Since the format's inception, Commander has been one of Magic: the Gathering's most popular format, if not the most popular one in 2024. Commander or Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH for short), has constantly evolved with each new set release. Almost every year (barring 2012), there has been a Commander set of preconstructed decks that infuse the format with powerful and fun cards.

The draw of the format lies in choosing a legendary creature to helm your deck. In this article, I'll share the top commander from each year since the birth of the format. Of course, this is subjective and mostly informed by my experiences playing, reading about, and watching Commander content.

2011: Kaalia of the Vast

One of the most astounding things about Kaalia of the Vast is its longevity. From the original batch of Commanders from the first set, she is the most popular and the most feared. To this day, 13 years after her release, many players have unleashed demons, angels, and dragons on the battlefield with this Human Cleric's abilities. Her recent printing in Modern Horizons 3 will only increase how many decks she becomes the general of. This Mardu general is a shoo-in if there ever was a Mount Rushmore for Commander deck generals.

2012: Rakdos, Lord of Riots

Continuing the cheating of big beasties is the big bad Rakdos demon himself, er, Rakdos. When Return to Ravnica dropped, every Timmy who tapped Mountains and Swamps for mana pieced together a deck full of the biggest creatures they could lay a hand on. Eldrazis and Colossi was the order of the day for sure.

2013: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher

The second set of Commander precons in 2013 introduced us to the infamous Jund dragon who was also a swiss-knife like no other at the time. He produced an army of tokens, he was a sacrifice engine, and he was also a win-con by himself swinging for massive damage. Getting rid of Prossh would only make him a bigger threat and a dilemma for opponents.

2014: Narset, Enlightened Master

In my playgroup, there are few commanders as hated as Narset. I'm proud to say that I piloted that Narset deck. You know, the one with extra turns and extra combat steps? This Khans of Tarkir legendary creature was sticky as all get-out with Hexproof stapled onto her. Your average Narset deck was a nightmare for every table as she would swing and cheat out unfair spells like Time Stretch and Omniscience. Ah, those were the days.

2015: Meren of Clan Nel Toth

This year, Commander players were introduced to the Experience mechanic and Meren was the creature that made the best use of it. Graveyard strategies are notoriously hard to outvalue, and few (aside from Muldrotha, the Gravetide) legendary creatures can be considered in the same class as this Golgari Human Shaman. In the reanimation game, Meren does it almost for free.

2016: Thrasios, Triton Hero

The partner mechanic was infamous for homogenizing the format when it was released in 2016. Whether you are for or against that is another discussion, but few can argue that Thrasios is not the best representative of Commander this year. His low mana value, Simic colors, and value-generating activated ability were simply hard to beat.

2017: The Ur-Dragon

Eminence was another mechanic that polarized the Commander community. A commander with abilities that were available in the Command Zone was first introduced by Oloro, Ageless Ascetic but 2017's preconstructed decks turned the dial up to 11. The Ur-Dragon narrowly edged out Edgar Markov on this list. Dragons are the hallmark creatures of the fantasy genre, and The Ur-Dragon was a five-color monstrosity that reduced dragon costs, drew cards, and cheated out permanents like Kaalia. What's not to love?

2018: Tuvasa the Sunlit

The enchantress archetype has always been popular with Magic players, and with Tuvasa, they got the enchantress commander of their dreams. Unlike other enchantress creatures like Argothian Enchantress and the like, this Merfolk only triggered once each turn. But, it doubled as a wincon and gave players access to the Bant shard allowing them to play the best enchantments from those colors.

2019: Morophon, the Boundless

There are over 100 tribes or creature types in Magic: the Gathering. Combine this with five colors and what's a Commander player to do if they can't decide on a tribe or a commander? Well, Modern Horizons gave us the solution in this Shapeshifter. A 5-color legendary creature that was every creature type AND reduced costs. Oh, and it also buffed them a bit. Morophon truly made possibilities boundless.

2020: Tayam, Luminous Enigma

Finally, an Abzan commander gets on the list! As an Abzan enjoyer, I struggled not to put Karador, Ghost Chieftain and Ghave, Guru of Spores on the list - as Kaalia truly deserved that spot. But, in 2020, Tayam proved he was the Abzan chosen one. Good in casual and higher-powered tables, Tayam milled and recurred all on its own. What a nightmare of a beast!

2021: Garth One-Eye

I've read the very first Magic: the Gathering novel Arena more than five times since it came out. I loved how cunning and capable the protagonist, Garth, was. Imagine my excitement when he was spoiled in Modern Horizons 2. Garth (or Galin, oopsies, spoiler!) gave us mere peasants the ability to play and sacrifice a Black Lotus for crying out loud!

2022: Marneus Calgar

In 2022, the first Universes Beyond preconstructed commander decks were released and it was a crossover with the Warhammer 40K franchise. It was a strong set with many cool cards and reprints with cool, sci-fi art. The Ultramarines' Marneus is an Esper commander who drew cards, made tokens, and could swing for big damage.

2023: Atraxa, Grand Unifier

The return to one of Magic's most beloved settings, Phyrexia, was highlighted by a new version of Commander's most popular card Atraxa, Praetors' Voice. This version cost 3 mana more but had an enters the battlefield trigger that was pure value, potentially drawing players up to nine cards if they hit the lottery. What's great about Atraxa (like its previous version) is that it can be built in many ways and still power a win out through sheer card advantage.

And the Game Goes On

Every year, a legendary creature card gets pushed to the top of Commander players' lists and is played in pods worldwide. 2024 has already shown strong contenders to be on this list - just imagine what the next decade of Commander can give us.