Winota, Joiner of ForcesWinota, Joiner of Forces | by Magali Villeneuve

Oh the Humanity!

A month ago I ranked every Merfolk commander on a tier list and now I'm back to rank Humans. It's gonna be the same rules as Merfolk, only commanders who explicitly mention the Human creature type or uniquely support them.

I had to debate a lot with myself over whether to include the second category at all, however. Humans don't have much in the way of unique themes, except for making tokens, which Elves and plenty of other types do just as much.

But the second most popular Human typal commander, Caesar, Legion's EmperorCaesar, Legion's Emperor, doesn't mention Humans at all, and he'd get excluded by that criteria. Personally I don't think he's really a Human commander, but 1,246 decks disagree with me.

I guess I have to accept that soldier tokens really are a uniquely Human theme. Actually, given the amount of wars that we wage, I can see how that's the case.

Caesar, Legion's Emperor

Like I mentioned in the intro, I don't think Caesar is much of a Human typal commander. He counts any tokens, and the ones he makes are just soldiers, not Humans.

So why does he even show up on the Human typal page? Well, it's just because the majority of support for tokens, especially soldier tokens, is from Human creatures.

There's Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar, Commissar Severina RaineCommissar Severina Raine, Kambal, Profiteering MayorKambal, Profiteering Mayor and Myrel, Shield of ArgiveMyrel, Shield of Argive. All incredible token support (not to mention sacrifice support) that just happens to be on Humans.

I don't think Caesar supports Humans, I think that Humans support Caesar, and while that doesn't make Caesar a Humans commander, it does mean he deserves to be on this list.

I definitely think the density of Humans is enough to justify running Human typal cards like Horn of GondorHorn of Gondor, especially if you make sure to focus on Human tokens with cards like Increasing DevotionIncreasing Devotion.

Caesar's deck might be a little diluted if you go the Human route, but it'll still be plenty powerful, and that makes him a great commander.

Tier: A

Éowyn, Shieldmaiden

Now here's a commander that actually cares about Humans. Éowyn makes it as simple as it can be. If you get more of them on the battlefield, you get more rewards.

She makes it pretty easy too, getting you to the threshold if you can play a second Human the turn after you play her. In a Human typal deck, that should be no problem.

She's strong for sure, offering card advantage and a board presence, but I'm curious, what do you do other than play Humans? I mean, I guess that's the point, just play creatures until you win, but doesn't that get boring?

Like, is there any variation in the games? I guess Humans themselves have a lot of variety, but all they're really there for is to attack. I can't deny that this deck is strong, but I can't see myself wanting to play it for more than a few rounds.

Tier: A

General Kudro of Drannith

General Kudro is one of those commanders that's obviously meant to be secondary to another in the set, like Kopala, Warden of WavesKopala, Warden of Waves was to Kumena, Tyrant of OrazcaKumena, Tyrant of Orazca. Given this, he's pretty underwhelming.

Sacrificing two Humans to destroy a creature is just a net negative, and while exiling cards from graveyards is always relevant, it's not much to build around. I do appreciate Kudro in the 99 of other Human decks, but as a commander he's no good.

Tier: C

Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart

Here's a card that really annoys me, but not because of its text. Because of the limited supply for Secret Lair Drops, Greymond is perpetually priced at SIXTY dollars.

And he's not even that good! He's basically just an anthem, but one that's more vulnerable to removal than an enchantment.

I think 99% of the time I'd rather play Intangible VirtueIntangible Virtue or True ConvictionTrue Conviction, not because they're strictly better, but because they don't empty out my wallet. And as a commander, we just have better options. Decent card, absurd cost.

Tier: C

Jirina Kudro

When Commander 2020 came out I remember being surprised that a single person was playing this card. For four mana, she's a terrible anthem and she incentivizes you to sacrifice her anyways. But at no point are the tokens she creates worth the price of replaying her!

It's basically two mana for each token, a horrendous rate when compared to Martial CoupMartial Coup or Secure the WastesSecure the Wastes. Sure, you can treat her like a repeatable X spell, but you'll quickly run out of mana, and that mana would be better spent elsewhere.

Ironically, she's better in the 99 of Silvar, Devourer of the FreeSilvar, Devourer of the Free and Trynn, Champion of FreedomTrynn, Champion of Freedom, the secondary commanders of her precon, because they both add to Jirina's count. Somehow, she's worse than her dad.

Tier: D

Katilda, Dawnhart Prime

Now we're actually going in an interesting direction. Giving creatures the ability to tap for mana is usually an Elf thing, but it works pretty well for Humans.

They love to make tokens, and they love to spend a lot of mana. This deck welcomes big X spells, over the top anthems and powerful Angels, and even if you can't find those Katilda has a handy dandy mana sink. I think this is a pretty great design for a Human commander.

Katilda is nothing too wild, but she seems like a lot of fun.

Tier: A

Katilda and Lier

Ok now we're talking. I've built Katilda and LierKatilda and Lier before, and they are so much fun to play. Are they good? Not really. You need a 50/50 split between Humans and non-permanents, so the deck is quite unfocused and struggles to be consistent. But it's a great challenge to build, and it's a blast to see what happens in game.

Ideally you cast a bunch of spells and then Humans, and get a bunch of value out of Katilda and LierKatilda and Lier. I won't lie, that doesn't happen often, but when it does, it feels amazing.

I like these guys a lot, and I'd love to tackle them again to see if I can make them better. For now though, their power level is gonna leave them at B Tier.

Tier: B

Kyler, Sigardian Emissary

It's really surprising to me that Kyler is as popular as he is. Yes, he can grow extremely fast, and he makes your entire team huge, which is amazing for Humans, but he's a five mana commander who dies extremely easily to removal.

Because Kyler relies on counters, it's so, so easy for your opponents to undo all the work you've been doing, especially in the middle of combat. Playing this commander seems like such an uphill battle.

He does get to benefit from all the +1/+1 counter synergies, however, so it can't be too hard to make him massive.

But then you have to balance your deck between Humans and +1/+1 counters, and there's not a ton of overlap. I can definitely see scenarios where this deck goes crazy, but it just seems too easy to cripple when your commander costs seven on second cast.

Tier: B

Silvar, Devourer of the Free // Trynn, Champion of Freedom

For whatever reason I was really excited about this pair. I thought they were like, the perfect Human commanders, but I just read their textboxes and wow, they're really underwhelming.

They do basically nothing? Trynn makes one token a turn, if you can attack, and Silvar gets big, at the cost of said Humans. Neither of them really support the creature type, and Silvar actually incentivizes you to have fewer of them.

This duo seems to demand a go wide strategy just to make Silvar big, and if you do all that he's just an alright Voltron commander. It's a cool design lore wise, though!

Tier: C

Théoden, King of Rohan

I don't have a whole lot to say about Théoden. He's clearly not meant to be a commander, but he is decent in the 99. Pretty much any deck loves double strike, and Théoden is generous with it.

He's well-costed too! Definitely consider this card in any Human deck that wants to hit hard.

Tier: B

Winota, Joiner of Forces

Oh man, I was worried we were gonna go this entire article without a single S Tier, but luckily Winota meets my criteria.

She does it quite curiously, however, demanding that you play non-Humans to cheat Humans onto the battlefield. It's a great deck building challenge, but it doesn't lead to an unfocused deck like Katilda and LierKatilda and Lier. In fact, Winota's biggest downside might be that she's too powerful.

I would not have expected her to lead cEDH decks, but somehow she does, and she can be an absolute powerhouse in any game.

Yet it's still fun! There's deckbuilding strategy, a unique gameplay experience, and just a bit of luck. In my opinion, Winota is one of the best commanders of this decade.

Tier: S

So that's how I'd rank every Human commander! Do you disagree with me on any of these? Should Caesar, Legion's EmperorCaesar, Legion's Emperor count as a Human commander?

More importantly, are there any secret Human commanders that I didn't cover? Let me know in the comments, because I love hearing what you guys have to say.