Hello awesome folks! If you play multiplayer generally, Commander specifically, Highlander, Five Color, then you know the value of playing defense where you need to keep yourself alive to enact your plans. In multiplayer a lot, this is very strong since you'll net multiple runs of attacks your way for each attack you can unleash so you need protection. This week we'll be looking at my Top Ten for Defensive Creaures and next week we'll countdown Defensive Noncreatures.

Ready for my list? Let's get this started!

Honorable Mention #1 (#13 Overall) - Konda, Lord of Eiganjo

Let's get this thing started off with Konda! He was once one of the most-played creatures after getting printed. After starting the Modern border with Mirrodin, that block also introduced an ability called indestructible that prevented your creature from dying. That means you can block all potential attacks against you with your indestructible stuff. You had to pay to play with indestructible and they all had high costs.

Enter Konda. Expensive for a 3/3 but he has bushido 5, so he grows to a massive 8/8. He also rocks one of the best abilities for multiplayer in vigilance. This lets you attack the open player but keep yourself back to block attackers that might otherwise come your way. And when it has indestructible and can block as an 8/8, they will not attack you back. Also, they often won't block when you swing since most would rather take 3 then lose a dork to an 8/8 that swung their way. You can see how powerful and iconic Konda was way back then, and still rocks today. It's back here in Honorable Mention since it only blocks grounded stuff and costs a bunch. We'll also see a card hit two later that sort of antiquates Konda in non-Highlander formats. But I love its power here loads! Next up, Walls.

Honorable Mention #2 (#12 Overall - High Toughness Low-Cost Walls

This is for all those 0/6 or 0/7 Walls out there. Examples include Wall of Earth and Wall of Tanglecord, and three-drops like Wall of Granite, Wall of Stone, Glacial Wall and Wall of Ice.

By having a high defense early, you can block attackers for a long time. It's not until turn 5 that someone might have something big enough to attack and break through an 0/6. The biggest toughness 3-drop is Wall of Stone's 0/8 which will take even longer to break through. Many Commander decks don't have any dorks with a power of 8 or more to crack it, so it could sit back until swept up in mass removal. No one will use pinpoint removal on a Wall.

There are three main reasons they are here in my Honorable Mention section, so let's turn to each. First, like Konda, they don't fly. Most won't block shadow, fear, intimidate, and more except for Wall of Tanglecord being given reach and an artifact body for fear. The second reason they are here is that they do not have any power. That means that people are more likely to attack you with multiple things knowing you'll block one and not kill it, and then the others are getting around your Wall. Finally, they are with defender so they cannot swing, barring a deck packed with things like Rolling Stones. They are also great with toughness matters brews, since they can deal a lot of damage for a low cost. Next up the creature that sort of antiquates Konda!

Honorable Mention #3 (#11 Overall) - Darksteel Sentinel

Ah yes, the uncommon Sentinel! This debuted in our return to Mirrodin Block! This costs 6, it's colorless so it can be played in any Commander deck regardless of color! It has a 3/3 body, vigilance and then indestructible too. It's also an artifact for blocking fear and intimidate stuff and features the surprise blocking out of nowhere as a combat trick thanks to flash. That surprise component works very well with indestructible.

It can be in Black decks with Cabal Coffers, in Green with Explosive Vegetation, in mono-color with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and with Red's love of Treasures. It's an artifact for decks that care about it, it's indestructible for those that use sweepers, and it's hard to answer for those that care. It's one of the best cards from its set for multiplayer and other kitchen table stuff. It's very strong in playing defense, but it's not hitting our Top Ten!

#10. Mother of Runes

Momma is! She is the first one-drop on our Top Ten list and cracks the list at the 10-spot. She arrives and early and taps to give any creature you control protection from one color for the turn. That means she can block any attacker and then tap to give herself that color to save herself. Ideally, she'll want a tag team partner to give protection too, like Wall of Swords.

She essentially gives your team hexproof since no one will use targeted removal against your stuff when the Mother can block it. She's also good at letting one of your dorks slip past defenses and smash for damage. Momma is very flexible, but she's back here at the ten spot for a few reasons - let's look at them. First, she has to tap, so barring haste you'll have to wait a turn. Then she taps, so just once in a forest of potential attackers. That means sure, she can stop one attack from killing her partner or her, but then you are open to other attacks from other players prior to untapping her. So, she's strong enough to chart, but limited here. Love her loads though!

#9. Iridescent Angel

Ah yes, the Angel extraordinaire herself! This seven-drop in Azorius is a 4/4, one bigger than Konda for the same mana cost. It swaps indestructible for protection from all colors, which is usually better. Why? Well, for one, they can block anything (with a color) and survive. Then they cannot be targeted by things with colors for removal like Path to Exile. Just like how indestructible is immune to removal like Damnation, this is immune from damage-based sweepers like Blasphemous Act. Do note that you cannot save yourself or protect yourself from colorless damage, so something like a colorless flyer such as Steel Hellkite will prove a problem, or colorless targeted removal like Scour from Existence or Karn Liberated.

The Angel is very strong in that oeuvre of defending, and like the Mother of Runes tapping, it cannot be blocked save by colorless and flying stuff and it's bigger there too, so it's a game winner connected to a defensive all-star ability. It just needs vigilance to play in both roles.

#8. Dawn Elemental AND Cho-Manno, Revolutionary

This four-drop pair are very strong at the blocking. And they have power to play keep away. Dawn Elemental is an admittedly hard four-mana 3/3 with flying. It's hard to cast outside of mono-White, but on the battlefield it's better than Cho-Manno, Revolutionary. He costs four splashable for a smaller 2/2 grounded body. Both prevent all damage, not just combat damage. That's just as good as the Angel above with protection since they can block all day long and are immune to burn, but it's worse on offense or protecting against non-burn targeted interaction. Enjoy this pair! Another pair hit #7, but what?

#7. Brash Taunter AND Stuffy Doll

With indestructible, these are great at blocking! The Red one just has a 1/1 body, but it can tap with three mana to fight, and when it is dealt damage you can redirect it. It's clearly an update of the artifact, but Stuffy Doll is a colorless artifact and thus can fit into any deck that loves an eternal blocker. This is one classic defender, and it's one of the iconic blockers for multiplayer formats. This pair is heavily played. They hit our halfway spot! Next is another pair, this time of uncommons, but what...

#6. Wall of Blossoms AND Wall of Omens

This uncommon Wall duo is our final slot before the top 5! This duo cost two, give you an 0/4 Wall that cannot attack, and then draw you that card! The Blossoms was so good it made the cut in Standard decks during its era for tapping to bounce with Tradewind Rider in both Trade/Geddon that bounced lands after casting Armageddon or with Awakening in TradeAwake to tap and untap. Nasty combo of blockers, and they are brilliant in all kinds of archetypes! They are also in Bant colors for the Toughness- and Defender-matters brew.

#5. Wall of Denial

Top Five time with this Azorius colored three-drop 0/8 with flying and shroud! You can see why it's here, right? It has got an 0/8 body like Wall of Stone for three mana. It can block flyers. It's got shroud so like Iridescent Angel above, it cannot be targeted by any opposing removal. Although shroud is worse since it takes damage in combat, dies to mass removal and burn too, like Dawn Elemental for burn or Darksteel Sentinel for Day of Judgment. It cannot be handled by targeting, flies and is the best toughness to cost out there with these benefits. This also works in Bant Toughness or Defender matters or just a strong early drop that cannot be answered buy anyone, and again, who is running an 8 power dork in modern Commander to crack it? Next are some common Walls.

#4. Wall of Roots AND Overgrown Battlement

Next up is this Green common Wall duo! The first drops for two, gives you an 0/5 Wall, and you can put -0/-1 counters on it to make mana. Note that you can do that the turn you drop it. It's here to drop, block, and accelerate future stuff while still blocking. The second drops for two, just has an 0/4 size, but it'll tap equal to you defender count and that could be a lot. it's the Priest of Titania for defenders, only you can get better by adding in other colors and it's a on a bigger butted dork. Love this pair loads, right? And then there were three! Hitting my #3 spot are two pre-Modern White dorks!

#3. Beloved Chaplain AND Commander Eesha

Check out this old-border tag team! Love them loads. The former is better than the Angel since it cannot be harmed by colorless creatures either. But it's harder to protect from removal as any non-creature source can handle it. Then you can swing through any defense for a damage, making this good at defensive decks as well as Voltron decks looking to kill in the red zone with equipment and auras like Rancor. It's super cheap but it cannot stop tramplers, and it's on the ground.

The latter costs twice as much for a 2/4 but with flying, giving her much more range and size. She blocks flyers that swing and swing herself with double the damage ability of the Chaplain. She's also a Soldier for that Tribe. She can swing through anything and like the Chaplain, no one targets her for removal since there is always something else to bother with. She sucks up three more trample damage as well. Both are great here! Next is another Wall, but which one? This is our highest charting duo, everything else is one per slot.

#2. Fog Bank

This classic two-drop Wall with flying will never take damage in combat from anything. You can drop it as early as turn 2 and then block until it's killed by removal either mass or targeted, and no one wastes a removal spell on a Fog Bank. Since it's in just one color and costs one fewer, I rank it higher than Wall of Denial.

It's great at blocking, surviving and blocking flyers! But it has two weaknesses that lack synergy here. The first is that it has a low toughness, so folks can trample over for a lot of damage. That's not good, but it has a bigger butt than the Chaplain and flies. The second weakness is a low toughness, which I already mentioned, but here, that's a weakness for Defender and Toughness matters brews like Bant even though it's in color. Rolling Stones only gives you an attacking 2/2 in the air, not exactly a lot. That drops it to my penultimate spot overall! But what one-drop Wall beats it for my top spot?

#1. Steel Wall

My favorite defensive dork of all time is this colorless one-drop 0/4. Nothing else can get an 0/4 for just one mana save for White's Perimeter Captain. The Steel Wall can block for a very long time, though it's usually wiped away eventually. But it will save you a lot of damage in the meantime as early attacks head elsewhere. It's also an artifact for blocking fear or intimidate stuff. It's also an artifact for things like affinity for artifacts or improvise or convoke to tap for mana or pumping up a Cranial Plating or searching up with Trinket Mage or Tezzeret the Seeker. Love this guy loads at the kitchen table since it can be played anywhere on the first turn, survives for a while, saves a lot of attacks your way, and then can be played in many different decks. It's awesome and one of my favorite commons ever printed for multiplayer. It has earned this spot, and yet it's in just 6,002 decks over at EDHREC.com, so run them and see what you think!

Alright, and thanks for reading my Top Ten Defensive Creatures ever printed! So...what'll hit next week with Top Ten Defensive Non-Creatures? I haven't made my list yet, I need to do my research, so we'll find out next week!