Hello awesome Commander fans! I hope that your day is going incredibly well! Today we are going to look at what I think are the best of the 552 legal for Commander Elves that have ever been printed. It's a big deep dive into the stuff. This cares about Commander and multiplayer, but not formats like Type Four, Highlander, or Five Color or Pauper, just Commander specifically and multiplayer generally. Also, changelings don't count. If they are banned, then they aren't here. Also, I am only counting creatures, not tribal spells. Unlike my normal list I am doing a quartet of Honorable Mentions due to the deepness of this tribe.

Ready for my deep dive into this beloved? Let's do it to it!

Honorable Mention #1 (#14 Overall). Kethis, the Hidden Hand

Check out this legendary three-drop in the reanimation colors. It loves legendaries, giving them a reduced cost of 1 generic mana each! It's great in Commander as an on-curve 3/4 that'll reduce your leader's cost and Commander Tax later. It also can, with no mana, exile two legendary cards from your graveyard to play your legendary stuff from it this turn, great recursion in a legendary themed deck! It's a great legendary leader and lover to kick our list off with! What's next?

Honorable Mention #2 (#13 Overall). Farhaven Elf AND Wood Elves

This pair! Check out this classic ramping three-drop 1/1 Elf body duo! Each is common, splashable, and fetches out a land for the battlefield tapped! Then it'll get any basic for the Farhaven one and any Forest for the Wood, so that'll have different uses. Wood can get a dual land to grab two colors, one that you already have, and the other will get the other color that you need as well, but not Green either. Since we now have a bunch of cheap duals frumping around, that Wood Elves is likely better, and great with the tri land cycle just printed like Zagoth Triome. Ready for the previous multiplayer powerhouse that would have topped this list in the old days that's a bit diminished in Commander hence it hitting my Honorable Mention space?

Honorable Mention #3 (#12 Overall). Wellwisher

Here we are! The Wisher of Wells! This thing dominated 20-life multiplayer formats that gave Elf decks time to build up and gain a ton of life with the tapping. It taps to gain life with nothing else needed equal to the Elf count. Note it counts....all Elves...for its life tapping, not just yours, including changelings. This thing was the most powerful Elf for multiplayer ever printed for a long time and dominated. In fact I wrote an entire article on how to kill Wellwisher style 1/1 dorks that dominated multiplayer which you can find here "The Kitchen Table #403 - How To Handle A Soul Warden In Six Easy Steps - Star City Games". It was way too strong.

Today, gaining tapping and gaining 5 or 6 life for each time in Commander it's not as strong with its 40-life start, and there aren't as many of these running around to abuse the table with 4 in each deck, and there's not the obvious Elf deck power for most multiplayer tables where you usually had one, and sometimes two. Beloved, but less common than it used to be. There is a higher-charting cheap 1/1 Elf that also dominated multiplayer, but doesn't need the infrastructure to make it work.

Honorable Mention #4 (#11 Overall) - Coiling Oracle

Ah yes, the Snake Elf Druid! This two-drop is in 58,855 decks over at EDHREC.com for an 11% use rate for Simic decks. It's a clear staple of the Commander game! When this also 1/1 for two mana at common ETBs, you reveal your top card! Was it a land? Ramp it to the battlefield, and it's even untapped ready to be used! If not, draw it. Either it's a free card since it replaces itself. And then you either ramped, drew, and now you have a dork to block, die to a Skullclamp, grab a Sword of Fire and Ice to smash someone, or get bounced or flickered for another use! It has enhanced value in top of library manipulation in its colors like Sensei's Divining Top and Sylvan Library. All four named cards it synergizes with are also Commander Staples, it's just too good not to make this list! Unlike Wellwisher, it can do well in any Simic deck and without any real infrastructure to make it work. But it does take two colors.

What made my Top Ten proper?

#10. Timberwatch Elf AND Immaculate Magistrate

Hello attacking Elf fans! This duo is the Wellwisher that wins the game instead of delaying it. The common is a three drop, 1/2 taps for no mana to give any dork a power and toughness boost equal to the Elf count, and like the Wellwisher, this is all the Elves, not just yours! The rare costs 4 for a 2/2, taps for no mana, and gives +1/+1 counters to a dork equal to your Elf count, just yours this time. They win, but in Commander, you can really win with Commander Damage pretty quickly with this duo pumping up your Commander to deal that 21 damage for a win no matter the life total.

#9. Reclamation Sage

The best "removal spell" in Elf territory is this powerful commonly played three-drop 2/1 Elf Shaman. It's very strong at the kitchen table with its ability to destroy any artifact or enchantment on arrival to the battlefield, and it's a may effect so if you are the only one with it and you just need the body you can drop it. So, this is a Naturalize on a stick that can block, attack, add to your Wellwisher and Timberwatch Elf count and more, all for just one more mana than a 2/1 or Naturalize would cost.

#8. Edric, Spymaster of Trest

Our top Simic Elf is this powerhouse that can be your Commander. He was one of the most beloved Commanders in Simic historically, and was seen everywhere. Even I have an Edric deck. On a three-mana 2/2 body, all combat damage dealt to an opponent is card draw. It's a Coastal Piracy on legs, for one less mana, for everyone, but just when they attack and deal damage to your foes. The massive card flow that people want for free in Commander and multiplayer lead them to attack each other, but not you, especially since they don't have to spend a card to get the card draw, so for them, this is free card advantage over time for each foe that attacks each other, and you'll draw more than the card it took to cast him in one or two turns. He helps the board, and therefore rarely bites it. He is awesome in the 99 or leading a Commander deck with this two colors.

As a Commander here are your turns ideally:

• 1. Drop a land that enters untapped. Tap for a one drop evasive dork like Gudul Lurker or Scryb Sprites.
• 2. Drop a land untapped. Tap both for two evasive dorks, swing for one.
• 3. Drop a land untapped. Cast Edric. Swing with three evasive dorks, and draw three.
• 4. Drop a land untapped. Cast a tempo thing like Tangle Wire, and then drop evasive dorks. Swing for four cards.
• 5. Repeat ad nauseum.

Run free counters like Force of Will, Misdirection and Fierce Guardianship to protect your team of evasive beaters that draw you cards while you tap out for tempo and dorks.

See how nasty he is as a Commander? In fact, his Commander deck was the "Deck of the Day" over at Wizards of the Coast!

#7. Beast Whisperer

Hitting halfway on our list is this fun four-drop 2/3 Elf Druid. When you cast that creature spell? Draw a card! Nothing else needed, no mana tax, no "once per turn" brake you draw them all. Also note that this is a cast trigger, not an ETB one, so if you cast a creature and it's countered, you'll still draw a card. You'll draw it before it resolves due to the stack. Then you can cast it prior if it's an instant, so if someone goes to counter your Commander when you cast it and you have no counters in hand to counter back, you might draw it! It's powerful in any creature heavy deck from Golgari Elf decks to Selesnya or Gruul Aggro to Simic's +1/+1 Counters Matter on a big number of dorks to put them on. But not the Token Archetype. It's registered in a massive 14% of Green decks and 169,313 decks over at EDHREC.com.

#6. Elvish Mystic AND Fyndhorn Elves AND Llanowar Elves with a Shout Out to Arbor Elf

Ah yes. The one-drop Elves. They define first turn ramp into a three-drop on turn 2. For example, if you have a three-drop Commander, they are playable on turn 3 with this triad. They are also strong at the ramping, and multiple one drop mana makers with no restriction on this break decks and formats, like Birds of Paradise and the Llanowar Elves speeding up Fires of Yayimaya to dominate Standard as a second turn drop. Just 8 were legal in Standard then, but we have 12 in casual, and three in Commander. Shout out to Arbor Elf that taps to untap a Forest on a one-drop 1/1. They are essentials in Elf decks rather than your typical land-based mana ramping in Green like Rampant Growth or Cultivate. This trio is very strong at kitchen table play and in Commander where redundancy matters. Love this group loads, and they just missed out on my top five!

#5. Essence Warden

This Soul Warden sideprint into Planar Chaos is the one-drop 1/1 that dominates tables I alluded to earlier. Did you guess it? This will gain you a life each time a dork enters the battlefields. There are two missing brakes there, you might have missed. First, this works on tokens. There is no "nontoken" clause. Secondly, this works on all creatures, not just yours, there is no "you control" phrase. See why this and friends are so dominant at the kitchen table, especially in multiplayer? When this is dropped on turn 1, then you could easily have gained 12 or 18 life on turn 5 by the time it dies to a Rout or other mass removal effect. Unlike Wellwisher this doesn't need any infrastructure to work, and it doesn't tap, so you can attack, block, grab equipment, and more.

Even with a starting life of 40, don't sleep on this in any deck. No one is wasting a Path to Exile or Murder at it, so it's safe from removal. It's too good to leave on the sidelines.

#4. Rhys the Redeemed

Let's knock out another one-drop 1/1 in Green that also dominated tables in Commander for years and was one of the most played Commanders in his era. For one hybrid mana, you get a White or Green one drop 1/1 - very cheap for two colors. Then he can tap for three mana to make a 1/1 Elf and Warrior token. Then he can tap with six mana to double your token creature count. Note that both are instant speed, so you can make a token when someone attacks you and block, or EOT your foe's turn to double and then untap and swing with your newly made horde. He loves Selesnya Tokens decks loads, and I wanted to give him a shout out here. But do note that he's still in more than 3k decks as a Commander, so he's pretty beloved to this day!

#3. Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

This three-drop mono-Green legendary Elf taps with a Green for mana equal to your highest-powered critter, so at least 2 with her counting her own 2/3 body. You can make any color of mana with the tap, so she turns one mana into massive amounts if you build your deck right, making her a powerful mana accelerant.

Then there's the draw clause. It includes your foes, but since you are building around power matters with her tap ability anyway, that should be easier for you and harder for your foes, and that's nasty card draw in your color. With a 5 or more expensive drop Commander you can drop on turn 4 after this, you can drop this, draw a card, and start tapping for a lot of mana. She's awesome in the 99 of a deck and leading it too, but she does give away cards here and there to your foes. She's in 3,695 as a Commander, so more than Rhys despite being just one color, and then in 48,521 of decks overall, so that's 4% of Green decks. She very strong, and players often won't kill her since they can draw cards without any investment. Do you want to run her in your brews? Yuppers puppers!

#2. Priest of Titania AND Elvish Archdruid AND Circle of Dreams Druid

Our penultimate slot is dedicated to these three cards. Each of these are mana tappers that tap for all of the mana without any mana or things needed for the tappery. The first is a two-drop 1/1 that taps for mana equal to the Elf count. Again, not just yours, but everyone's! That makes Priest the most powerful two-drop mana accelerant legal in Commander (not counting banned Rofellos) when you build around it. It dominates tables. Then the second one costs three, is a 2/2 body, gives your Elves +1/+1 and then taps for your Elf count in mana. It's a Lord and Priest of Titania in one card, but it only taps for your Elves and costs another mana, so it's slower than the Priest in mana made and speed of tapping. The third card is tough to cast but is a Gaea's Cradle on legs. It doesn't need the right tribe, so any Green going wide brew that can drop the mana can power it out and make tons of mana.

Here are how Non-Elf decks often brew around two of these cards and an earlier slot.

• Turn 1 - Forest - One Drop Elf
• Turn 2 - Forest - Priest of Titania or Circle of Dreams Druid
• Turn 3 - Forest - You now make six mana on the third turn for a powerful accelerant. You can drop Primeval Titan (outside of Commander) and ramp two lands or other six drop your deck is built around. And the deck isn't even technically an Elf deck, but with 12 one drop mana making Elves, plus 4 Priests, and 4 Circles, you have 20 Elves that tap for mana, then flesh out your deck otherwise. And with a Commander, four one-drop mana Elves with Arbor Elf, and then all three of these will push your fast assault on the battlefield!

#1. Lathril, Blade of the Elves

Our last card standing and top card overall is pretty obvious! It's...duh...Lathril. Here let me show how duh this is. Here are the decks on EDHREC.com that run him - 16,627 decks! And not's in the 99, but as a Commander! Just for the record, that is the 3rd most played Commander ever, behind only Atraxa and Tymna, and that latter one is a partner, so if you don't count her partner numbers he's #2. Nasty numbers.

But why is Lathril so beloved? This a four-drop 2/3 with menace, so evasion, but not a great size for the mana. Whenever it deals combat damage to a player you make that many 1/1 Elf and Warrior tokens. Note that's not just one, but one per damage, on menace. Then you can tap him and ten Elves to drain 10 life from each foe so he's a win con, a token maker, and an Elf lover in the right color combination to make that work. All in one card, for just four mana, and Command Zone legal. See why he's a "duh" selection here? I hope you think so too!

And there we go! I hope you enjoyed my look at the Best Elves for Commander!