The Top 10 Best Commanders That Cost 1 Mana Or Less

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 Coat of Arms Each creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature on the battlefield that shares at least one creature type with it. (For example, if two Goblin Warriors and a Goblin Shaman are on the battlefield, each gets +2/+2.) can then turn this Kobold horde into an unstoppable army. Additionally, Impact Tremors Impact Tremors Whenever a creature you control enters, this enchantment deals 1 damage to each opponent. can be used to burn opponents down as more and more Kobolds come out and Battle Hymn Battle Hymn Add {R} for each creature you control. 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 Old Gnawbone Flying
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, create that many Treasure tokens. . 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, Hero of Akros At end of combat, if Kytheon and at least two other creatures attacked this combat, exile Kytheon, then return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control.
{2}{W}: Kytheon gains indestructible until end of turn. (Kytheon being Gideon’s name when he was growing up on Theros) into Gideon, Battle-Forged Gideon, Battle-Forged At end of combat, if Kytheon and at least two other creatures attacked this combat, exile Kytheon, then return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control.
{2}{W}: Kytheon gains indestructible until end of turn. 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 Norin the Wary When a player casts a spell or a creature attacks, exile Norin. Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step. 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 Confusion in the Ranks Whenever an artifact, creature, or enchantment enters, its controller chooses target permanent another player controls that shares a card type with it. Exchange control of those permanents. 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 Tome of Legends This artifact enters with a page counter on it.
Whenever your commander enters or attacks, put a page counter on this artifact.
{1}, {T}, Remove a page counter from this artifact: Draw a card. , which can be used to draw a huge number of cards, and Warstorm Surge Warstorm Surge Whenever a creature you control enters, it deals damage equal to its power to any target. 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 Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar As long as you've discarded a card this turn, you may pay {B/R} to cast this spell.
When Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar enters, you may search your library for a card named The Underworld Cookbook, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Sacrifice two Foods: Target creature deals 6 damage to itself. 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 The Underworld Cookbook {T}, Discard a card: Create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
{4}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. 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 Errant, Street Artist Flash
Defender, haste
{1}{U}, {T}: Copy target spell you control that wasn't cast. You may choose new targets for the copy. 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 Twincast Copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. , Swarm Intelligence Swarm Intelligence Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, you may copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. or Narset’s Reversal Narset’s Reversal Copy target instant or sorcery spell, then return it to its owner's hand. You may choose new targets for the copy. 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 Reyhan, Last of the Abzan Reyhan enters with three +1/+1 counters on it.
Whenever a creature you control dies or is put into the command zone, if it had one or more +1/+1 counters on it, you may put that many +1/+1 counters on target creature.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) allows Yoshimaru’s counters to stay in play even if the doggo itself meets an unfortunate end. Jeska, Thrice Reborn Jeska, Thrice Reborn Jeska enters with a loyalty counter on her for each time you've cast a commander from the command zone this game.
0: Choose target creature. Until your next turn, if that creature would deal combat damage to one of your opponents, it deals triple that damage to that player instead.
−X: Jeska deals X damage to each of up to three targets.
Jeska, Thrice Reborn can be your commander.
Partner 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 Kodama of the East Tree Reach
Whenever another permanent you control enters, if it wasn't put onto the battlefield with this ability, you may put a permanent card with equal or lesser mana value from your hand onto the battlefield.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) 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 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.) 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 Xorn If you would create one or more Treasure tokens, instead create those tokens plus an additional Treasure token. , Professional Face-Breaker Professional Face-Breaker Menace
Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token.
Sacrifice a Treasure: Exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn. , and Goldspan Dragon Goldspan Dragon Flying, haste
Whenever this creature attacks or becomes the target of a spell, create a Treasure token.
Treasures you control have "{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add two mana of any one color." 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 Rhys the Redeemed {2}{G/W}, {T}: Create a 1/1 green and white Elf Warrior creature token.
{4}{G/W}{G/W}, {T}: For each creature token you control, create a token that's a copy of that creature. 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 Path of the Ghosthunter Create X 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying.
Will of the Planeswalkers — Starting with you, each player votes for planeswalk or chaos. If planeswalk gets more votes, planeswalk. If chaos gets more votes or the vote is tied, chaos ensues. , to old favorites like Secure the Wastes Secure the Wastes Create X 1/1 white Warrior creature tokens. and Ezuri’s Predation Ezuri’s Predation For each creature your opponents control, create a 4/4 green Phyrexian Beast creature token. Each of those tokens fights a different one of those creatures. .

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 Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh First strike, menace, trample
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) 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 Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may attach any number of Auras and Equipment you control to target permanent or player.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) 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 Akroma, Vision of Ixidor Flying, first strike, vigilance, trample
At the beginning of each combat, until end of turn, each other creature you control gets +1/+1 if it has flying, +1/+1 if it has first strike, and so on for double strike, deathtouch, haste, hexproof, indestructible, lifelink, menace, protection, reach, trample, vigilance, and partner.
Partner 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 Keleth, Sunmane Familiar Whenever a commander you control attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) or Reyhan, Last of the Abzan Reyhan, Last of the Abzan Reyhan enters with three +1/+1 counters on it.
Whenever a creature you control dies or is put into the command zone, if it had one or more +1/+1 counters on it, you may put that many +1/+1 counters on target creature.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) 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