10 Cards Every Commander Deck Should Consider

Some Commander cards are so universally useful that they show up in nearly every decklist regardless of strategy, color, or budget. These are the format staples - cards that earn their slot through raw efficiency and flexibility.

Whether you are building your first deck or your fifteenth, these ten cards deserve a spot in your 99.

1. Sol Ring

Why it is essential: Sol Ring costs one mana and produces two colorless mana. That is the single most efficient ramp card in the format. A turn-one Sol Ring puts you an entire turn ahead of everyone at the table.

Sol Ring appears in over 75% of all Commander decks on EDHREC, and it is included in every preconstructed Commander deck Wizards of the Coast has ever printed. There is a reason it costs less than a dollar despite being one of the most powerful cards in the format - it has been printed into the ground.

Budget alternative: There is no real substitute for Sol Ring, but it is already cheap. If you somehow do not have one, it should be your first purchase.

2. Command Tower

Why it is essential: A land that taps for any color in your commander's color identity, with no downsides. No entering tapped, no life payment, no conditions. In any deck with two or more colors, Command Tower is the best land in your deck.

Budget alternative: Command Tower itself is under a dollar. For additional fixing on a budget, consider Exotic Orchard, Path of Ancestry, or Mana Confluence.

3. Arcane Signet

Why it is essential: Arcane Signet costs two mana and taps for any color in your commander's identity. It is the second-best mana rock in the format after Sol Ring. Every multi-color deck wants this card, and even mono-color decks are happy to play it.

Budget alternative: Fellwar Stone and Mind Stone are solid alternatives at similar price points. The Talisman cycle (Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Creativity, etc.) is excellent for two-color decks.

4. Swords to Plowshares

Why it is essential: One white mana to exile any creature. No conditions, no hoops to jump through. The life your opponent gains is irrelevant in a format where players start at 40. Swords to Plowshares is the gold standard for creature removal in Commander.

Budget alternative: Path to Exile is the next best option. Generous Gift costs one more mana but hits any permanent.

5. Cyclonic Rift

Why it is essential: Cyclonic Rift is one of the most powerful cards in Commander. At its overload cost of seven mana, it bounces every nonland permanent your opponents control to their hands. This is effectively a one-sided board wipe that hits everything: creatures, artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers.

It is expensive to buy (usually $25-40), but its impact on the game is enormous. Landing a Cyclonic Rift at the right moment wins games outright.

Budget alternative: Wash Out, River's Rebuke, and Devastation Tide offer partial substitutes, but nothing truly replaces the Rift.

6. Beast Within

Why it is essential: Three mana to destroy any permanent. Land, creature, enchantment, artifact, planeswalker - Beast Within hits everything. The 3/3 Beast token your opponent gets is a small price to pay for such flexible removal.

Green historically struggles with creature removal. Beast Within patches that weakness better than any other card.

Budget alternative: Generous Gift does the same thing in white (gives a 3/3 Elephant instead). Chaos Warp is red's version with a random drawback.

7. Lightning Greaves

Why it is essential: For two mana, you get an equipment that gives your creature shroud and haste. Shroud means your opponents cannot target your commander with removal. Haste means your commander can attack or use tap abilities the turn it enters.

The downside of shroud (you cannot target your own creature either) is a real cost, but the protection it offers is worth it. Equip cost of zero means you can move it around freely.

Budget alternative: Swiftfoot Boots gives hexproof (you can still target your own creature) and haste for an equip cost of one. Slightly worse for protection, better for flexibility.

8. Phyrexian Arena

Why it is essential: For three mana, Phyrexian Arena draws you an extra card every turn at the cost of one life. In a format where you start at 40 life, paying one life per turn for card advantage is an incredible deal.

Over a typical Commander game (8-12 turns), Phyrexian Arena draws you 8-12 extra cards. That is more cards than most dedicated draw spells provide.

Budget alternative: Read the Bones, Sign in Blood, and Night's Whisper offer one-time bursts of card draw for less money. Stinging Study draws cards equal to your commander's mana value for five mana.

9. Cultivate

Why it is essential: Cultivate finds two basic lands from your deck, puts one onto the battlefield tapped and one into your hand. This ramp spell guarantees your next land drop while also fixing your colors. In three or more color decks, Cultivate is essential for hitting all your color requirements.

Budget alternative: Kodama's Reach does the exact same thing. Rampant Growth and Nature's Lore are cheaper alternatives that only find one land.

10. Swiftfoot Boots

Why it is essential: Similar to Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots protects your commander with hexproof and gives it haste. The equip cost of one mana means it is slightly slower but the hexproof (instead of shroud) lets you still target your own creature with auras, equipment, and buff spells.

In practice, most decks that want Lightning Greaves also want Swiftfoot Boots. Having two sources of commander protection dramatically increases your chances of keeping your key creatures alive.

Budget alternative: Whispersilk Cloak gives shroud and unblockable for slightly more mana. Mask of Avacyn gives hexproof without haste.

Building With Staples

These ten cards are not mandatory. A well-built Commander deck can function without any of them. But they represent the kind of card quality you should aim for in your utility slots - efficient, flexible cards that serve their purpose regardless of your specific strategy.

When building a deck, start by including the staples that match your colors, then fill in the remaining slots with cards that support your specific commander and theme. Tools like Manacove can help identify which staples work best with your commander while respecting your budget constraints.

For more on building a solid deck foundation, check out our guide on the Rule of Eight and our deep dive into mana curves.