Hello folks! As a result of Commander 2017 hitting the streets, I wanted to look at some legendary creatures that were originally printed in a Commander set. Unlike many legendary creatures, these were specially designed for multiplayer and Commander. That means they tend to be a bit more powerful than other options out there, and many of the best leaders of all time come from these sets.

About 77 legendary creatures were originally created for a Commander set; and, while many have become major players in Commander, such as Kaalia of the Vast, Karador, Ghost Chieftain, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, Animar, Soul of Elements, and Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, many more have gone silent and haven’t really had the success they should. That’s wrong. What are the best Commanders printed in Commander that you are using to Command your Commander decks? Great question!

Honorable Mention - Jeleva, Nephalia’s Scourge

I wrote about Jeleva a few articles ago and built not just one, or two, but a full three decks around her. I’m looking at a real life build of her that’s more Spike-heavy for those Commander metagames I encounter in real life. And she suits that. She still doesn’t get the respect she should, but given my recent public adoration for running her, I’ll just put her at Honorable Mention today!

10. Saskia the Unyielding

Of the five four-color leaders printed last year, Saskia the Unyielding feels like the least played. Two are strong Johnny leaders with a lot of open strategy (Atraxa and Breya, Etherium Shaper) which a third is a Spike powerhouse (Ydris, Maelstrom Wielder). The fourth is more of a fun Group Hug leader that sometimes get dusted off to play. But Saskia is untested, and often only gets played so the user can get the colors, (but as many want to add Blue to their otherwise non-Blue deck they will choose a five-color leader like Reaper King or Cromat instead.) But don’t ignore Saskia. First of all, she’s a strong beater, who can smash your current target for 6 damage a turn, off a 3/4 vigilance and hasted body. That’s a Commander kill in four hits, which is not unreasonable. She plays well with a lot of aggressive cards in her colors. Things like Berserkers' Onslaught or True Conviction can be a game-ending force with Saskia. You can run abilities like battle cry or battalion that pump or add value when you swing. You can go wide or build up with equipment and auras, among which you might consider Rancor or my favorite, Shield of the Oversoul. (Don’t sleep on +2/+2, Flying, and Indestructible for your Saskia!). Get your beat on!

9. Ghave, Guru of Spores

While it still gets played alongside other Commanders, Ghave isn’t getting much love as the leader of the pack anymore. That’s obviously because Atraxa gives you another color and a free proliferate that can be helpful for everything from Planeswalkers to evolving Simic +1/+1 creatures and more. But Ghave is still a clear winner as a leader. The strong identity here is great. 5/5 for five mana? Check! Turning a +1/+1 counter from anything into a 1/1 Saproling token? Check! Sacrificing creatures including Saprolings, into counters? Check! For example, we’ve all seen the Ghave Scoot ‘N Dance, right? How many times have you seen someone attack into a Ghave player, only to have that player spend a few mana to make tokens, block, and then spend that mana to sacrifice and turn back into counters and resulting in a big ol’ whiff? Ghave has a strong ability to go wide, to protect the house, and adds a lot more durability to your deck than Atraxa does. Don’t forget about Ghave!

8. Titania, Protector of Argoth

Ah yes, Titania. She is strong and powerful. She will bring a land back to the battlefield from your graveyard. Then when one of your lands dies, she weeps and makes a 5/3 Elemental token as vengeance! So the obvious usage of lands with sacrifice abilities like Dust Bowl and Myriad Landscape is obvious and powerful. And with cards like Ramunap Excavator running around, you have obvious synergies. You can do a lot with Titania, especially with the powerful all-in Green effects like Primalcrux, Nissa, Worldwaker, or Nessian Game Warden. You’ve got this!

7. Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter

Vish Kal was printed in the first Commander set, and then . . .  never again have we seen him. Vish Kal certainly gets played as an adjunct to other decks. He can be seen in a counter-heavy build like Atraxa or a sacrifice one. He’s a solid body and presence with the flying, life link, and self-growing, and then you kill stuff here and there as well, so he has always had a presence on the battlefield. But as a leader? He’s just not a common choice. Why not? All of those things we just mentioned work great as a leader. He’s been one of my Orzhov leader options in my Commander Cube for years, and he’s always been a good, solid choice. There are a lot of ways to build around him, from using that sacrifice on self-recurring creatures like Bloodghast to getting the right creatures into the graveyard for a powerful Twilight's Call or Living Death effect. Cards like Sun Titan and Reveillark are obvious choices as well! And there is the potential to sacrifice enough creatures, or just one or two big ones, to turn Vish Kal into a one- or two-hit engine. Vish Kal is no joke.

6. Arjun, the Shifting Flame

As a Jr. Partner to God of Locusts, Arjun has gotten more play recently in the last few weeks or so, and it’s play value has risen, but I still haven’t seen a proper Arjun deck yet. Why not? Arjun has a lot to offer. The ability to churn through your deck suits a lot of builds. I think people often want their Izzet builds to be Counterspell heavy or sorcery and instant builds, and Arjun is far from it (you can’t rely on having countermagic in your hand when you cast something). If Arjun were Boros -colored instead, I think it’d see a lot more play. But still, given the strong shuffling, you can Arjun through much of your deck quickly. From combo builds (get your various combo parts) to mid-range goods times that just want to get a good beater or answer for the moment and more, Arjun suits a lot of styles a lot differently than something like Melek, Izzet Paragon.

5. Shattergang Brothers

Jund adores sacrificing stuff for various effects. All three colors have built-in ways of sacrificing cards for effects — Greater Good, Goblin Bombardment, and Attrition, as three quick examples. And there are Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper and Prossh, Skyraider of Kher that play into this space. But I enjoy the Brothers of the Shattergang a bit more than those because it’s more controlled effect that hurts others (ironically for Goblins vs a Dragon or an Orc). You can choose what to sacrifice, and thus what to force the rest the table to lose. Sure, creatures are often what you lead with given how commonly they are played. But you can hit enchantments and artifacts as well to lean on removal there too. They are a more controlling style of play that works surprisingly well at the kitchen table. Love ‘em!

4. Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas

I’ve been reminded of how quickly Kalemne can win a game. With just double strike and vigilance, you have 6 damage out of the gate and it’s easy to give Kalemne additional power in Boros colors, as well as the vital haste you need. Kalemne is faster than a lot of other leaders, and the best thing to do is to drop a 5-drop after you’ve played Kalemne, and then swing on that turn for 8. Don’t forget that you can play some creatures cheaply. For example, just imagine this as a potential fifth-turn even without haste — evoke Ingot Chewer and destroy someone’s artifact. Evoke Spitebellows to destroy a blocker they’ve saved up. Equip Kalemne with something like Umezawa's Jitte or Sword of Fire and Ice you played earlier. Swing. You’re already looking at a least a 5/5 minimum and potentially more with the Sword or something. Smash fast and smash hard and people will potentially die before they can do anything about it, right? And if you start adding in stuff like haste and other powerhouses into the equation, you can see just how fast a Kalemne deck can win starting with a double strike and experience counter base.

3. Jazal Goldmane

I enjoy decks that want to run an obvious and powerful aggressive option, and Jazal certainly plays into that hard. Drop him on turn four. On turn five, swing hard, and then activate his ability to pump all of the attackers. Jazal clearly wants to lead a Mono-White build that goes wide with tokens and cheap bodies. I’d run all of the cheap tempo options here, just to slow down folks a liiiiiittttttle bit. Stuff like Imposing Sovereign and Thalia, Heretic Cathar seem like good options. Then get your swing on. Jazal has a built-in powerful and devastating Overrun ability that gets bigger but without the trample. And you can activate it multiple times, in case you have enough mana later on. Swing away my Cat buddy, swing away.

2. Roon of the Hidden Realm

Bant Blink is a real archetype and there are only a few options for it. Brago, King Eternal has led Azorius blink decks, but adding in Green gets you cards like Eternal Witness, Wall of Blossoms, and Farhaven Elf, as three useful examples. But Roon is a virtual bulk rare despite how obvious our good Rhino fits that build. Is that because even in a deck like this, people would prefer Derevi, Empyrial Tactician to Roon? Well that’s off, because Roon brings a Blink effect to the party already. You drop Roon and you are good to go in terms of getting that swing on. Plus, Roon is obvious, but less abusable, and thus tends to stick more than Brago or Derevi or even a Rafiq of the Many. Roon has got it going on!

1. Ezuri, Claw of Progress

Today, after we’ve seen the vast printing of legendary creatures of opposing colors, we still only have 11 options for a Simic deck. The four leaders of that Guild from Ravnica, the one God from Theros, and then the five that have been printed in off-color cycles in various Commander products. So we still don’t have a lot of options. Many are still either in the counter-heavy wheelhouse (5 of 11) or don’t have an obvious ability beyond simple support (Thrasios, Triton Hero is a good example of that). So, Ezuri here is a fine option for the colors given it’s love of smaller stuff hitting the battlefield, and your loads of cheaper and obvious support stuff like Mulldrifter, Solemn Simulacrum, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Eternal Witness, and Coiling Oracle all give you experience counters even when you aren’t necessarily building a deck around small stuff. And you have token-making cards like Grizzly Fate that will really blow up. I’ve been running Ezuri in a real-life deck very effectively and really have been reminded of how good of a leader he is. You can load up on experience counters and build powerfully fast. Later game, when you have 10 or 12 experience, anything you play becomes a must-kill threat.

And there we have it. Ten Forgotten Commanders that were printed in Commander for you to use to Command your next Commander decks! What did you think of my list? Anything in here you might want to lead your next deck or project?