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Top 5 MTG Foundations Commanders

The release of MTG Foundations brings with it some fantastic new commander options, combining both reprints and unique new cards that are set to make a splash in Commander (EDH). Whether you’re into lifegain, token generation, counter strategies, or reanimation, Foundations offers something to suit every playstyle. In this post, we’ll dive into the Top 5 Commanders from MTG Foundations, exploring their abilities, strategies, and synergies to help you find the perfect commander for your next deck.

 

 

1. Tatyova, Benthic Druid

Commander Profile:

  • Mana Cost: 3GU
  • Abilities: Tatyova’s core ability is landfall-based, allowing you to draw a card and gain 1 life every time a land enters the battlefield under your control. This combination of draw power and life gain makes her a powerhouse in Simic (Green-Blue) colors.

Why Tatyova is Top-Tier:

Tatyova provides a unique blend of card advantage and resilience that fits perfectly in Simic ramp strategies. Every land you play is essentially a free card, and the life gain is a useful bonus that keeps you in the game longer against aggressive decks. Her ability works perfectly with ramp spells that put multiple lands onto the battlefield, which means you can quickly build a strong board presence and maintain a full hand.

Key Synergies and Strategies:

  • Land Ramp: Cards like Cultivate, Kodama’s Reach, and Harrow allow you to put multiple lands onto the battlefield, triggering Tatyova’s landfall ability each time and quickly filling your hand.
  • Bounce Effects: Use cards like Trade Routes to return lands to your hand, which can then be replayed for additional landfall triggers.
  • Token Generation: Pair with cards like Avenger of Zendikar to create an army of plant tokens, all of which grow in power as you continue to play lands.

Tatyova is a solid commander for players who want to maximize value while also building a large board. With her as your commander, every land drop counts, bringing both resources and longevity to your game.

 

 

2. Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate

Commander Profile:

  • Mana Cost: 1BR
  • Abilities: Alesha’s new version introduces a raid ability that allows her to return creatures from your graveyard to the battlefield if she attacked that turn. This reanimation is limited to creatures with a mana value equal to or less than her power, but it still brings significant value.

Why Alesha Stands Out:

Alesha’s ability to recur creatures in Rakdos colors (Black-Red) makes her a standout choice for players who love graveyard recursion and sacrifice synergy. Her first strike ability makes her difficult to block effectively, while her raid-triggered reanimation opens up exciting combos and synergy with creatures that have powerful enter-the-battlefield or death triggers.

Key Synergies and Strategies:

  • Reanimation and Sacrifice Loops: Cards like Fleshbag Marauder and Plaguecrafter work perfectly with Alesha’s reanimation ability, allowing you to bring them back for additional sacrifices that disrupt your opponents’ boards.
  • Power Buffs: Using equipment or auras like Grafted Exoskeleton and Sword of the Animist can increase Alesha’s power, letting you reanimate creatures with higher mana values.
  • ETB (Enter-the-Battlefield) Effects: Creatures like Karmic Guide and Solemn Simulacrum provide added value when reanimated, allowing for card draw, extra creatures, or mana ramp.

Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate, is perfect for players who enjoy graveyard recursion and want to disrupt opponents by reanimating impactful creatures with each attack.

 

 

3. Elenda, Saint of Dusk

Commander Profile:

  • Mana Cost: 2WB
  • Abilities: Elenda comes with hexproof from instants, meaning she is protected from most single-target removal spells. She also grows in power based on your life total: as long as your life total is above your starting total, she gets +1/+1, and if it’s at least 10 higher, she receives an additional +5/+5.

Why Elenda is Powerful:

Elenda is built to dominate the battlefield in Voltron or lifegain-focused decks. With her hexproof from instants, Elenda is hard to remove and can serve as a powerful threat with a growing power level based on your life total. Paired with her natural lifelink, she enables a sustainable way to maintain and grow your life total, making her a strong finisher in any game.

Key Synergies and Strategies:

  • Life Gain Support: Cards like Soul Warden, Authority of the Consuls, and Sanguine Bond help you boost your life total, enabling Elenda’s power boost and triggering additional benefits from lifegain.
  • Equipment and Auras: Buff Elenda further with equipment like Whispersilk Cloak for unblockable attacks and Swiftfoot Boots for extra protection.
  • Voltron Strategy: Since Elenda’s power grows with your life, Voltron strategies with life gain focus can be especially effective. Cards like Loxodon Warhammer add lifelink and trample, turning Elenda into a hard-to-deal-with powerhouse.

For players who love combining life gain with combat-based strategies, Elenda offers the perfect blend of protection, power scaling, and resilience.

 

 

4. Zimone, Paradox Sculptor

Commander Profile:

  • Mana Cost: GU
  • Abilities: Zimone specializes in +1/+1 counter distribution and can double the counters on a creature. Her ability to freely place counters and grow creatures quickly makes her a strong option for counter-focused strategies.

Why Zimone is a Top Choice:

Zimone’s low mana cost and counter distribution abilities make her a flexible and effective choice for Simic players. With her ability to place and double counters, Zimone can quickly create huge threats and take advantage of powerful synergies with other counter-based cards.

Key Synergies and Strategies:

  • Counter Doubling: Use cards like Doubling Seasonand Corpsejack Menace to amplify Zimone’s counter distribution, creating large creatures in just a few turns.
  • Proliferation: Cards like Evolution Sage and Flux Channeler can add counters to your creatures each time you play a land or cast a non-creature spell, respectively.
  • Creatures with Counter Effects: Play creatures like Walking Ballista and Ivy Lane Denizen, which gain additional value from counters. Zimone’s doubling ability can turn them into game-ending threats.

For players who enjoy counter-focused or “go-tall” strategies, Zimone, Paradox Sculptor, offers efficient ramp into big, powerful creatures that can take over the battlefield.

 

 

5. Lathril, Blade of the Elves

Commander Profile:

  • Mana Cost: 2BG
  • Abilities: Lathril creates Elf Warrior tokens and has an ability that allows you to tap Elves to drain life from opponents, which can be game-ending with enough tokens on the field.

Why Lathril Excels:

Lathril is a staple in Elf tribal decks due to her ability to quickly generate a board presence and provide a powerful life-drain effect. As one of the most popular Elf commanders, she can amass a large number of tokens quickly and turn them into a finishing move by tapping them to drain opponents’ life. Her versatility in both aggro and control strategies makes her a strong choice for any Elf tribal player.

Key Synergies and Strategies:

Lathril is ideal for players who want to go wide with tokens while keeping a powerful life-drain option for the endgame. She fits perfectly into aggressive Elf tribal strategies but also offers late-game control with her life-drain ability.

 

 

Conclusion

The MTG Foundations set introduces a range of commanders that bring new strategies and power to Commander format. From Tatyova’s landfall draw engine to Lathril’s token-generating and life-draining prowess, these commanders offer diverse options that cater to different playstyles. Each of these top 5 commanders brings something unique to the table, and they’re sure to inspire exciting new deck builds.

Are you ready to build your next deck? Check out the Amazing Discoveries store to pick up these commanders, or explore our events page for upcoming tournaments and Commander events!