I build a lot of decks. I typically build one deck a week, two if I’m feeling a little spicy. I just love brewing Commander decks, but recently, I’ve noticed something. I’ve really only been brewing around multicolored commanders. Two, three, four, and sometimes a few five-colored brews here and there. But there has been no interest on my part when looking at mono-colored commanders and I find that disappointing. I often find that mono-colored commanders are wonderful introductions into color identity comprehension. Mono-colored decks also tend to be less expensive than multicolored commanders (it’s the dang manabases y’all). That being said, I thought it would be fun to start an article series where every now and then I compile a list of mono-colored commanders that have piqued my interest.
Without further ado, let’s explore some of my recent favorites!
White
Starting out in WUBRG order, we have Sanwell, Avenger Ace. Fun fact, it was this commander that initially inspired this article. I was going through a few of my precons when I stumbled upon Sanwell and was immediately inspired. Sanwell comes from The Brothers’ War Urza precon so it would make sense that her ability centers around artifacts. When she becomes tapped, she allows you to cast an artifact creature or Vehicle spell from among the top six cards of your library that you exile. While one might find this ability to be best during combat, my brain started toying with the idea of finding ways to tap and untap her at will (though you would have to jump through many hoops to get there).
However, if you wanted to go the traditional route, this commander offers up many heavy-hitters for the 99. Losheel, Clockwork Scholar protects your attacking artifact creatures and Vehicles, Illustrious Wanderglyph buffs your artifact creatures and makes tokens, and Bronze Guardian provides protection stapled a big body. Sure, Sanwell is not your typical mono-white artifacts commander. People might be more drawn to Gandalf the White, Oswald Fiddlebender, or even Tishar, Ancestor’s Apostle, but I find there to be something wildly endearing about a lesser known commander like Sanwell.
Blue
While Senator Peacock hasn’t been released yet, we did end up seeing her in the Murders at Karlov Manor teaser stream as part of the Clue edition. Pretty self-explanatory, but I am beyond excited for this product and I found myself drawn to the Senator. Like Sanwell, she is an artifact commander, and yes that is purely by coincidence. What makes Peacock so interesting is that she is a Clue commander… in the sense that she makes it so all your artifacts are Clues in addition to their other types. She also makes things unblockable when you sacrifice a Clue. See where I’m going with this?
Making creatures unblockable in Commander is just about my favorite thing. Seriously, Rogue’s Passage is my favorite land in all of Magic. By making all your artifacts Clues, Peacock can make anything a one-hit murder. Unblockable Blightsteel Colossus, Filigree Attendant, Broodstar, or Inkmoth Nexus is almost a guaranteed game over. The deck is also naturally full of card draw, making it feel incredibly smooth to pilot. While she hasn’t been printed yet and we know little of what Murders at Karlov Manor has to offer, I feel as though Senator Peacock will be a great option for a unique blue commander.
Black
This color has been a huge challenge for me as a deckbuilder. It has been nearly impossible for me to find a mono-black commander that genuinely interests me. I’ve been through a handful. K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth and Witch King of Angmar were two I had high hopes for and yet both failed to grasp me. I was on the verge of giving up, but then I saw… The Meep. I’ll be honest with y’all, I did not watch the Doctor Who holiday special, but I do like that The Meep is essentially a Mirror Entity in the Command Zone.
This is a fast paced, graveyard-matters commander. It wants tons of tiny little bodies to be “buffed” by big mana creatures that are sacrificed by The Meep. Bitterblossom, Dreadhorde Invasion, Tombstone Stairwell, Underworld Hermit, and Abhorrent Overlord make tons of tiny attackers that get big quick. Gurmag Angler, Shadow of Mortality, and Vilis, Broker of Blood serve as fodder that can be recurred by things like Reanimate, Exhume, Supernatural Stamina, and Goryo’s Vengeance. It’s wild to me that I find something so graveyard focused to be interesting. I also find it funny that something as cute as The Meep can make for such a formidable mono-colored commander.
Red
This one isn’t a stretch for me to love. Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might is quite literally the love of my life. This commander screams my name because non-combat damage is my bread and butter. The goal with this guy is to deal damage to your opponents less than his power so that it will deal damage equal to his power instead. We don’t care about what his backside does. All we care about is making things burn.
Ojer Axonil is pretty straightforward. You want small instances of damage, so things like Manabarbs, Fiery Inscription, and Roiling Vortex are good forms of repeatable damage. This type of effect also comes stapled onto creatures like Rampaging Ferocidon, Spear Spewer, Thermo-Alchemist, Electrostatic Field and Spitfire Lagac. Ojer Axonil is a simple God and an even simpler commander and I love him for that.
Green
Lastly, we have the color to hate, but hate to love, green. My choice for a mono-green commander is Doric, Nature’s Warden. Like Ojer Axonil, Doric is incredibly simple in what she wants to do… attack. When you swing with her and pay the toll, she gives your other attacking legendary creatures +2/+2 and trample until end of turn. Like I said, she’s simple.
So what do you run in a Doric deck? Well, lots of legendary creatures and historic support. Legendary spells are historic, so there is a lot of value to be had in those support pieces. Reiki, the History of Kamigawa draws cards, Saryth, the Viper’s Fang gives your creatures deathtouch or hexproof, Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus doubles power and toughness, and Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant gives you an army for free. The deck practically builds itself and can pack a painful punch. And I should know because I faced Doric before and I hate her. On second thought, maybe don’t build her. There are already too many Doric decks in the world.
Mono-colored commanders are showing up less and less in commander pods, especially older ones. Nowadays, we typically see flashy multicolored creatures and commanders made within the past few months. While these new creatures may seem more interesting and powerful than their mono-colored compatriots, I feel as though they deserve a chance to play with the all-stars. Remember, just because it only has access to one color doesn’t mean the commander is limited.
Happy brewing, deckbuilders!
