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Top 5 Commanders who Generate Tokens

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Do you want to build a deck focused on tokens, but don't know which commander to use? Check out our tips for commanders who generate tokens for your deck!

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translated by Joey Sticks

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revised by Tabata Marques

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Do you want to build a token-focused deck, but don't know which commander to use?

There is a rich variety of tokens in Magic: The Gathering which can go in your deck, such as treasures, food, clues and even starfish — as a result, we can say we have an even more interesting variety of commanders who can accompany you in that casual table where you can have fun with your friends.

We've researched some of the most popular commanders with the ability to create tokens and listed them in this article for you.

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However, before we talk about them, let's introduce some commanders as "honorable mentions" which are very good for token-focused decks, but don't necessarily create tokens themselves.

Honorable Mentions: The Non-token Generators You Should Meet

The focus of this article are commanders who create tokens, so that's why we separated this honorable mention section to talk superficially about some of them who, even without creating tokens, can be quite interesting. Of course, everything depends on the type of deck you would like to craft.

If you want to read an in-depth article about any of the commanders below, leave your request in the comment section — our team is always looking out for you!

Jetmir, Nexus of Revels

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New Capenna's Cabaretti Family Leader has three very fun effects, but they depend on how many creatures you control.

It's like you're in a bingo in which the hits make you closer to the big prize, which in this case is to have your creatures get the +1/+0 buff and Double Strike, and it also has the previous effects as bonuses.

Chatterfang, Squirrel General and Jinnie Fay, Jetmir’s Second

Our Squirrel General and Jetmir's Second are sharing this podium because their effects are similar, and a bit complicated to deal with, even though both need cards that create tokens for their effects to happen.

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Chatterfang, Squirrel General has Forestwalk and can sacrifice squirrel tokens so that he or another creature can get counters until the end of the turn.

If you manage to play the legendary land Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth to transform your opponent's lands in forests, you'll have a commander who can't be blocked and can increase his own power to deal direct damage to opponents.

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As for Jinnie Fay, Jetmir’s Second, it gives you the option of transforming any token that would be created into a Cat with Haste or a Dog with Vigilance.

Imagine how cool it would be to have a Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin who doesn't create numerous goblins, but instead Cats and Dogs which have more power and resistance than goblins and some interesting keywords? This is one of the many options of cards that can go alongside this commander.

Adrix and Nev, Twincasters

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The twins Adrix and Nev are commanders in the preconstructed deck "Quantum Quandrix", from Strixhaven, and they've become quite a popular card for its effect of doubling the number of tokens which would be created.

As a bonus, the card also has Ward, which is always welcome in a commander.

Kyler, Sigardian Emissary

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Kyler, Sigardian Emissary is part of the precon "Coven Counters", from Midnight Hunt, but his effect is so interesting that it steals a bit of the attention which would be given to Leinore, Autumn Sovereign.

Every time a human goes into the battlefield, Kyler grows, and his growth helps the humans who went in, making him quite a competent commander for a tribal deck with a focus on human tokens.

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Cards such as Torens, Fist of the Angels and Maja, Bretagard Protector are going to fill the board, while Kyler will grow the power of the creatures in it.

Commanders who Generate Tokens

Now that we are past the honorable mentions, it is time to discuss the stars of this article: the Commanders who Create Tokens.

You notice many of them are from preconstructed decks, and you will be able to check out their list, which is strongly recommended for beginner players or those who look for a deck to have fun casually with friends.

To vary our list, we've selected five different categories: treasures, zombies, artifacts, goblins and dragons. Let's meet them!

5. Treasures with Prosper, Tome-Bound

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Prosper, Tome-Bound is the commander of the preconstructed deck "Planar Portal", from Forgotten Realms, and their main goals are to hoard power and riches.

Prosper has two interesting effects which complement each other: with the first you exile a card that can be played up to your next round, and with the second, you create Treasure tokens when you cast cards from exile. It's quite coherent with the part of "power and riches", don't you think?

The potential of this commander and their deck, even though it's a preconstructed one, of wreaking havoc on board is so great that at the moment this article is being written the deck isn't available for purchase in the Brazilian marketplace.

Created treasures are resources to cast the exiled pile spells, and, every once in a while, you'll be able to cast opponent's cards to your own benefit thanks to creatures such as Etali, Primal Storm.

Deck example:

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4. Zombie Apocalypse with Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

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Are you scared of losing your zombies? So keep calm, Wilhelt will give you new ones!

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver is the commander of the preconstructed deck "Undead Unleashed", from Midnight Hunt, and it promises bringing on a true zombie apocalypse onto the battlefield.

Every time a zombie you control without decayed dies, Wilhet places a 2/2 Zombie token with decayed on the battlefield. A token with decayed has its negative sides (it can't block and must be sacrificed after attacking), but it still serves as a trigger for quite annoying abilities to your opponent, such as Butcher of Malakir's.

If you like combos and wants at least one in every deck, you can take advantage of some cards of the precon itself such as in Acererak the Archlich and Rooftop Stormlink outside website or add external cards such as Gravecrawler, Phyrexian Altar and Wilhelt, the Rotcleaverlink outside website to have your combo without deviating too much from the "Zombie" theme.

Deck example:

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3. Artifacts with Osgir, the Reconstructor

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Osgir, the Reconstructor is a professor obsessed with ancient artifacts and is the commander of the precon deck "Lorehold Legacies", from Strixhaven, which brings a mechanic interesting enough to fill your board with tokens which are copies of the artifacts exiled with the commander's effect.

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This commander is so generous that for each artifact that is exiled with his ability, he returns two to the battlefield. Osgir is an interesting commander for those who look for a different and fun mechanic involving the graveyard.

Deck example:

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2. Dragon Army with Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

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In life, Miirym was a silver dragon who liked hoarding treasures, but every once in a while, she would search them in the wrong places. It was in one of these adventures that she destroyed works in a library, devoured the scholars who were in it, and was cursed to spend the rest of her days protecting the fortress where this all happened.

However, no one expected this spell to last even after she died.

Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is probably the commander with the saddest story in this list, but don't be mistaken; that doesn't make her weaker. The effect of this dragon allows her to create a non-legendary copy for each other Dragon that goes in the battlefield under your control.

It's worth highlighting that nothing prevents you from creating non-legendary copies of Miirym herself using other cards, and that she also has Ward.

Dragons are quite feared creatures and Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm isn't afraid of creating copies to reunite these creatures around you.

Deck example:

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1. Goblin gang with Krenko, Mob Boss

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Is the first thing you think of when you read "token deck" a goblin deck?

Out of this whole list, this commander is for sure the one who fills the board quicker and guarantees its spot as the most popular one for goblins.

Krenko, Mob Boss is a goblin from the Ravnica plane which does odds jobs with his crew for mercenaries and promises filling your board with Goblin tokens.

Every time Krenko is tapped to activate his effect, you'll be able to place goblin tokens equal to the number of goblins you already control. Notice the effect counts the tokens, so your board grows very fast.

A card that matches Krenko's deck a lot is Purphoros, God of the Forge, which deals 2 damage every time a creature enters the board under your control. Just imagine creating 8 1/1 Goblins with this card on board, you don't even need to attack!

Deck example:

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Cards with Good Synergy for Token Decks

Do you want tips on good cards to use in your deck that creates tokens? So take notes on some of these interesting cards to support you.

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Tokens, tokens, tokens and more tokens!

This was our list of Top 5 Commanders who Create Tokens and some recommendations for those of you who are trying to craft a token deck with the for fun commander format in mind.

Currently, there are so many commanders and token types that it is even hard to map them all, so leave in the comment sections your suggestion of commanders for token decks and why do you recommend them (nice mechanic, good synergy, etc).

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We hope this list helps you with ideas for your deck, and we hope you keep browsing the site to read more articles like this one!