Introduction
For players looking to get their game plan going as quickly as possible, cheap Commanders are fun to brew around. There are many, many Commanders who cost two or more mana, but only a few valid options available that cost one mana or less. This list is dedicated to these exceedingly cheap Legendary leaders that can come into play on turn one.
10. Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh
This Kobold Commander can only be found in Dominaria United Set or Collector’s Booster packs. Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh offers. For a single Red mana, Rosnakht is 0/1 with Battle Cry (an ability that gives all of its controller’s other creatures +1/+0 whenever it attacks). Whenever Rosnakht’s controller targets it with a spell, they get to create a 0/1 Kobolds of Kher Keep token.
The key to Rosnakht decks is to fill them with as many cantrips that can target as possible. Dragon Mantle, Fist of Flames and Expediate are all great choices. This will build up a huge board of 0/1 Kobold tokens. A card like Coat of Arms can then turn this Kobold horde into an unstoppable army. Additionally, Impact Tremors can be used to burn opponents down as more and more Kobolds come out and Battle Hymn can be used to keep the mana flowing.
9. Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
Mono Green Artifact decks are a pretty rare thing. Historically, the Color has been more focused on destroying Artifacts than on working with them. In recent years, however, Green has been getting an increasing number of Artifact synergy cards like Teething Wurmlet and Old Gnawbone. Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter is a Mono Green Artifact Commander from back in 2016. For three mana, Oviya Pashiri can create a 1/1 Servo token and for five mana she can create an X/X Construct with power and toughness equal to the number of creatures controlled by her owner.
Oviya’s second ability is the more useful of the two. The idea is to build a deck with her that goes as wide as possible, supplemented by the big constructs which she will produce each turn.
8. Kytheon, Hero of Akros
This flip walker from Magic Origins transforms from Kytheon, Hero of Akros (Kytheon being Gideon’s name when he was growing up on Theros) into Gideon, Battle-Forged on its reverse side.
The primary appeal of this card, for many players, seems to be flavor, rather than function. The EDHREC page for the card records that it’s usually used as the Commander for Gideon tribal decks, that cram as many Gideon Planeswalkers together as possible. Nevertheless, the card has some valuable uses, most notably its +1 loyalty ability which untaps a creature and makes it Indestructible until your next turn. This ability to protect your important creatures is both useful and very in character for Gideon.
7. Norin the Wary
Norin the Wary is a Commander that is primarily used in wacky decks which abuse its ability to repeatedly enter and exit play. This cowardly warrior is a 2/1 for one Red mana which exiles itself whenever a spell is cast or a creature attacks. Norin then returns to play under its owner’s control at the end of the turn.
Confusion in the Ranks is probably the most notable card which can be combined with Norin. Confusion in the Ranks allows a player to swap control of a permanent they control with a permanent their opponent controls whenever an Artifact, Creature, or Enchantment enters play under their control. This means that every time Norin enters play he can be swapped out for one of your opponent’s best cards. Norin will then inevitably disappear at some point during the turn and will come back during the end step to be swapped for another opponent’s best card.
Other cards that work wonderfully with Norin the Wary are Tome of Legends, which can be used to draw a huge number of cards, and Warstorm Surge which causes Norin to deal bursts of two damage whenever he returns to play.
6. Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar
This incredibly long-named card welds together the two, otherwise unrelated, themes of Madness and Food Tokens. Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar can be cast for a single mana that is either Black or Red as long as a card has previously been discarded this turn. This lethal chef is a 3/3 that fetches The Underworld Cookbook when she enters play. The Underworld Cookbook is a one mana Artifact that can discard cards in order to create Food Tokens or can be sacrificed itself to return a Creature from the graveyard to the hand. Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar can sacrifice the Food tokens generated by the cookbook two at a time in order to cause a creature in play to deal six damage to itself.
The implied strategy here is to fill your deck with cards that want to get discarded. You can use Madness cards which can be cast as they head from the hand to the graveyard, or powerful Creatures that can later be reanimated. Whichever option you pick, Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar decks are always a recipe for trouble.
5. Errant, Street Artist
Errant, Street Artist is a very, peculiar card. It’s one of an exceedingly small number of Blue cards to have Haste, but it also has Defender and no power. You won’t be using Errant to attack, instead, this Commander specializes in copying spells, or rather copying copies of spells. Errant allows you to create a copy of any spell on the stack that wasn’t cast. This means that Errant isn’t able to duplicate an Expropriate by herself, but if that Expropriate is already being doubled thanks to a card like Twincast, Swarm Intelligence or Narset’s Reversal then Errant can make another duplicate of that duplicate.
Errant is a wacky, wild, and currently criminally underplayed Commander.
4. Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful
This adorable Dog from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Set and Collector’s Boosters encourages players to build a “Legends Matter Deck”. Yoshimaru is a 1/1 that gains a +1/+1 counter whenever its controller plays a Legendary permanent. This card has Partner meaning it can be used alongside another Commander. There are many good partners to choose for Yoshimaru. Reyhan, Last of the Abzan allows Yoshimaru’s counters to stay in play even if the doggo itself meets an unfortunate end. Jeska, Thrice Reborn triples the damage output of a Yoshimaru stacked up with counters and provides access to a variety of ways to give the Legend-loving dog trample thanks to adding Red. Finally, Kodama of the East Tree allows Yoshimaru’s controller to cheat out several Legendary cards in a turn, providing many opportunities to buff Yoshimaru up.
Simple, but effective Yoshimaru is plenty of fun for only one mana.
3. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Modern is not the only format where Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer can make an impact. This infamous Monkey pirate steals cards from the top of the opponent’s decks and generates treasure tokens to help cast them. Use Ragavan in conjunction with Red’s wide suite of other Treasure-producing cards like Xorn, Professional Face-Breaker, and Goldspan Dragon to ensure that you will always be able to cast the cards which this simian smuggler steals.
A final thing to note is that casting Ragavan for the dash cost may seem tempting, but it doesn’t cheat around Commander tax.
2. Rhys the Redeemed
One of the oldest cards on this list (beaten out only by Norin the Wary) but also definitely one of the best. Rhys the Redeemed is one of the most popular Creature token-generating Commanders for a very good reason. Rhys’s first ability to generate a 1/1 Elf token for three mana is unremarkable. It’s Rhys’s second ability that puts the card on the map. For six mana, Rhys clones every single token his controller has in play. Since token decks have the potential to go very wide, doubling the number of tokens you control is amazingly useful.
As a card that costs a single piece of Selesnya hybrid mana, Rhys the Redeemed decks can run both White and Green cards. Fortunately, both of these colors come with a huge number of ways to generate Creature tokens from brand new cards like Path of the Ghosthunter, to old favorites like Secure the Wastes and Ezuri’s Predation.
1. Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
That’s right, we’re bookending this list with Kobold Commanders. As a zero mana card, Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh can be played on turn one even if you completely miss your first land drop. Although Rograkh costs nothing to cast it is considered a Red card. It’s a free 0/1 with First Strike, Trample, and Menace. The idea is that you play Rograkh and then use a variety of other effects to buff the Kobold up so that its cluster of cool keywords can be utilized effectively.
Rograkh has Partner and the partner chosen largely dictates how you should buff Rograkh up. Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist encourages an equipment and aura based deck, to build up a giant Voltron Kobold. If you can get a Colossus Hammer into Rograkh’s hands, you can finish off opponents very quickly. Akroma, Vision of Ixidor encourages a key word focussed build. Akroma already provides Rograkh with a +3/+3 buff, if you can grant the Kobold additional abilities like Flying or Indestructible then the Kobold can grow even tougher. Finally, it’s possible to run a +1/+1 counter focussed build by putting a card like Keleth, Sunmane Familiar or Reyhan, Last of the Abzan in the Command Zone beside Rograkh.
As a 0 mana card Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh is the easiest to cast Commander in the game. There are all sorts of fun builds you can brew around Rograkh and he deserves his spot at the top of this list.
Conclusion
There you have a selection of the game’s cheapest Commanders. These cards can come out of the Command Zone again, and again to cause trouble for opponents. Any of the 10 cards listed here would make a fine choice for a player looking to build a deck that gets going right from turn one.
Read more: Top 10 Best Battles For Commander
