Top +1/+1 Counter Commanders

Hello awesome EDH fans! Ever since Experiment Kraj gave Simic debuting with the +1/+1 counter matters, it's been beloved!!! Today it's the 4th most popular archetype on EDHREC.com after Artifacts, Treasures and Life Gain. But what Commanders do I think are the best? Let's find out today!

Number Fourteen

This is the first Boros colored legendary dork on our list and that I know of that cares about our stuff. I built around him here. She is very simple a cheaper 1/2 for three mana that give you an attack trigger for any non-Gnome to toss a +1/+1 counter here, and then make a bunch of attacking Gnome 1/1 artifacts equal to the total counter total here!

Number Thirteen

This 4-drop 4/4 Naya colored is next! Your attacking stuff gains renown and first strike! Then when a renowned dork deals damage you double its counters! That's not a misprint, like add a +1/+1 counters or misread by me. Double its counters! That'll win so fast in any going wide deck and note one secret...it's missing the word "nontoken" so those will gain renown and then double counters. Wowzer Bowser!

Number Twelve

This fun 6-drop 5/5 Temur beater is next. With two abilities, this ETBs and gives two +1/+1 counters on It for each time you've cast your Commander, so minimum 7/7 as a Commander on arrival to the battlefield the first time! Then when a dork you control with a counter of any type on it dies, you'll draw that card! This adds Red to the counter loving Simic, so you get more options, and then you get a nice size beater that grows bigger as it's answered, costing a massive six mana is a rough ask. Hence it hitting back here despite great card draw from your stuff dying. It's basically a Command Zone-able Harvester of Souls in three colors. Love it loads!!!

Number Eleven

Everyone's favorite experience counter leader! This 4-drop 3/3 Hill Giant Simic leader is next! When a small power dork ETBs, you get an experience counter you'll keep despite answering Ezuri. Then in your combat, you'll toss counters on another dork equal to your experience counter count. Love him loads! I did build around him here in real life but that's not +1/+1 counter themed but Pingers and Dinosaurs with enrage instead. He makes threats. Love him loads, but the experience counters can get out of hand, even from him. Note, for example, his trigger allows tokens.

Number Ten

Now let's move to our Top Ten with this Naya colored 4-drop 4/3 with backup 1. When this dork, or backup'ed dork, attacks double the +1/+1 counters on target dork! Not the one that attacks, but any of your dorks, and then it'll be hard to block with evasion added too. Love this so much as another limited counter doubler in the Command Zone. It's pretty strong from where I am sitting! Love it with haste and you are in red for things like Anger or Hammer of Purphoros to attack on arrival to not backup another and double counters here and kill fast from the Command Zone.

Number Nine

Our only Gruul +1/+1 matters dork is next! This 4-drop, on curve 4/4 Aura, Equipment caring Snake Samurai is next! When those enter the battlefield, you make a free menacing 2/2 Spirit dork. Then in your end step, each modified dork you control gets a +1/+1 counter on it. This works well in all three archetypes, or Voltron to combine them. Mark just built around the Aura/Equipment here. Since he counts +1/+1 counters for modified, I think that's the best way to run him.

Number Eight

This uncommon 6-drop Selesnya on curve 5/5 Is next! Sure, pricery, but it has affinity for +1/+1 counters so you can drop it for as few as two base mana. Then that'll work for Command Taxes too. Then your critters also gain affinity for +1/+1 counters, so that'll be super easy to cast as well. You'll wanna lean on colorless dorks like Eldrazi Titans here when playing that out. Getting free stuff is nasty, hence Hamza hitting here on my list, pretty decently well. Welcome everyone's favorite Elephant Warrior uncommon! Ready to unleash them? I hope so!

Number Seven

Our highest hitting Grixis colored +1/+1 counter caring legendary leader is next!!! She costs four for an on curve 3/3 Hill Giant with dethrone. Your other dorks have dethrone. That'll give them +1/+1 counters when they attack the most life player. Then when a dork you control with a +1/+1 counter on it dies? It comes back EOT! You don't spend anything here, not mana, cards, tapping, or once/turn. She is so great at free recursion. Love her loads! Everything from here on out is green!

Number Six

Golgari began Commander Decks with this 2-drop hasting 1/1 dork. When it smashes face, you toss a +1/+1 counter here. Then it keeps counters as it moves from zone to zone instead of the hand or library, so exiling, or killing it, won't work. As long as it's your Commander, tuck removal like Time Ebb will send it to the Command Zone too. That leaves bouncing like Capsize as the only way to answer it's counters. Note that's all counters, so the trample counter from Titanoth Rex or deathtouch one from Void Beckoner that want to be cycled, and both are nasty together. It's so classic! And then there were five!

Number Five

This 6-drop 6/6 beater trample and haste is our only mono-colored dork in today's list, but they are worth removing colors for. As you can see, this will double your counters on any permanents or player. Poison? Rad? +1/+1? Loyalty? You've got it! A Doubling Season in the Command Zone for just counters on a 6/6 stick with trample and she is pretty good and breakable!!! Also note that your foe's will put just half, so that's protection against poison counters too. Love them in the 99 or leading too. Get them, run them, love them!

Number Four

Our top hitting Selesnya +1/+1 counter matters leader is this 4-drop 3/4 with ward 2 to protect a bit. Then you have an attack trigger for just them, and they lack haste like Vorinclax above or the color red, so you'll likely need equipment like Lightning Greaves to OTJ's Lavaspur Boots. It's pretty strong, so you'll want to add in haste where possible, since each dork you control with power greater than their base power gets +1/+1 counters to grow permanently equal to the difference, and then will do it again. And again, and win massively with them. Stephen built around them here. Just like Chishiro, there a few ways you can abuse this lil' leader. Love this Cat Noble loads!

Number Three

Our top scoring 2023 printed Commander that's in our archetype is this 4 mana 3/3 Naya flyer with vigilance to swing at open dorks and then hold back for attack, on curve When counters of a +1/+1 nature are added to a dork, they'll shoot an opponent for the counters added in damage! That's a win-con in the Command Zone that doesn't need to swing at anyone! Just add counters and kill with damage. This counts as non-combat damage and in red for non-combat damage doublers. Love this duo so much! I hope you do as well!

Number Two

Breaking the first Commander Deck Series is this nasty 3-drop Temur colored +1/+1 counter matters 1/1 with protection from most targeted removal in pro-white and black. They are still running more than 14k decks. When you cast that dork, toss a +1/+1 counter on this. Then your dorks cost have reduced costs equal to the counter count on Animar. That is so powerful with colorless stuff again like Solemn Simulacrum or Steel Hellkite. This thang is brokenly good!

Number One

Our top scoring card is everything but red and has double proliferate. Your 4 mana nets you everything and a kitchen sink 4/4 and four massive abilities. Flying, lifelink for a double life swing, and then vigilance to hold back and deathtouch to trade up, pretty minor here. You don't wanna trade up with your commander. This Angel Horror's double proliferate in your EOT, so that can be anything from what we are talking about to planeswalkers to poison to more. She might be obvious, sorry, but she's worth the top spot.

So, there we are! I hope you enjoyed this look at the Top +1/+1 Commanders! There are tons more. Every color gets them!