The best +1/+1 counter Commander cards in MTG aren’t always the ones that put counters on things, but the ones that make sure you can get the most out of it when you do so.
It’s about supporting your chosen +1/+1 counter commander and making everything on your side of the battlefield as big and scary as possible. It’s fun, but you need to know what to be using at any given time, along with which cards will help you out the most.
The best +1/+1 counter Commander cards in MTG
Our honourable mention for today is Evolution Sage. Evolution Sage doesn’t specifically list +1/+1 counters, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care about them.
Evolution Sage is a three mana Green 3/2 that lets you proliferate whenever a Land enters the battlefield. It means you can put an extra counter on everything that already has a counter on it, and that’s just pure value friends.
10 – Hardened Scales
Hardened Scales is a one mana Green Enchantment that lets you put an extra +1/+1 counter on a Creature whenever any number of +1/+1 counters would be put on them.
It’s useful, but it’s only one extra counter, but also it’s only one mana, so it balances out rather well. If you can drop this turn one in your deck, then you’re going to have a very good game.
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9 – Gavony Township
Our one and only Land on this list, despite there being a couple of other good options, is Gavony Township. It costs nothing, obviously, and it can tap for one colorless mana.
You can also tap it and pay four mana, one of which is Green and one of which is White, to add a +1/+1 counter to each Creature you control. The ability to do this at instant speed is really powerful, and it being on a Land makes it easy to rely on in a pinch too.
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8 – The Ozolith
The Ozolith is a one mana Artifact with a lot of text. The first bit reads, “Whenever a creature you control leaves the battlefield, if it had counters on it, put those counters on The Ozolith.”
The second bit allows you to move all of the counters on The Ozolith onto a Creature at the beginning of your combat step. It’s a good way to keep your counters feeling like a good investment, and it makes losing your Creatures a little less painful.
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7 – Loyal Guardian
Loyal Guardian costs five mana and is a Green 4/4 with trample. It also has the lieutenants ability, which triggers as long as you control your commander.
If you do control your commander, then you get to put a +1/+1 counter on each Creature you control at the beginning of your combat step. While this is only good if you have your Commander out, that’s often the case with this strategy anyway. It’s simple, it’s powerful, and this guardian is indeed very loyal.
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6 – Doubling Season
Now, Doubling Season probably belongs higher up on the list, but it’s frankly an obnoxiously overpriced card, so while we do like it, we can’t put it higher than this.
Doubling Season reads, “If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead. If an effect would put one or more counters on a permanent you control, it puts twice that many of those counters on that permanent instead.” This is basically the perfect card for a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck, but it works in every +1/+1 counter deck too.
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5 – Forgotten Ancient
Ah Forgotten Ancient, what a card you are. For four mana, Forgotten Ancient is a 0/3 that gets a +1/+1 counter on it whenever any player casts a spell. That’s any spell, and any player, so this thing is going to get big.
Even better, at the beginning of your upkeep, you can move any number of those counters onto other Creatures. It’s a great way to just buff your side of the field, and we love it dearly. It’s also one of the lesser-known cards for this kind of strategy, but you should definitely auto-include it from now on.
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4 – Vigor
Vigor is another Green Creature, although this one is a six mana 6/6 with trample. In the event it goes into the graveyard from anywhere, you can shuffle it back into its owner’s library, which is nice.
It also reads, “If damage would be dealt to another creature you control, prevent that damage. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature for each 1 damage prevented this way.” Basically, you can just keep turning your Creatures sideways, and they’re going to keep getting bigger, and that’s impossible to argue with. Don’t even try.
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3 – Felidar Retreat
It’s been a very Green-heavy list so far, so we’re briefly breaking away to White for Felidar Retreat. This is a four-mana White Enchantment with landfall, which means something happens when you a Land enters the battlefield under your control.
You can either make a 2/2 White Cat Beast token, which is nice but not what we’re going for, or you can put a +1/+1 counter on each Creature you control and then those Creatures gain vigilance until end of turn. That’s ridiculous, and the fact that you can also get a token if all else fails is a nice little bonus.
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2 – Corpsejack Menace
Corpsejack Menace isn’t a corpse called Jack, but a four mana Black and Green 4/4. We’re still reeling from the fact they’re not called Jack, but what can you do.
Anyway, they read, “If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on a creature you control, twice that many +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.” It’s powerful, but it’s also on a Creature, which can make it a little too easy to remove if you ask us.
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1 – Branching Evolution
Branching Evolution, on the other hand, is a three-mana Green Enchantment that reads, “If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on a creature you control, twice that many +1/+1 counters are put on that creature instead.”
Well, it’s not an original effect in any way, but it is a powerful one, and it’s only three mana, and it’s an Enchantment, so it’s all pretty much perfect for what you’re trying to do here, and that’s why it’s the best of the best +1/+1 counters Commander cards in MTG.
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