One of the most fun aspects of the Commander format is that there are so many different styles of decks to build. Each color combination offers a wide variety of unique legends to lead your squad. It’s up to you to find a powerful and enjoyable Commander to craft your deck around.
Of course, with so many creatures to choose from, it can be difficult to narrow down your options. With this in mind, we’ve been making it a mission to go over the top Commanders in each guild to give you a better sense of where you might want to start your journey. We’ve now reached Selesnya, a guild filled with diverse ideas. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the MTG best Selesnya Commanders.
#5 | Emiel, the Blessed
- Mana Value: 2WW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 4/4
- MTG Sets: Jumpstart, Double Masters, Jumpstart 2022
- Card Text: 3: Exile another target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control. Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may pay green or white. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on it. If it’s a Unicorn, put two +1/+1 counters on it instead.
Kicking off this list, we have Emiel, the Blessed. Emiel presents a very straightforward game plan, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a powerful one. Getting to blink your creatures at will is awesome.
As you might expect, the goal with Emiel is to pair it with a boatload of creatures with potent enters-the-battlefield triggers. Even simple creatures like Wall of Omens and Wood Elves become value-generating machines with Emiel in play.
On top of that, Emiel has the ability to grow your creatures when they enter. It’s unlikely you’ll be striving for too many Unicorn synergies, but Emiel does reward you for going deeper down that rabbit hole if you want.
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#4 | Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn
- Mana Value: 2GW
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- MTG Sets: Commander Legends, Multiverse Legends
- Card Text: Lifelink. At the beginning of your end step, if you gained life this turn, distribute that many +1/+1 counters among any number of other target creatures.
Up next, we have Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn. Lathiel is focused on a very different theme: life gain. The more life you gain during your turn, the bigger the payoff that Lathiel provides on your end step.
Notably, you do need other creatures to put the +1/+1 counters on. As such, creatures like Soul Warden that also help on the life gain front are elite inclusions in a Lathiel deck. From there, effects that gain you a bunch of life at once, such as Beacon of Immortality, become incredibly scary alongside Lathiel and other creatures on board.
Another avenue to consider when constructing a Lathiel deck is adding counters synergies as well as life gain synergies. Inspiring Call, for instance, can be a great source of card advantage in conjunction with Lathielf if you’ve built out a big enough board. The world is your oyster, and Lathiel gives you a big bang for your buck.
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#3 Arahbo, Roar of the World
- Mana Value: 3GW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 5/5
- MTG Set: Commander 2017
- Card Text: Eminence- At the beginning of combat on your turn, if Arahbo, Roar of the World is in the command zone or on the battlefield, another target Cat you control gets +3/+3 until end of turn. Whenever another Cat you control attacks, you may pay 1GW. If you do, it gains trample and gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is its power.
Arahbo, Roar of the Wild comes in at number three. This card’s a doozy. Thanks to its Eminence ability, Arahbo can have a large effect on the game before you’ve even cast it from your Command Zone! Getting to pump a small cat like Ocelot Pride to help it survive in combat is a big deal, and you get that bonus turn after turn.
Once you manage to get Arahbo onto the battlefield, your attacks become much more threatening. You get to preemptively give one of your Cats +3/+3 before you attack, then when you attack, Arahbo can provide an even more significant buff to that creature and give it Trample. Throw in Cats like Feline Sovereign that reward you for connecting in combat, and you’ve got a gameplan!
The only reason Arahbo isn’t higher on the list is that Cats isn’t the strongest typal strategy in the world. Nonetheless, Arahbo itself gives you a pretty good incentive to go that route if it interests you.
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#2 | Kyler, Sigardian Emissary
- Mana Value: 3GW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- MTG Set: Midnight Hunt Commander
- Card Text: Whenever another Human enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Kyler, Sigardian Emissary. Other Humans you control get +1/+1 for each counter on Kyler.
At number two, we have Kyler, Sigardian Emissary. We gave Kyler the edge over Arahbo for two main reasons. First, Humans are as abundant as they come in the world of MTG. Second, the payoff for flooding the board with Humans while Kyler is in play is through the roof.
Kyler continues to grow every time any Human enters under your control. So, it’s in your best interest to play cards like Horn of Gondor that are capable of generating a massive army in short order. As long as Kyler stays on the battlefield, all your other tiny Humans serve as monstrous threats.
The only downside here is that Kyler is a bit inefficient. If it dies multiple times, it isn’t always easy to replay it and follow up with lots more humans. Consider playing some cards like Mithril Coat to help protect your Commander.
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#1 | Sythis, Harvest’s Hand
- Mana Value: GW
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 1/2
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 2, Commander Masters
- Card Text: Whenever you cast an enchantment spell, you gain 1 life and draw a card.
At our top spot, we have Sythis, Harvest’s Hand. Frankly, this doesn’t seem particularly close. Enchantress decks are naturally strong in EDH given how much value they tend to generate, and having access to a cheap, card-drawing engine in the Commander Zone makes every Enchantment you play that much better.
All you want to do is pair Sythis with a plethora of Enchantments and other ways to benefit from having tons of Enchantments in play. Sigil of the Empty Throne and the like can help you cross the finish line as you continue to cantrip off of every Enchantment you cast.
As you can see, there are a lot of different themes you can focus on in Selesnya. Humans, Cats, Enchantments, and beyond are all viable strategies. If you’re looking for a strong starting point, any of the Commanders listed above should do the trick.
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