Nonetheless, the upside on Ovika is huge, so we felt it deserved a mention here.
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#4 | The Locust God
- Mana Value: 4UR
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 4/4
- Text: Flying. Whenever you draw a card, create a 1/1 blue and red Insect creature token with flying and haste. 2UR: Draw a card, then discard a card. When The Locust God dies, return it to its owner’s hand at the beginning of the next end step.
Coming in at number four, we have The Locust God. The Locust God is a rather simple card yet is extremely effective. All you really need to maximize this card are ways to draw lots of cards, which is incredibly easy to accomplish.
Skullclamp is particularly excellent in this department. The Locust God spits out tons of 1/1s to equip. Each time you equip a token, you’ll draw two cards, thereby generating two more tokens to attach Skullclamp to. If you have an effect like Impact Tremors in play that damages each opponent when a creature enters under your control, things get out of hand very quickly.
The Locust God even lends itself to some silly combos. For instance, if you have Sage of the Falls and The Locust God in play, when you make a token, Sage will trigger to let you loot. This will trigger The Locust God to make another token, letting you loot again with Sage, and so forth. With enough cards in library and an Impact Tremors-style effect at the ready, it’s easy to win on the spot.
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#3 | Stella Lee, Wild Card
- Mana Value: 1UR
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/4
- Text: Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, exile the top card of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play that card. Tap: Copy target instant or sorcery spell you control. You may choose new targets for the copy. Activate only if you’ve cast three or more spell this turn.
Over the years, we’ve seen a multitude of legends get printed that let you copy instants or sorceries in some way. Bloomburrow most recently gave us Alania, Divergent Storm, which is quite powerful in its own right. Among cards with similar playstyles, though, we gave Stella Lee, Wild Card the nod on our list.
At only three mana, Stella Lee is very efficient. In order to get full use out of Stella Lee, you really want to fill your deck with cheap cantrips. This way, you can reliably cast multiple spells turn after turn to abuse Stella Lee’s abilities.
Stella’s activated ability works exceptionally well alongside cards like Cerulean Wisps. Not only do you get to copy Cerulean Wisps to draw multiple cards, but you get to untap Stella Lee in the process and keep chaining spells. Stella Lee is very strong as long as you put the work in. Stella Lee does have some strange two-card infinites that can win the game on the spot with cards like Twisted Fealty.
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#2 | Niv-Mizzet, Parun
- Mana Value: UUURRR
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 5/5
- Text: This spell can’t be countered. Flying. Whenever you draw a card, Niv-Mizzet, Parun deals 1 damage to any target. Whenever a player cast an instant or sorcery spell, you draw a card.
At number two, we have Niv-Mizzet, Parun. Niv-Mizzet does have a nasty casting cost, but the reward for getting Niv-Mizzet in play is enormous. Even if an opponent can kill it right away, chances are you’ll get to draw a card off of their removal spell. If no one can, Niv-Mizzet can run away with the game in short order.
The fact that Niv-Mizzet lets you draw a card when ANY player cast an instant or sorcery spell makes it an infuriating card for other spell-based decks to deal with. Unsurprisingly, you’ll want a lot of instants and sorceries in your deck yourself.
This doesn’t even factor in Niv-Mizzet’s combo potential with Curiosity effects. With Curiosity enchanting Niv-Mizzet, you can draw your whole deck and deal a ton of damage! When an instant or sorcery gets cast, you’ll get to draw a card. This will let you deal a damage to an opponent with Niv-Mizzet, which triggers Curiosity, creating a loop. Niv-Mizzet simply does everything you want.
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#1 | Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
- Mana Value: 2UR
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 3/3
- Text: Whenever you cast a historic spell, draw a card. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
Ultimately, the final spot felt like a tossup between Niv-Mizzet and Jhoira. We ended up giving Jhoira the edge due to efficiency and uniqueness, but we wouldn’t fault anyone for feeling differently. Regardless, Jhoira is an unbelievable card that, once again, allows you to generate lots of card advantage.
This time, however, you’ll want to play a boatload of historic spells. The easiest way to do this is to cast a bunch of cheap artifacts. Mana rocks are naturally a key part of EDH, but when they all cantrip upon cast thanks to Jhoira, they become much more appealing. Artifact cost reducers such as Etherium Sculptor are also welcome inclusions.
Jhoira showcases that there’s more to the Izzet guild than just casting tons of instants and sorceries. Its cheap casting cost combined with its high ceiling helped Jhoira achieve the title of the MTG best Izzet Commander.
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