2024 has certainly been an exciting year for Commander. The amount of new legendary creatures to test out in the Command zone as well as cards for the 99 is staggering. Uncommon cards are certainly getting more powerful as time moves on. These are the top uncommon cards for Commander from 2024 that you should be playing.

#10. Crime Novelist

Crime Novelist is the first card to start off the list this year. Unfortunately, with the banning of Dockside Extortionist this year, you might have cut Crime Novelist from your decks. However, I still believe Crime Novelist has its place amongst artifact strategies that are focused on sacrificing artifacts. Treasures, Clues, Foods, and Blood tokens are all very prevalent in the Commander format. Crime Novelist turns those artifact tokens into some extra mana which is a nice piece of utility.

#9. Untimely Malfunction

Untimely Malfunction is a great new Bolt Bend type of effect with some utility as well. For one and a red mana you get to choose between: destroying an artifact, changing the target of a spell, or making up to two creatures unable to block. Red loves all of these effects and has cards that already do each one of these modes. Untimely Malfunction puts all those cards together for some nice utility. This is the perfect card for any red deck moving forward.

#8. Marionette Apprentice

Marionette Apprentice is a brand-new Zulaport Cutthroat from this year. Marionette Apprentice will drain each opponent for one life whenever an artifact or creature you control dies. It also has Fabricate 1 which simply means it can enter with a servo friend or a +1/+1 counter. Two mana for this card is very powerful. It being able to drain on a creature or an artifact makes it playable in more Commander decks across the board. It can be Unearthed or blinked to get that servo friend again. If you are playing aristocrats in any sense of the word you need to pick up this brand new uncommon from 2024.

#7. Patchwork Banner

Patchwork Banner is a kindred auto-include from now on. For three mana you get a mana rock that taps for any color and provides a +1/+1 anthem to a creature type of your choice. Anthem effects normally have an average casting cost of three mana. This anthem also is a mana rock which you can use right away. Thanks to Bloomburrow entering the Magic realm this year, you have so many new options of kindred Commanders to choose from. Make sure you always have a Patchwork Banner handy for when you want to build a new creature type.

#6. Silver Shroud Costume / Brotherhood Regalia

This next one is a tie. These cards both came out from Universes Beyond product this year and have very similar effects. Silver Shroud Costume from Fallout and Brotherhood Regalia from Assassin's Creed share this spot on the list. Silver Shroud Costume has flash and can give a creature shroud for a turn. This costume also provides the creature evasion by making it unblockable. Brotherhood Regalia has a reduced equip cost for legendary creatures, provides ward 2, turns it into an assassin in addition to its other types, and makes the creature unblockable. Both equipments give creatures unblockable. In voltron strategies, this is how you win the game. Since these cards are similarly costed with almost the same effect they share the spotlight together. If you had to choose which one to play over the other, which one would it be?

#5. Return the Favor

Return the Favor is the best red uncommon of the year by far! Fork is a classic card that copies an instant or sorcery spell on the stack. Return the Favor can do that for an extra one mana. It also can copy a triggered or activated ability. There are so many Commanders that have either a triggered or activated ability that you might want to double up on. Return the Favor can also redirect a spell or an ability with a single target. This is perfect against removal and counter Magic. Return the Favor is one of the most powerful versatile spells for red. You can use it to double up on a big effect or to redirect some heat at the table.

#4. Lively Dirge

Lively Dirge is an uncommon tutor that also reanimates. Lively Dirge searches your library for any card and dumps it into your graveyard. Being able to get any card instead of being locked into a certain type has its upsides. Flashback, Jump-Start, and Dredge are all abilities that work in the graveyard. Even if you aren't getting a creature to reanimate, you could grab a spell with one of those abilities. Being able to get a creature into your graveyard and reanimate it with the same spell is incredibly powerful. If you have a reanimator deck you need this card.

#3. Sheltered by Ghosts

Sheltered by Ghosts is one of the best removal pieces ever to be printed at uncommon level. It removes any nonland permanent under it until it leaves and gives a creature ward 2 and lifelink. You can't find a better two mana spell for voltron strategies that acts as removal and protection for your Commander. This card is also one of the most expensive cards on the list, if you have some floating around your bulk you should definitely put it in a binder.

#2. Into the Flood Maw

Sheltered by Ghosts is good, however, there is one outstanding piece of removal that came out of 2024 at an uncommon level. Into the Flood Maw is the brand-new Chain of Vapor that is seeping into most Blue decks, even at cEDH level. One Blue mana is all you need to bounce any nonland permanent to your opponent's hand. You might need to give an opponent a 1/1 fish token, but that is a pretty lousy gift for removing their best piece on the board. Chain of Vapor used to see a ton more play in Commander thanks to Dockside Extortionist. With his banning, you are better off playing Into the Flood Maw, unless you need to bounce one of your own permanents back to hand.

#1. Modern Horizons 3 MDFCs

The standout uncommons for the entire year are none other than the MDFCs from Modern Horizons III. If you are not playing at least one of these in each Commander deck you have you should take a quick look through all of them. Sink into Stupor, Fell the Profane, Witch Enchanter, Bridgeworks Battle, and Razorgrass Ambush are all mono-colored pieces of removal that have lands on the back.

All these lands can enter untapped if you take a measly three damage. Strength of the Harvest and Legion Leadership are great inclusions for your Enchantress or Voltron strategy decks. Pinnacle Monk recurs an instant or sorcery. Sundering Eruption can help you sneak in with an army. Waterlogged Teachings is a straight up tutor. All these cards are considerations for any and all Commander decks that will be built moving forward. These are the clear winners for the best uncommons of the entire year of 2024.

I hope you enjoyed the lineup of sets that released in 2024 and are looking forward to all the new and exciting things happening in 2025. I am looking forward to digging through all of the new bulk this coming year to find more hidden gems for Commander.

See you on the battlefield!

-Nigel