Commander: The 10 Best Cards of 2023 for the format!

2023 was a great year for Commander players. Besides the base-sets, Phyrexia: All Will Be One, March of the Machine, March of the Machine: The Aftermath, Wilds of Eldraine and The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, we had The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth collab and the Universes Beyond set, Doctor Who. To finish, we also had the incredible number of precon decks that also brought new cards, like Commander Masters, for instance.

It was an incredible year for Magic: The Gathering in general, and Commander obviously didn't stay out of it. Incredible cards were released to this format, and they will be shown here in our analysis of the top 10 Commander cards of 2023!

We've selected the cards in this article according to how strong they are in a wide array of archetypes, and how popular they were throughout the year. This list was based on a tenuous equilibrium between strength and popularity. Without further ado, let's see them!

10- Mirkwood Bats

At number 10, we got Mirkwood Bats. These nice bats boosted numerous decks with Black that create tokens, both when it's time to create these tokens and when it's time to sacrifice them. Chatterfang, Squirrel General, Ziatora, the Incinerator, Ghave, Guru of Spores and several other commanders got stronger just by having another consistent source of damage.

Straightforward in its goal, this card occupies our 10th spot due to its popularity in Commander decks across the world.

9- Atraxa, Grand Unifier

A great addition to Redless players, Atraxa, Grand Unifier inspired many debates since its release in basically every single format, and Commander was definitely one of them.

Either in a deck with her as the commander, or just with her present, this card brings an ETB that doesn't have a restriction (such as having been cast) to add at least 2 cards to your hand in the worst-case scenario, and it is still a 7/7 body with Vigilance, Lifelink, Flying and Deathtouch. It definitely stood out in this format.

4 or 5 color Reanimates really enjoy Atraxa, and, at the time of its release, this card hit its peak popularity in Commander, remaining present to this day in 1v1 Commander formats. For these reasons, it occupies ninth place in our list.

8- Zhulodok, Void Gorger

Zhulodok, Void Gorger became one of the, if not the best colorless commander in this format. Of course, there will always be other choices due to a matter of taste, but when it comes to value and potency, Zhulodok is excellent.

He was the most popular commander of the Commander Masters precon decks, bringing a great variety of powerful cards to the colorless pool. Because of its popularity and great recursion when creating value, this card occupies this list's eighth position.

7- Mondrak, Glory Dominus

After all, what can be better than an Anointed Procession? An Indestructible Anointed Procession that blocks: this is Mondrak, Glory Dominus, coming straight from Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Out of the Dominus cycle we've had, this might be one of, if not the best out of all 5. Its ability is quite linear in the archetype it fits into: tokens.

It stands out precisely because of its ability to become Indestructible, which is a trait in all Phyrexia Dominus, which consequently makes it incredibly strong. This is an Indestructible resource doubler that can both attack and block, and ends up becoming an almost indispensable card in every deck that focuses on creating tokens. For this reason, it fills our list's seventh spot.

6- Delighted Halfling

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth brought us several very cool cards for this format, and one of them was Delighted Halfling. This car is a mana dork that at first doesn't seem different from a Birds of Paradise, but, as soon as we read this card in full, we understand its potential. It creates mana of any color for legendary spells and even protects them against counters.

This allows us to make not only commanders uncouterable, but planeswalkers too, considering they're legendary, not to mention the entire array of legendary spells like artifacts, enchantments and even sorceries. It has a low cost and a great effect, and for these reasons it has filled our list's sixth place.

5- Beseech the Mirror

Another card that inspired many discussions when it was released was Beseech the Mirror. This is a tutor that, if Bargained, allows you to cast any 4-cost or less spell directly from your deck.

This is a great support card because it basically guarantees that your key-card will be cast for its cost exactly, supporting mostly combo decks. Nonetheless, it works with several other archetypes in this format. It is a great tutor which almost made it to our list's top 3 podium.

4- The One Ring

Definitely, the most iconic card from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is The One Ring. This is the card that made players across the world hunt its 001/001 version incessantly, which ended up in the hands of Post Malone for the cheap bargain of 2 million dollars.

As for the accessible version, the regular one, it also inspired debates in Commander because it has incredible design and flavor: it provides protection against everything when it enters play if it was cast, and offers heavy card draw in exchange for your life. Decks that can balance this drawback with life gain or by returning The One Ring to your hand extract a lot of value out of this card, and, because it is colorless, it can go into almost any deck - after all, you need at least a backup plan when you use it, or the greed that moves you will be the same greed that kills you. Almost reaching our podium, it occupies our ranking's fourth spot.

3- Clever Concealment

Clever Concealment won our list's bronze medal. Possibly a free spell because of its Convoke, it works as an alternative to Teferi's Protection, and is as efficient as this card to protect your permanents from a Cyclonic Rift or some global removal.

It can be used in any deck with White, with a few exceptions. Because of how practical it is and how much value it brings us, it occupies our podium's third place.

2- Etali, Primal Conqueror

Etali, Primal Conqueror conquered our list's silver medal. Even though it has a high cost, it is a creature that can play 4 spells as soon as it comes in, and can even exile enemy lands, consequently disrupting them too. It shines more in Commander, as it can hit 4 players at once with its ability. Its body on the board is also great, after all, spending 7 mana on a 7/7 that does this and also has Trample certainly stands out on the board.

Its transformed side clearly stands out too: Etali, Primal Sickness is a disguised Blightsteel Colossus, with Trample, Indestructible, and it gives opponents Poison counters according to the amount of damage dealt, which is practically a pseudo-Infect. This means you can defeat an enemy without blockers in one go when it is transformed. For these reasons, Etali occupies our list's second place.

1- Roaming Throne

No card other than Roaming Throne comes in at first place in our list of top Commander cards of 2023. Even though it was released very recently, this is already a card that has significantly impacted this format. It might seem like a card limited to typal decks, but you just need to think a little bit creatively to extract what's best about Roaming Throne.

Because it is a colorless card, it fits into almost any deck, with just a few exceptions. It protects itself well with its Ward 2, and finally, the reason it is so strong: it triggers an ability an extra time. Considering even cards we have already listed, like Mirkwood Bats, Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Etali, Primal Conqueror triggering twice, it already causes a lot of chaos - more damage from tokens, more cards to be placed in your hand, and possibly 4 more spells to be cast, respectively.

Roaming Throne can make several commanders even stronger, and even interact in other ways - a Henzie "Toolbox" Torre as the commander choosing the Archon creature type with Roaming Throne and then playing an Archon of Cruelty is an example of play, triggering Archon of Cruelty 4 times. This is only one of the infinite possibilities that Roaming Throne offers in this format, and is definitely a card that has already affected and will affect this format even more as new cards are released from now on.

2023 was a great year for Commander! I hope 2024 is an even greater year, offering even more cards and possibilities for us, players!

Did you like the cards we chose? Did you miss any? Do you disagree with our list? Comment down below!