Commander - 26 Cards to Steal Creatures (+ Bonus List)

Picture this: there is a powerful creature in play giving its controller a huge advantage, but it is in a different color than all the other cards on that side of the board. Why? Simple. Its current controller is not its original owner!

In this article, we'll show you 26 Commander cards that steal creatures. At the end, we'll also show you a Brion Stoutarm Commander decklist. This Giant Warrior will destroy your opponents' creatures and gain life for you, all at the same time.

Without further ado, let's see our cards!

Blue Cards that Steal Creatures

Let's start with Empress Galina, a legendary creature that lets you take control over any legendary permanent in play. Hide your planeswalkers, commanders, and even Bola's Citadel: whoever controls Galina can steal all of them to their side!

As for Ray of Command, it untaps a target creature an opponent controls, steals it, gives it haste, and, when you lose control over it, returns it to its original owner tapped.

Red Cards that Steal Creatures

Zealous Conscripts is known for the role it plays in infinite combos (in monored lists, one of the most famous ones includes Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker). However, you can use it "fairly", that is, to just take control of a target enemy permanent.

Claim the Firstborn is a bit less versatile, but it's just as powerful. With this sorcery, you can take control over a creature that costs 3 mana or less until the end of the turn for just one mana .

Word of Seizing has Split Second (if you'd like to know more about this keyword, check out our article about 10 incredible spells with Split Second), which means it can't be countered with Counterspell or similar. It also lets you take control over a target creature until the end of the turn.

Coercive Recruiter is great in Pirate lists because its effect only works when it or another Pirate enters your board.

Insurrection is one of those spells you cast to win the game. With it, you'll untap all creatures, gain control of them, and give them haste until the end of the turn. If that isn't enough to kill all your opponents, you'll kill at least one of them.

Mob Rule is similar to Insurrection, as it also lets you take control of numerous creatures and untap them. But it forces you to pick between creatures with power 4 or greater or power 3 or less.

Hideous Taskmaster is fair, as it steals the same thing from all opponents. Jokes aside, this Eldrazi lets you take control of up to one creature in play of each opponent until the end of the turn. They also get trample, haste, and annihilator 1.

Finally, let's go over a special spell: Kari Zev's Expertise!

What makes this card so incredible is not that it lets you steal Vehicles but rather its second ability. It lets you cast a spell in your hand that costs 2 or less for free while you steal a Vehicle.

Black Cards that Steal Creatures

Captivating Vampire is very useful in Vampire decks, as it is a lord that lets you use its companions to steal enemy creatures. Another card that steals creatures and interacts with Vampires is New Blood, and here's a little spoiler for you: its flavor text mentions Olivia, who we'll discuss soon.

Another sorcery you can use in monoblack lists to steal cards is Ritual of the Machine. To cast it, you must sacrifice a creature. Then, you'll be able to steal any non-artifact, non-black creature you want and put it on your board.

White Cards that Steal Creatures

A five-mana instant is not exactly the easiest answer to play, but if you enjoy cards that steal creatures and want to play mono white, you can use Jabari's Influence.

You can only cast this spell in combat, and even then the creature you steal will get a -1/-0 nerf. Please note that this spell doesn't state you have to return the creature in question to its owner at the end of the turn.

Preacher is a low-cost Cleric you can tap to steal an enemy creature. But be careful: your opponent gets to pick which creature you'll steal.

Green Cards that Steal Creatures

You can use this 1/1 Satyr to take control of a target legendary creature in play. Like the other cards in this list, if Willow Satyr leaves play, the creature returns to its original owner.

Honorable Mention: Scarwood Bandits

This card doesn't mention "creatures", but it can steal an artifact creature under an opponent's control. In turn, however, the opponent in question can protect their artifact if they pay two mana.

Multicolored Cards that Steal Creatures

There is a reason Olivia Voldaren attracts so many removals. Her first ability deals 1 damage to a creature, turns it into a Vampire, and also buffs her with a +1/+1 counter. Her second ability, which costs a total of five mana, lets you take control of another Vampire in play. There is no question about it: from her abilities alone, Olivia is definitely a Vampire.

The beautiful Merieke Ri Berit has certainly traumatized lots of players. This legendary creature is in the best colors for a control deck that can protect her and support her with the other spells in this list.

We already mentioned Zidane, Tantalus Thief in our article featuring 10 fun Final Fantasy commanders. With it, you'll steal any enemy creature and also give it lifelink and haste.

Its effect is quite similar to Sauron, the Lidless Eye's effect, but Sauron, our Rakdos Avatar, also buffs its creatures and deals 2 damage to each opponent directly.

Mutinous Massacre is a boardwipe that lets you take control of the creatures you don't destroy. It often kills at least one opponent.

Our beloved planeswalker, Dihada, Binder of Wills, deserves a paragraph all to herself. Her -11 ability lets you steal all nonland permanents until the end of the turn and also gives haste to all of them. You'll nearly always use this ability and win immediately afterward.

Curiously, Dihada's first version, a Grixis card named Geyadrone Dihada, also steals enemy creatures or planeswalkers.

Colorless Cards and Artifacts that Steal Creatures

Eriette's Tempting Apple's ETB effect lets you take control of a creature until the end of the turn. Furthermore, its ability is like Food, as it gives you 3 life. Its third ability, finally, makes a target opponent lose 3 life.

Flayer of Loyalties is an Eldrazi that definitely proves we all have good reason to fear this type of creature. For a total of 10 mana, you can cast it and take control of a target creature until the end of the turn. This stolen creature becomes a 10/10 with trample, haste, and annihilator 2.

Helm of Possession is another artifact in this list that lets you take control of a target creature for relatively very little: just two mana and after you sacrifice a creature. However, when you untap this artifact, that permanent returns to its original owner.

Our last artifact in this list, Vedalken Shackles, interacts with your Islands. You can pay two mana and tap it to take control of a target creature with power less than or equal to the number of Islands you control.

Playing an Olivia Voldaren or another legendary that mentions "stealing creatures" as your commander is often quite troublesome. Your opponents won't let you rest, not even for a second, and you might not be able to make it work.

An interesting way to use stolen creatures, however, is by sacrificing them to activate other relevant effects on your board.

So, we decided to build a list around Brion Stoutarm, a Giant with lifelink that lets you sacrifice your creatures to deal damage, all while you gain life.

If you want a deck that steals enemy creatures, MTG definitely has many options, particularly in red.

In this article, we wanted to bring you cards that steal creatures from the board, but we'll soon bring you an article about cards that let you steal creatures from enemy graveyards, like the classic Reanimate.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you, and see you next time!