Choosing Your Commander - White

The first set of Commanders we will look at are the legendary creatures in White.  There are currently 60+ different options as of the writing of this article (post Return to Ravnica).  Many of these are unplayable in this format for one reason or another, but there are some that may lend themselves to being a solid inclusions in many decks of the appropriate color.  As you will soon see, there is no choice that lends itself to being a top tier commander, but we'll at least narrow it down to 2 or 3 options.

Akroma, Angel of Wrath: Akroma used the be the gold standard for what you wanted your 8-casting cost creatures to do, but the time of Akroma's reign as a premier threat has long since passed.  Having her as your Commander could be interesting, but she lacks any sort of ability that you would want to build around.  She is a fine inclusion in any deck that needs a threat of her size and abilities, but unfortunately she just doesn't cut it a lot of the time.

Avacyn, Angel of Hope: Indestructibility is a powerful effect, and granting Indestructibility to everything makes Avacyn an interesting option for your Commander.  She combos well with Wrath, Armageddon or Disk effects and she makes for a decent game-ender.  Overall, I like Avacyn.
Atalya, Samite Master: Atalya is a fine inclusion in any deck that values lifegain, but as a Commander she is outclassed.

Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile: Brigid was barely playable in Lorwyn block constructed (where she was a fine sideboard card in the Kithkin mirror match), but there would be no good reason to play her in Commander.

Celestial Kirin: This is one of those cards that few people even realize exists.  It's usefulness as a Commander is somewhat limited as you are limited to using only white Spirit and Arcane spells, but there are new spirits and sprit-themed cards coming out all the time making this a more and more viable option.  Unfortunately, there will probably be no more Arcane spells ever printed, and Shining Shoal is about the only white Arcane card that you would want to play on its own merit.  With the limitations of what is available in white, Celestial Kirin at least has promise.

Cho-Manno, Revolutionary: What was once a pretty cool ability (that has since been done in a way that totally out-classes Cho-Manno in Dawn Elemental) now seems very underwhelming.  In an environment where creatures will die all the time in ways that have nothing to do with taking damage, Cho-Manno is unplayable outside of a dedicated Rebel deck (see Lin-Sivvi).


Commander Eesha: For a card that has the word "commander" in it's title, you would think that this card would make a decent Commander... Protection from Creatures is cute, but not worth including in any deck.


Crovax, Ascendant Hero: Although you can now have twice the ability for only one more mana with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Crovax is still one of my favorite mono-white Commanders.  His role will shift from being a Commander to being just another Crusade effect for the types of decks that want it, but he is still a force to be reckoned with and still something you may want to consider as your Commander.

Darien, King of Kjeldor: Darien suffers a little from the color-identity rule in that there are more good cards that damage you in colors other than white.  However, there are still plenty of white and colorless effects that do so, not to mention you have 2-4 other players around the table who are trying their best to deal 40 damage to you.  I also think that any deck that values token production, Darien should be a serious candidate.

Eight-and-a-Half-Tails: There are some people who really like 8.5 tails, especially if they are attempting to assemble some number of combo peices and want to protect them.  I find that the mana you need to keep up in order to do so leaves you very vulnerable and you end up falling behind too quickly. 

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: All of the Praetors from New Phyrexia are seemingly tailor-made for Commander, and Elesh-Norn is no exception.  Even in a deck that isn't trying to abuse him, Elesh-Norn is a huge tempo swing in your direction.  Coupled with other Crusade effects, even a simple 1/1 token can be swinging for 5 or 6 damage making even the most modest army a force to be reckoned with.  Along with the fact that any opposing creature of toughness two or less gets destroyed, and any future two-toughness creature drawn by an opponent is useless, Elesh Norn has the power to take over a table.  I'm a big fan of Elesh Norn, and I think that if there is a white token deck to be made then it is quite possibel that Elesh Norn is its general.

General Jarkeld: Way too fragile, and you don't get enough for what you are paying for.  Furthermore, the ability is way too easy to play around and has no incentives to want to build around it as a commander.

Gerrard Capashen: I'll have to admit that when this card was released I was quite disappointed that the central character of so many of the Magic backstories at the time was connected to such a crappy creature.  However, in flavor with his namesake card Gerrard's Wisdom he is very good at gaining life, but unlike Atalya it doesn't cost you any mana.

Guan Yu, Sainted Warrior: Some of the best hidden gems of the Commander format can be found in the Portal sets, especially Portal: Three Kingdoms.  This card however is surely not one of them. 

Hazduhr the Abbot: So inefficient, so boring, so useless, so Homelands...

Hikari, Twilight Guardian: Definitely something to consider for a Celestial Kirin deck, but on its own it doesn't really do anything worthwhile to be considered for play.

Hokori, Dust Drinker: If your goal is to bring your games to a screeching halt and draw the wrath and ire of the entire table of players, then Hokori is right up your alley.  Hokori is one of those cards that exemplifies what not to do with your Commander, as even if you are winning you really aren't.

Huang Zhong, Shu General: Some of these P3K legendary creatures fall into the trap of being Legendary in flavor only, as their abilities and stats fall way short of what we would expect.

Iona, Shield of Emeria: Iona is a hard card to evaluate as a commander.  On one hand, she is expensive even for the Commander format, very scary to your opponents, and will likely make you a rather large target if you are getting even close to having her hit play.  However, there is also a bit of political intrigue surrounding her as you can often negotiate with opponents as to what color you intend to name when it falls, and often times just the threat of naming someone's primary color is enough to make them leave you alone for the time being.  It's also a nice "catch-all" for the table to help contain a certain player or keep some sort of combo shenanigans in check while the rest of the players can search for answers.  I think that in general, Iona is better suited as a card in the deck rather than a Commander just so your opponents don't see her coming, but using her as the centerpeice of a deck focused on negotiation and politicking can have some merit.

Ismaru, Hound of Konda: Ismaru has a pretty unique place in the Commander format in that it is one of the few one-casting-cost creatures that are playable as a Commander.  Having access to a 2-power creature on turn one for every single game you play is certainly attractive for aggro decks in normal constructed environments, and I would say that a properly built Ismaru aggro deck may be viable for 1-on-1 matches.  For normal Commander group play, I don't think that kind of strategy is really viable when you are looking at 2-4 opponents each starting at 40 life.

Jareth, Leonin Titan: Jareth is underwhelming at what it does and is just not very interesting in general.

Kataki, War's Wage: Great if you want to hose Affinity... not so great as a Commander.

 Kemba, Kha Regent: I think Kemba has a lot of potential as more and more creatures that play well with equipment are printed.  It seems like that with every set, there are more and more powerful equipment cards being printed that can synergize with her ability without compromizing anything else that your deck wouldn't normally want to do.  The only thing really holding you back is that it has to live until your upkeep, but white has a lot of resources to help with that.  I am interested in seeing if a Kemba "equipment matters" deck is viable.

Kentaro, the Smiling Cat: Not a cat and not very useful as a commander.  I would think that a Samurai-themed Commander deck would be interesting, but they lack a Commander that spans enough colors to make it work.

Kiyomaro, First to Stand: A good card for inclusion in a deck that cares about lifegain, but not a very good Commander. 

Konda, Lord of Eiganjo: A giant roadblock for incoming ground attackers and decent at pecking away at someone's life total and killing them with General Damage.  Not bad, but not very exciting either.

Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon": Another Commander that acts as a Crusade effect, but I would rather go with Elesh Norn or Crovax.  He's definitely going to make most decks based on token strategies, but not as a Commander.

Lietenant Kirtar: This is definitely an interesting choice in the fact that as a Commander he can be reused several times to exile several atackers over the course of the game.  It's too defensive of a strategy for my tastes, but it is at least a plausible option. 

Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero:  Once the bane of existence for tournament players, Lin Sivvi still holds a lot of promise as a Commander.  Granted your pool of possible Rebel cards to include is fairly shallow, but with built-in card advantage and recursion for her tribe there is pretty much nothing to stop you from assembling a large army of Rebels for little card cost.  The primary issue becomes how many Rebels to include in order for her to be worth it, and what do you do with the rest of the deck.  You certainly don't want to be stuck playing things like Steadfast Guard, but there isn't a lot to be excited about past Lightbringer/Lawbringer. 

Linvala, Keeper of Silence: Linvala is an awesome card to have around in your 99, but she's not Commander material.

Liu Bei, Lord of Shu: I doubt anyone is going out of their way to assemble the Guan Yu, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei trinity in order to get the +2/+2 bonus, as there seems like so many better things to do.

Mageta the Lion: I really like Mageta and most of the other spellshapers from Prophecy, but unless you are taking advantage of the cards being discarded then his ability ends up costing more than you should be paying.  It has been my experience that under normal circumstances, the spellshapers don't end up making the cut.

Major Teroh: Not a bad ability, but way too narrow to see play.

Mangara of Corondor: A nice card to have as a "catch-all" removal spell, Mangara plays very nicely as both a normal removal spell and as a Commander.  When exiled as part of his ability, Mangara is put back into the Command zone ready to be played and used again making good use of the Commander rules to take advantage of the ability.  I'm not sure if the sacrifices necessary to run Mangara as a Commander are worth it, but the idea is at least intriguing to think about.

Masako the Humorless: This card is a pretty bad comabt trick if they don't see it coming, so having it sitting face-up in your Command zone doesn't make it any more playable.

Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker: A quintessential "don't mess with me" card at a decent cost, but I don't think its going to prevent people from finding ways to kill Michiko Konda then outright kill you once she's off the table.

Mikaeus, the Lunarch: Of all the various options for a mono-white commander, Mikaeus is the one thta interests me the most.  Being able to play him at pretty much any mana cost and getting a ton of flexibility as to when he hits play are both things going in its favor.  Yes, you need an army of creatures to feed the +1/+1 counters, but there are already incentives for wanting to run token strategies anyway.  Furthrmore, its a gret way of pumping your army without needing to stay on the table the entire time.  There are also cards that can make use of those +1/+1 counters in ways other than just as a power/toughness boost, so we'll keep an eye out for those as we go.  Overall, I think I'd really like to see a Mikaeus "white token" deck.

Myojin of the Cleansing Fire:  Due to the rules for the command zone, you don't ge a divinity counter when you play it as your commander.  It's not a bad card for a maindeck Wrath effect, although white has those kinds of cards in abundance as much lower mana costs.

Nagao, Bound by Honor: This is your commander if you want to run Samurai tribal, but you lose all the red samuari making the deck hard to build.

Odric, Master Tactician: Master Warcraft is a decent ability in Commander, and having it tacked onto a creature when it attacks is pretty cool.  I wouldn't use him as my Commander, but I'd definitely play him in a soldier deck, token deck, or any deck that might want to take advantage of making your opponents block how you want.

Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo: I'm not quite sure what a Yojimbo is, nor why Konda has one, but I do know that Opal-Eye ties up way too much mana for too little effect.

Orim, Samite Healer: Thumbs up for the old-school flavor... thumbs down for the lack of playability.

Oriss, Samite Guardian: So obviously the Grandeur ability is useless in the Commander format, so you are basically just getting a tweak on Orim.

Oyobi, Who Split the Heavens: Would definitely go into a Celestial Kirin deck, but I doubt I would run it as a Commander.

Pang Tong, "Young Phoenix":  A subpar combat trick with a timing restriction that makes it impossible to use profitably...

Patron of the Kitsune: In a deck that wants to attack with lots of creatures and also wants to gain lots of life, then this is your guy.  I just doubt that going that direction is actually profitable in any way.

Pianna, Nomad Captain: In Tokens/Crusade.dec, this might make your 99, but as a commander this just isn't powerful enough.

Radiant, Archangel:  Radiant is one of the few white commanders that can be buffed up to deal 21 commander damage using her innate ability, giving her a "Voltron" feel that people attribute to other Commanders such as Uril or Rafiq.  For the longest time, she was the go-to Commander for Angel tribal (a title that is probably better given to either Avacyn or Kaalia), but any deck that seeks to run tons of flyers can really benefit from having a huge flying Commander for only 5 mana.  I think she's perfect when paired with Spirit tokens, Triskelevite tokens, or other ways to generate flying tokens.  Building around her is a challenge to make sure she is bigger and better than just running Akroma or Avacyn, but the significantly lower mana cost makes that challenge worth it.

Rashka Golden Cub:  Purrrfect for your 'Cat Tribal' deck, but just not worth the seven mana otherwise.

Rashida Scalebane:  One of the more flavorful early legendary creatures, I have a fond spot for Rashida Scalebane.  In the days when your general was one of the Elder Dragons from Legends, this card was a nice rattlesnake to keep those opposing dragons at home.  Nowadays, its better off as a cute way to off opposing creatures in conjunction with blue creature-type changing effects.

Rashka the Slayer:  Great name, horrible card...

Reya Dawnbringer: There are lots of really expensive yet really powerful 8+ drops in white that suggest a reanimator theme, but tacking on a Reanimation effect to you Commander has certain side benefits in that you always have a reanimation effect handy.  Granted, that effect costs 9 mana and there is no way to reanimate or discard Reya from the Command zone, making her a not so optimal choice for a Commander.  Limiting your reanimation spells to only white (instead of white/black) also makes her suboptimal for use as a commander.  I will say that building a WB reanimation strategy is on my list of things to do, and this will be part of that deck.

Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant: In a format where you always start at 40 life, Rune-Tail gives you a unique option to bsically always have access to its flipped side.  Rune-Tails Essence seems like a decent effect, yet I see no real incentive to want to have it all the time.

Sensei Golden-Tail:  I'm not sure I would play this in a dedicated Samurai deck, much less as a Commmander.

Sidar Jibari:  It's looking at cards like this that realy demonstrate how far creatures (especially Legendary ones) have really come.

Soraya the Falconer:  She would be perfect for a bird tribal deck if only a majority of the birds that have been printed were white instead of blue (making Kangee, Aerie Keeper a better option).

Takeno, Samurai General: With the words 'Samurai General' in its name it is destined to be the commander of a Samurai-themed deck, is it not?  Not having a bit of red in its casting cost severely cuts into your available pool of Smurai cards, so I am thinking that such a deck is better off with some generic WR general with Takeno in the maindeck.

Thalia, Guardian of Thraben: Thalia is somewhat unique in that its a really cheap peice of disruption available as a Commander.  Only Gaddok Teeg offers a similar amount of disruption fir the cost, and even Then Thalia gives Teeg a runs for his money when it comes to effectiveness.  When combined with other disruptive elements, Thalia can create a very hostile environment for your opponents while you continue to play creature after creature that put further roadblocks in front of your opponent's well-laid plans.  When combined with Armageddon effects, Thalia makes it very difficult for an oppoennt to find enough time and mana to cast a board sweeper.

Tividar of Thorn: Death to the goblins!  Death to the red mage!!  But everyone else is cool to just chill...

Yomiji, Who Bars the Way:  We will be building a 'Legends Matter' when we get to Captain Sisay, and Yomiji will definitely be a part of that deck.  I htink as a stand-alone commander its too limited and really doesn't shine as well as it does there.

Yosei, the Morning Star:  Yosei is a little on the mean side especially if you are abusing it in some fashion, but in the grand scheme of what you can do to disrupt the table this is actually rather tame.  It really doesn't appeal to me as a General due to its lack of any sort of build-around-me ability, but as part of a larger disruption strategy (Thalia, Gaddok Teeg, etc.) it may have a place.

Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior: Even if this is generally unblockable at most tables, this isn't what I would call General material.

Zhao Zilong, Tiger General: And neither is this...

Zuberi, Golden Feather:  Going Griffin Tribal might give you a good excuse to pull out that Griffin Canyon that you've wanted to use...

Top 10 Mono-White Commanders

1. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

2. Mikaeus the Lunarch

3. Avacyn, Angel of Hope

4. Crovax, Ascendant Hero

5. Radiant, Archangel

6. Kemba, Kha Regent

7. Iona, Shield of Emeria

8. Lin-Sivvi, Defiant Hero

9. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

10. Celestial Kirin