Xira ArienXira Arien | Art by Melissa Benson

What Makes A Commander The Worst?

Tracking the popularity of preconstructed or "precon" commanders is easy – we see all-stars like Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed, Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast, and Ms. BumbleflowerMs. Bumbleflower all the time ascending into the highest ranks of the Top Commanders page.

The past few years, highlighted by precon commanders from Final Fantasy, Lorwyn Eclipsed, and Tarkir:Dragonstorm, have showcased a steady run of power and synergy.

But it hasn't always been this way. Over the course of the history of precon commanders, there have also been some decks helmed by underwhelming leaders. Which of these more janky commanders, however, are the absolute worst?

Finding the worst of something (as Joey of the EDHRECast recently discovered) can often be quite an arduous process.

And for this article, I'm won't just list out the five least played precon commanders. Instead, I'll walk through the five I think are the worst, explain why this is the case, and identify other commanders that do a similar thing in a better/more fun way.

Honorable Mention: Xira ArienXira Arien – 552 decks

Xira is technically on the page of precons and I originally wanted to include it on this list because of how much other commanders outclass her.

If you're interested in recurring card advantage in this color combination, why not try out either of the new Auntie Ool, CursewretchAuntie Ool, Cursewretch/The Reaper, King No MoreThe Reaper, King No More, or the powerful recursion and draw engine in Eddie BrockEddie Brock?

Even the newer, reimagined version of this same creaturenewer, reimagined version of this same creature is (unsurprisingly) much better in almost every way!

As the inclusion of the >$500 All Hallow's EveAll Hallow's Eve in the list signals, this isn't a deck players can obtain in the real world – just an online-only product.

For that reason, and the fact that Xira isn't a new card meant to lead a precon, she'll have to stay in the honorable mentions section.

5. Galadriel, Elven-QueenGaladriel, Elven-Queen – 2,240 decks

While the art on Galadriel is really cool, actually playing with this commander seems like we'll be taking a lot of game actions for a pretty small result. Every turn, we'll have to track whether an Elf entered, then how players voted, what stage The RingThe Ring is on and which creature is our Ring-bearer.

After being pulled in all these different directions, we end up with an effect similar to a simpler card like Primal EmpathyPrimal Empathy or Tribute to the World TreeTribute to the World Tree.

Also, beyond the cards printed specifically for this deck, doesn't really grant this Elves-matters deck access to exciting on-theme cards like would.

The Simic color identity also doesn't allow us to play many voting matters cards like Brago's RepresentativeBrago's Representative or The ValeyardThe Valeyard.

Potential replacement: Even if we did have extra votes, Galadriel doesn't allow us to do fun politics like the other options in the deck. Círdan the ShipwrightCírdan the Shipwright or even Elrond of the White CouncilElrond of the White Council feel like better choices to lead a deck like this for this reason.

4. Otrimi, the Ever-PlayfulOtrimi, the Ever-Playful – 3,502 decks

Building a Commander deck around a mechanic that doesn't (yet) have a lot of support means less ability for interesting card choices and making the deck feel like our own. As of Summer 2026, there are only 19 cards in this color identity with mutate (plus a few more that synergize with this mechanic).

To make matters worse, mutate is highly confusing, leading to all sorts of unique rules interactions. It also incentivizes us to make one big stack of creatures, which can all be removed with a single Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares or similar effect.

Leadership VacuumLeadership Vacuum is a funny combination of these two downsides, causing a whole mutate stack with Otrimi in it to be put into our command zone.

Side note: it's technically possible to use mutate and the Vacuum to put your entire deck into the command zone, which is arguably better than winning!

Potential replacement: Brokkos, Apex of ForeverBrokkos, Apex of Forever, despite leading fewer decks than Otrimi, grants all the fun of mutate with no need to play every available card with this mechanic. It even gets around the command tax if sent to the graveyard.

3. Kaust, Eyes of the GladeKaust, Eyes of the Glade – 2,882 decks

In a similar way as Otrimi, this commander simply doesn't allow for a lot of unique deckbuilding choices. We're just going to have to jam all the morph/megamorph, manifest/manifest dread, disguise, and cloak cards we can find together and hope for the best.

Maybe it's fun to have the element of surprise and bluff that a manifested ForestForest could be a fearsome Krosan CloudscraperKrosan Cloudscraper, but all the checking and re-checking face-down cards feels tiresome.

This also feels like a bad time for newer players – I've been advised to cut morph cards from Cube Draft because it gives the people who built the cube an unfair advantage and this seems like a similar dynamic.

Forcing opponents to use subtle context clues to track which cards were cast face down, which were disguised, and which could be anything at all might be a fun game for more experienced players, but seems like a losing proposition for bringing newer players into the game.

And who at all has an encyclopedic knowledge of cards from an over 20 year old set like Legions or even a newer one like Murders at Karlov Manor?

Potential replacement: It's hard to do any kind of face-down shenanigans without running into the issues outlined above, but maybe Zimone, Mystery UnravelerZimone, Mystery Unraveler focused on flipping over big cards like Sandwurm ConvergenceSandwurm Convergence or Sapling NurserySapling Nursery at sorcery speed would be a simpler and more straightforward time for all involved.

2. Perrie, the PulverizerPerrie, the Pulverizer – 1,820 decks

Similar to Galadriel, Elven-QueenGaladriel, Elven-Queen, there is a lot of tracking required for a deck like this. To make matters worse, tokens and dice aren't going to do the trick – we're going to need tons of slips of paper with different words written on them. This is as close to the opposite of a "bar deck" as it gets.

Beyond Perrie, there is an interesting theme of relatively unpopular precon commanders like Leinore, Autumn SovereignLeinore, Autumn Sovereign, Kathril, Aspect WarperKathril, Aspect Warper, and Gimbal, Gremlin ProdigyGimbal, Gremlin Prodigy that care about having many different things (powers, keyword abilities, artifact tokens).

But Leinore only cares about three different powers and there are "only" 11 different keywords to count for Kathril.

Gambal, with over 50 unique artifact tokens available (it's hard to estimate an exact number when we take the required color identity of token producers into account) is at another level, but at least you have unique card-shaped tokens for the things you have to count up.

There are easily over 100 differently named counters you could fit in a Perrie deck, even accounting for a color identity.

Perrie represents a fun puzzle, but feels much more at home in a Bracket 1 list showcasing unique and interesting counters than the typical Bracket 2 experience a precon usually offers.

Potential replacement: If we want to have fun with counters, Tayam, Luminous EnigmaTayam, Luminous Enigma avoids tons of counting and even removes counters throughout the game, which takes away some complexity.

And any commander that loves the iconic Wall of RootsWall of Roots is cool with me!

1. Nahiri, the LithomancerNahiri, the Lithomancer – 855 decks

Nahiri is mostly the story of power creep. Way back in 2014, it was interesting to have a commander that was a planeswalker, and one that granted free equips and cheated huge equipment onto the battlefield. Today in 2026, there are simply much better options for any aspect of this commander that might be of interest.

If we want to cheat huge Equipment onto the battlefield, we can use an upgraded version of this same characteran upgraded version of this same character or even Danitha, Benalia's HopeDanitha, Benalia's Hope.

For free equips, we can go voltron mode with Balan, Wandering KnightBalan, Wandering Knight, Beatrix, Loyal GeneralBeatrix, Loyal General, or the versatile partner pair Ardenn, Intrepid ArchaeologistArdenn, Intrepid Archaeologist.

There are also interesting creature types-matter synergies in Sokka, SwordmasterSokka, Swordmaster and Syr Gwyn, Hero of AshvaleSyr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale.

Potential replacement(s): see all sorts of options above.

Conclusion

What kinds of precon commanders do you think are the worst? Do you generally agree with this ranking or think I'm missing something big?

I'm especially curious if you think the "lots of different things" mechanic is actually fun and I'm being too harsh – and if anyone has counted the total number of unique counters you could fit into a Perrie, the PulverizerPerrie, the Pulverizer deck. Until next time!