Elves have gone through numerous changes throughout the years, which has contributed to their tribe’s endurance. Elves remain one of the greatest tribes in Magic: The Gathering due to their consistent support over time (sorry, Goblins).
They’re strong, inexpensive, and adaptable, making them ideal archetypes for Commander veterans and newcomers. Let’s take a look at some of the most ridiculous Elf Commanders in Magic The Gathering.
Timberwatch Elf
Elves thrive at two things as a tribe: generating mana and breeding more elves. The Timberwatch Elf is a monster that allows players to benefit from this. Timberwatch Elf has the ability to tap to grant a target creature +X/+X until the end of the round, where X is equal to the number of elves the user controls. This allows for some amusing mind games.
When attacking, Timberwatch elf may be utilized to force loads of more damage through on an unblocked monster once blocks have been announced.
Lys Alana Huntmaster
Elves, as previously noted, are particularly good at swiftly forming large groups of their tribe. Lys Alana Huntmaster is a card that exemplifies this trait to perfection. Lys Alana Huntmaster, a 3/3 elf for four mana, enables players to generate a 1/1 elf token whenever they cast an elf spell.
This may add up to a lot of value over the course of a game, allowing elf players to take advantage of a variety of abilities whose power is proportional to the number of elves they control.
Joraga Warcaller
Elf decks have the distinction of being the tribe with the most mana-related abilities, with a variety of ways to ramp mana, including the use of elves who tap for mana and elves who bring more lands into play. When a large quantity of mana is generated, an elf player will need a place to put it all, and Joraga Warcaller is one of the best elven mana sinks.
Joraga Warcaller gets a +1/+1 counter for each additional kicker cost paid because he has Multikicker. While placing counters on your creatures is useful in and of itself, Joraga Warcaller’s ability provides a +1/+1 to all other elves controlled by the player for each +1/+1 counter on Joraga Warcaller.
Beast Whisperer and Guardian Protect
Due to the large quantity of mana generated by elf tribal decks, it’s critical that elf players don’t run out of cards to cast, otherwise the mana would be wasted. Because elf tribal commander decks tend to be creature-heavy, the cards Beast Whisperer and Guardian Project are two of the best methods for an elf player to keep a good number of cards in their hand.
Despite the fact that they are creatures and enchantments, these cards have the same function in an elf deck: they draw a card each time the user casts a creature. These two cards will ensure that the player’s hand never runs empty, as elf decks are largely made up of creatures.
Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury
Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury, the lone Planeswalker on this list, is a versatile Planeswalker whose abilities work well with elf tribal tactics. The +2 ability of Freyalise adds an elf that can tap for green mana to the player’s total number of elves while also escalating them.
Freyalise’s -2 can also destroy any annoying artifacts or enchantments, and her ultimate can draw a lot of cards that can be used with the additional mana she helped to produce. While any of these abilities would be valuable in and of themselves, Freyalise’s repeatability as a Planeswalker should not be overlooked.
Heritage Druid
While many elves in Magic can tap for mana, Heritage Druid gives this ability to all of your elves. Heritage Druid enables its controller to produce three green mana by tapping three untapped elves. What’s essential to note about this ability is that Heritage Druid is the one that taps these animals, not the creatures themselves.
This implies that Heritage Druid can use tokens and other freshly cast elves to swiftly generate extra mana by tapping creatures that are still summoning illness.
Elvish Archdruid and Priest of Titania
Due to their mana-producing skills, Heritage Druid, Elvish Archdruid, and Priest of Titania appear on this list. Every elf under their control effectively becomes an extra method of mana ramping since each has the capacity to tap for a quantity of green mana equal to the number of elves owned by the user.
As the number of creatures controlled is turned into mana, each of these cards synergizes spectacularly with the tribe’s ability to generate huge numbers.
Marwyn, The Nurturer
Marwyn, the Nurturer, one of the greatest commanders in the elf tribe, is the closest thing elf players can get to a Priest of Titania in their command zone. Marwyn can tap for an amount of mana equal to her power when an elf under your control enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.
While Marwyn’s mana-producing ability is slightly inferior to that of the aforementioned Elvish Archdruid and Priest of Titania, because she can only produce mana based on elves who entered the battlefield after her, her ability to grow in size, as well as her dependability as your commander, should not be overlooked.
Craterhoof Behemoth
“Why is this huge beast rated so high on this list of elves?” you might wonder. Craterhoof Behemoth is the best method to end a game with an elf tribal deck with a green deck style that centers around producing large quantities of creatures and mana.
Dropping a Craterhoof Behemoth on the table can frequently result in an instant win for the elves since it has the devastating ability to grant all creatures +X/+X where X is equal to the number of creatures you control, as well as trample.
Despite the fact that it costs eight mana, the massive quantities of mana that elf decks can generate rapidly balance this cost.
Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Renegade Ezuri, The tribal leader and the elf tribe, go hand in hand. Few elves compare in raw synergy and power to Ezuri, who has seen play in a variety of formats outside of commander.
Ezuri has two special skills that no elf would want to be without. For starters, Ezuri may regenerate any of a user’s elves for a single green mana, safeguarding their most essential creatures from their opponents’ wicked schemes.
Ezuri can also provide +3/+3 and trample to all of the player’s elves for five mana, similar to Craterhoof Behemoth. However, unlike Craterhoof Behemoth’s ability, this one is repeatable and may be used several times, combining nicely with elves’ mana generation skills.
