Top 100 Two-Color Superfriends Commanders

August 23, 2024 by DougY

(Marvo, Deep Operative | Art by John Tedrick)

"Oops, All Planeswalkers!"

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Agent Frank Horrigan is the only two-color commander that Proliferates upon entering the battlefield without having to pay an extra cost?)

More than five years ago, in the days leading up to the release of War of the Spark, I went a bit nuts with some predictions about what we would get. In that article, I framed it all via color identity, and which color combinations were deep enough in planeswalkers that we could do an "Oops, All Planeswalkers" deck.

Well, it's 2024. Since War of the Spark, we've gotten 139 new planeswalkers. While that number hasn't quite gotten us to the levels of a playable monocolor deck entirely made up of lands and planeswalkers, it has gotten us to the point where you can do it in two-color. The only question is, if you were to do such a ridiculous thing, what would be the best commanders for it in each color?

Top 100 Two-Color Planeswalker Commanders

All in all, this is a simple, if silly, premise. Here's my only issue: I can't find a single way to do it based on data. There aren't enough options in most colors to just go with the commanders that directly mention planeswalkers or are planeswalkers themselves. You can go the route of counters, but almost all of them mention +1/+1 counters specifically, rather than allowing for you to do anything with the loyalty counters of planeswalkers. Not only that, but then you leave out commanders that fit well with the Superfriends strategy, either by referencing things like noncreature spells, preventing attacks on your planeswalkers, or any number of other corner cases.

So, I'm going to do something I've never done in the history of Too-Specific Top 10: Use my opinion.

Criteria: Whatever I feel like, I guess.

On second thought, that's too far a bridge for me. Instead, how about we take one step away from the data, and then we'll inch right back to it.

Criteria: With a preconstructed, opinion-based list of 10 commanders per two-color combination, we will then rank each based on their commander score.

All right, I'm a little more comfortable now. Daunted by the list of a few thousand commanders I'm about to go through to form an opinion, but comfortable. Let's take a look!

10.

A little caveat here up front: With the amount of cards we're about to be talking about, there is absolutely no way we're going to be able to discuss them all. So, with that in mind, let's hit the highlights, and move on!

Our number 10 slot, across the color combinations, has one thing in common: Tons of partner commanders. Which is no great surprise. Partner commanders are unwieldy, complicated, and have so many different combinations that it takes a lot for them to rise to the top of the pile as far as play numbers. With that said, there are some absolute diamonds in the rough that we never would have seen with our normal EDHREC score rankings, so let's take advantage!

While usually used for combos, Abdel Adrian makes for a heck of a Superfriends commander. With planeswalkers in play as you play him, you can stick all of them under him, then find a way to have him leave the battlefield to bring them all back fresh and able to use their loyalty abilities once again. Shockingly, however, out of the 76 planeswalkers available in Orzhov, only five of them have sacrifice abilities, only two of which are readily accessible and beneficial. With that in mind, Cultist of the Absolute provides a ready-made way to have Abdel come down, grab a bunch of planeswalkers who have already used their loyalty abilities, make some soldiers, and then sacrifice himself during your upkeep to bring all the planeswalkers back. It's not as good as getting them back in the same turn, mind you, but it does protect them from others attacking them!

If there's one thing we know about planeswalkers, it's that they tend toward the expensive side. While that is certainly going to make life more difficult for the "Oops, All Planeswalkers" strategy, it can also be a boon with Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat. Throw in some double strike with Flaming Fist, and you'll have a commander that is threatening to one-shot people!

While Adric is one of the least popular Doctor's Companions (a genre that is already not popular to begin with), when it comes to planeswalkers, he really shines. Being able to copy an ultimate can spell game over all on its own, not to mention some of the more impactful regular loyalty abilities, too. Combine that with his ability to also copy the abilities of Doctors like The Tenth Doctor, or any of the others we'll see further up this list, and you start to get an idea of just how impactful he can be as a Superfriends "companion".

9.

Paired up with Adric, Mathematical Genius yet again, The Second Doctor provides protection for your planeswalkers on a level we just haven't seen yet. It'll be hard enough for portions of the table to say no to getting a free card to not be able to attack you, but two cards? The table will just have to find an entire way to kill your stuff than combat, period.

Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor doesn't even seem like a planeswalker commander, at first glance. Out of the 85 planeswalkers in Boros, however, more than two-thirds of them have abilities that can be copied by this little Kor Advisor. Combine that with her bringing an extra blocker with her, and I would actually put her in the running for one of the best Superfriends commanders out there.

Two of the most important things for Superfriends decks are being able to protect your planeswalkers, and ramp. With a one-mana commander you can get out early who will just get bigger and bigger with every planeswalker and legendary land you play, protection is taken care of. The ramp piece will also take care of itself a little bit in green, what with all the Nissa's and the like, but once you get up to Kodama of the East Tree mana, things should really take off. For those of you who haven't played with Kodama before, note that its ability doesn't say anything about nonland, meaning that if you play a land, it lets you play yet another land from your hand. Combine that with also getting another planeswalker whenever you play a planeswalker, and you're likely to have an empty hand and a scary board state almost immediately, not to mention a probable 21/21 Yoshimaru.

Did I mention that ramp was one of the most important pieces in a Superfriends deck? Well, how about having a mana dork in the command zone that you can play down in the early turns before you start getting planeswalkers down? Throw in double your planeswalkers once you get The Sixth Doctor down, and this little Doctor-Companion combo will be one of the absolute strongest ways you can play "Oops, All Planeswalkers!"

8.

It probably won't come as a shock to find out that almost every Selesnya planeswalker there is cares about either +1/+1 counters or tokens in some fashion. So, take a cheap commander you can get down to protect your planeswalkers early, alongside a bunch of planeswalkers that make tokens and then make those tokens bigger, combined with that same commander then making said tokens even bigger and then drawing cards off of it? You've got a hell of a stew going there, if you ask me.

If you really go for the true "Oops, All Planeswalkers", rather than just your average Superfriends deck, then ramp is going to be your main problem. With that in mind, why not try out two commanders that both will get your planeswalkers down a bit early? From there, it won't be hard to have the planeswalkers themselves draw you some cards to keep the ball rolling. I hear Simic is pretty good at that sort of thing.

Livaan is all well and good, but wouldn't you rather just be doing that damage for casting huge planeswalkers right to people's faces? Vial Smasher the Fierce can accomodate, while Jeska, Thrice Reborn comes down early to protect your other planeswalkers, then comes down late to finish off a table that's been taking Vial Smasher damage the whole game. No durdling for this Superfriends brew!

7.

There was never any question that Lae'zel was always going to be one of the best Superfriends commanders, but having Agent of the Shadow Thieves as a Background to let the +1/+1 counters run rampant in addition to the loyalty counters really packs a punch.

While I wouldn't call this the best Superfriends combination out there, there is something to be said about a deck that's able to do "the thing", and ulting Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools into three Kodama of the East Tree triggers is quite "the thing", if I do say so myself.

While Gruul might not be the best color combination for token planeswalkers, it's not the worst, either. Just to make sure that Jaheira is providing ludicrous amounts of mana, however, [le]Guild Artisan[/el] can step in as a commander Background to ensure that we're getting ramp throughout. And the fact that those Treasures will tap for without having to sacrifice themselves? Well, that's just gravy, baby.

6.

It took a minute, but we finally got to our first commander that was purposefully designed with planeswalkers in mind! Mila, Crafty Companion comes built-in with protection and/or "Proliferate" for your planeswalkers, which is nothing to scoff at. Which is good, because if you do go the "Oops, All Planeswalkers" route, then it's going to be a requirement that you scoff at the do-nothing Lukka, Wayward Bonder. Don't worry, he deserves it.

With planeswalkers coming down late, I cannot overemphasize how important it is that your Superfriends commanders come down early. Basim Ibn Ishaq does just that as a two-mana commander, and will most likely start drawing you cards immediately as you start into your three- and four-mana Dimir planeswalkers. And if you think this all seems a bit underwhelming, I would suggest you scroll back up and look at all the Dimir commander options we've looked at so far. Blue and black are easily the worst options when it comes to Superfriends leaders, so just having an early blocker and late game threat looks pretty good at this point!

I've mentioned ramp a half dozen times now, but almost all of those opportunities have felt more like Commander's Sphere than Arcane Signet. Enter Red Death, Shipwrecker, who can tap for whenever you feel like it, and protect your planeswalkers with Goad while it's at it! Oh, and did I mention there's five Izzet planeswalkers that can untap him?

5.

Planeswalker Medallion in the command zone that protects itself? Don't mind if I do!

I briefly considered covering Storrev, Devkarin Lich, but why rant about how good it is to get planeswalkers back to your hand from your graveyard when there's a better option in Orzhov that will get them back to the battlefield? Sure, sure, it'll be the worst planeswalker you have in there, but it's still likely that if it's in the graveyard, someone had good reason to kill it!

Move over, terrible Dimir Superfriends commanders! Vren, the Relentless is here! With black planeswalkers loving to kill creatures, you'll have no lack of good options to feed Vren's Rat colony, which will in turn keep your planeswalkers safe in combat. It's a win-win!

While your usual brew of Will & Rowan boils down to "you can't let Will live, or the game is over", an "Oops, All Planeswalkers" brew would feel a lot friendlier, and should make folks fear the prospect of Rowan's ultimate doubling all your planeswalker's activations a lot more. Just don't forget to pack every planeswalker that makes tokens or mana, otherwise you're going to spend a really sad game of playing planeswalkers down just to have them killed in the very next combat!

4.

Another commander that doesn't seem like it cares about planeswalkers at all at first glance, Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist is actually secretly amazing at Superfriends. In all likelihood, when you play him down on turn three, he'll immediately make you another substantial blocker, making for a nice wall other players have to deal with before they can get to your planeswalkers. As for the extra Salamanders you end up throwing out as the game progresses? Well, they'll get pointed other directions, as neither you nor your planeswalkers can be hurt by them!

I've talked about how important ramp is in Superfriends to death, but we haven't until now seen a commander that was really good at it. I haven't counted, but I would imagine there are less than ten red and black planeswalkers that don't kill creatures in some fashion. Which means, once you get Mahadi down on turn three, from then on out you'll be spending your turns playing down a planeswalker, activating it to kill creatures, and then going to your end step to put down Treasures to keep on playing planeswalkers. That kind of nonsense is going to add up quickly!

Now let's be clear: Playing the obvious background with Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer is not going to make you friends, at any table. What it will do, however, is protect your planeswalkers from combat at essentially all times, and maybe have you take out a few players with combat damage as your big red planeswalkers wipe the table of all the not 10/10 creatures.

3.

We did it, folks. We finally found the niche in which Will, Scion of Peace is better than his sister, Rowan, Scion of War. Don't get me wrong, you could still force a Rowan Superfriends deck, but there actually aren't that many Rakdos planeswalkers that have you losing life or dealing damage to yourself. Over in Azorius, however, there are tons of planeswalkers that have you gain life. Combine that with Will making for a better blocker than Rowan, and it's really not hard to see why he's superior, at least in this exact instance.

Another purpose-built planeswalker commander, Tomik, Wielder of Law will get easier to recast as you go, with Affinity for Planeswalkers helping out with his commander tax. On top of that, three life and a card is a heck of a rattlesnake when it comes to attacking into your planeswalkers, enough of one that it's doubtful the average table will be able to wade through the politics of the table and do the correct thing of attacking into them anyway. Bully!

While I think we'll all still agree at the end of this list that Dimir is the weakest Superfriends color combination, I can still comfortably say that Marvo, Deep Operative is the best of the available options. With the average cost of planeswalkers being so high, you're almost guaranteed to win the majority of your Clashes, which will in turn have you playing huge planeswalkers for free. Combine that with his huge 1/8 Octopus booty (I know, I know, it's actually a reference to his arms) that will allow you to block in a pinch or keep him alive through most attacks for his triggers, and you really can't do better than this little Octopus Rogue for Dimir planeswalkers.

Rakdos is not a color combination known for its ramp, but card advantage it can do. Therefore, if you can keep The Infamous Cruelclaw on the board, you should have no trouble routinely slamming down huge planeswalkers for the low, low cost of a single card from your hand. What's not to like?

2.

As prevoiusly discussed, Selesnya's planeswalkers are all about tokens and +1/+1 counters, for the most part. Sovereign Okinec Ahau, then, will just kick things into overdrive whenever he attacks, allowing your tokens (and himself) to grow to ludicrous heights.

Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion appearing on this list twice already gives you a decent idea of just how good Pir, Imaginative Rascal is going to be for your average Superfriends deck, but not a single background combination Lae'zel can be hooked up with holds a candle to Toothy, Imaginary Friend. Even without Pir in play, Toothy can grow to ludicrous sizes, and any means of him leaving the battlefield will result in a full new grip for you. With him also making a great blocker, it'll be a miracle in this deck if you don't get several ultimates to try and win the game with.

The only purpose-built Superfriends commander in Golgari, Carth the Lion already has a full platter of planeswalker decks out there. With him giving an extra loyalty counter to all of your planeswalkers with every activation, and drawing more planeswalkers besides, you're not going to do better in this color combination. With that said, there are definitely more interesting brews that are possible in Golgari, so if this is what you're looking for, make sure to peruse the rest of the list before just reflex settling for this guy.

1.

While having a seven-mana commander in an "Oops, All Planeswalkers" brew is more than a little problematic, Ovika, Enigma Goliath is well worth the wait. With the expensive cost of planeswalkers, you'll be drowning in hasty Phyrexian Goblin tokens, and her "Ward , pay 3 life" makes the prospect of removing her feel distant, as well. In short, if you can last long enough in the game to get her down, the likelihood of you winning in the next few turns is high.

With a "planeswalker" in the command zone of your "Oops, All Planeswalkers" build, Umori, the Collector comes along for free as a Companion. Which is a great boon, because in all likelihood, despite the fun of playing a planeswalker at the head of your planeswalkers deck, Umori is probably the better "commander" of the two. As a 4/5, it will be an excellent blocker to keep your planeswalkers alive, and will make them all cost one less along the way. While there's no doubt that Grist's Insect tokens and removal will also come in handy along the way, I personally would probably start just about every game by paying my to put Umori in my hand on turn three, rather than playing out a Grist that is likely to just make a 1/1 and then die in the second round of combat. But that's just me!

Another seven mana commander, which as stated with Ovika, is a bit of a risk. With that said, in Gruul, you're much more likely to be throwing down Etali, Primal Conqueror a couple turns earlier on the back of various green and red planeswalkers that will ramp you along the way. Even better, with all the value Etali's enter trigger is likely to grab you, it's likely that you'll also be flipping it over into a Blightsteel Colossus the very next turn.

Honorable Mentions

Even after going through 100 planeswalkers, there are so many more that didn't make my lists that I just have to highlight a few... So why not make it 110, and do one more per color combination?

Azorius

Rasputin's problematic nature of giving your opponents creatures to attack your planeswalkers with ultimately got him kicked off the top ten for Azorius, but honestly, it's not really that bad. If you play him down on turn three, he enters with three counters, and you can untap and put down a Knight that should dissuade any Goblins being thrown your way. That then leaves you two more counters to ramp with, in colors that are not well known for doing that. Something to consider.

Other contenders: Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful & Brinelin, the Moon Kraken, Ith, High Arcanist, and Harbin, Vanguard Aviator.

Orzhov

Superfriends decks are notorious for spinning their wheels, but Denethor, Ruling Steward's sac ability is going to be a great late-game boon for finishing players off, all while his big butt and handy Soldiers are going to assist in keeping your planeswalkers alive throughout the early game.

Other Contenders: Aron, Benalia's Ruin, Thalisse, Reverent Medium, Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff, Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher, Krav, the Unredeemed & Regna, the Redeemer, Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel Prava of the Steel Legion, and Shaile, Dean of Radiance.

Boros

While Yoshimaru showed up repeatedly throughout our various lists, this pairing was one that I was sad to not have the room for in the surprisingly deep stable of Boros Superfriends commanders. Playing down both your commanders on turn one feels really good in a deck that you know isn't really going to do anything until at least turn three, as does having blockers available to keep your planeswalkers alive. Combine that with the high likelihood of combat-oriented planeswalkers making Rograkh into a force to be reckoned with while Yoshimaru already is, and there's a lot to be said for this unassuming combination.

Other Contenders: Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion & Guild Artisan, Neyali, Suns' Vanguard, Commander Liara Portyr, Arbaaz Mir, The War Doctor & Ryan Sinclair, Quintorius, Loremaster, Craig Boone, Novac Guard, Commander Mustard, Captain Rex Nebula, and Ellyn Harbreeze, Busybody & Street Urchin.

Selesnya

I felt like I was constantly trying to find a way to get Ellyn Harbreeze, Busybody involved in these lists, and none of them quite made it. With that said, her Selesnya teamup with Cloakwood Hermit is easily her living her best life, problematic as it may be. Honestly, she would have made the list, except Selesnya isn't good at killing tokens on command, and card draw isn't one of the things that Superfriends decks actually tend to need.

Other Contenders: Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar, Prava of the Steel Legion & Cloakwood Hermit, Wilson, Refined Grizzly & Noble Heritage, Erinis, Gloom Stalker & Flaming Fist, Arwen, Mortal Queen, Slurrk, All-Ingesting & Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful, Ellyn Harbreeze, Busybody & Cloakwood Hermit, Aragorn, Company Leader, Byrke, Long Ear of the Law,Rhys the Redeemed, Trelasarra, Moon Dancer, Kudo, King Among Bears, Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood & Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa, Captain Sisay, and Cadira, Caller of the Small

Dimir

Dimir was the only color combination where I had to go through the list of available commanders twice, because the options were so bad. With that said, if you wanted to go another route than Marvo, Deep Operative, which I do not suggest, then you could look to Burakos, Party Leader. There are only two planeswalkers in the color combo that will get you a token Party member, but that doesn't change the fact that he'll be able to swing in for a single Treasure unimpeded every turn with the aid of Sword Coast Sailor.

Other Contenders: Lazav, Familiar Stranger

Izzet

It's hard to find battlecruiser games anymore, but if you can, I actually do suggest Jhoira of the Ghitu as your "Oops, All Planeswalkers" commander. While there will still be some who will assume you're trying to Jokulhaups the table out like old school Jhoira, there's not many better comebacks to them voicing that concern that showing them a deck entirely full of planeswalkers.

Other Contenders: The Locust God, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph, Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer & Candlekeep Sage, Kraum, Ludevic's Opus & Jeska, Thrice Reborn, Yusri, Fortune's Flame, Bria, Riptide Rogue, Edgin, Larcenous Lutenist, and Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain.

Simic

Interested Simic brewers were probably surprised not to see Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres in the top ten, and I was surprised not to be putting him there. Ultimately, however, the issue is there aren't many planeswalkers that Proliferate, and having a commander that does so only once at seven mana isn't exactly blowing me away. All in all, however, you could do worse, even if I still think Roalesk, Apex Hybrid and Agent Frank Horrigan are the better Proliferate options. And for those of you remembering the existence of Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos, give yourself a cookie! Just don't build him as "Oops, All Planeswalkers", because then you'll never get any tokens to activate his Proliferate ability.

Other Contenders: Jaheira, Friend of the Forest & Candlekeep Sage, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, Kruphix, God of Horizons, Zegana, Utopian Speaker, Alaundo the Seer, Kodama of the East Tree & Brinelin, the Moon Kraken, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters, Elrond of the White Council, Radagast, Wizard of Wilds, and Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle.

Rakdos

Tibalt in disguise was actually the very first commander I added to the Rakdos list, so it was a surprise for him not to make it. Ultimately, however, if you wanted a planeswalker deck with a planeswalker at the helm, Tevesh Szat and Jeska are the better option. Which is not to say that Valki is any slouch. He comes down early to be a blocker, pays a bit of mana to probably become an even better blocker with his theft/copy ability, and then comes back in the late game as a very relevant planeswalker that can provide crucial card draw and removal. He's no slouch!

Other Contenders: Rakdos, the Showstopper, Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin, Kellogg, Dangerous Mind, Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos, Kamber, the Plunderer & Laurine, the Diversion, Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat & Agent of the Shadow Thieves, Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel & Popular Entertainer, The Scorpion God, Sauron, the Lidless Eye, Tymaret, the Murder King, Rowan, Scion of War, and Prosper, Tome-Bound.

Golgari

To be clear, I do not actually endorse playing Sarulf, Realm Eater, in any capacity. Which is not to say it wouldn't make a heck of a Superfriends commander. Just don't be surprised if the prospect of losing friends comes up if you actually put this monstrosity at the head of a deck.

Other Contenders: Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar & Cloakwood Hermit, Sméagol, Helpful Guide, Reyhan, Last of the Abzan & Slurrk, All-Ingesting, Valentin, Dean of the Vein, Belbe, Corrupted Observer, Grismold, the Dreadsower, Umori, the Collector, Nath of the Gilt-Leaf, Izoni, Center of the Web, Beledros Witherbloom, and Vraska, the Silencer.

Gruul

While I think the prospect of having a bunch of leftover mana in a Superfriends deck is anything but realistic, the prospect of having a single mana left over because you happened to want to cast a five mana planeswalker on a turn where you had six mana seems very realistic. With that in mind, having another commander that can block and turn said leftover mana into removal seems well worth the prospect, especially since it's coming attached to another commander that can provide said leftover mana.

Other Contenders: Mina and Denn, Wildborn, Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient, Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald, Jolene, the Plunder Queen, Jeska, Thrice Reborn & Slurrk, All-Ingesting, Erinis, Gloom Stalker & Popular Entertainer, Svella, Ice Shaper, Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat & Hardy Outlander, Rulik Mons, Warren Chief, Jolene, Plundering Pugilist, Hugs, Grisly Guardian, Phylath, World Sculptor, Ruby, Daring Tracker, Ulasht, the Hate Seed, and Halsin, Emerald Archdruid & Guild Artisan.

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

While I love this idea, I do wonder whether or not we've moved past the time for it. No matter the color combination, "Oops, All Planeswalkers" is going to be a slow proposition, and with even the precons of today's meta threatening to win on turn six, that might just be a losing proposition as well. Or is it?

And finally, what is your favorite two-color planeswalker commander? Have you ever built a deck entirely made out of planeswalkers? How did it go?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the table filled with your friends. Super!

Myth Realized - What if Any Three-Color Planeswalker Could Be Your Commander?

Top 10 Sliver Copy Commanders

 

Doug has been an avid Magic player since Fallen Empires, when his older brother traded him some epic blue Homarids for all of his Islands. As for Commander, he's been playing since 2010, when he started off by making a two-player oriented G/R Land Destruction deck. Nailed it. In his spare time when he's not playing Magic, writing about Magic or doing his day job, he runs a YouTube channel or two, keeps up a College Football Computer Poll, and is attempting to gif every scene of the Star Wars prequels.

Tags

    #guilds, #Oops all planeswalkers, #planeswalkers, #superfriends, #two-color

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