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Commander is far and away the most popular format for Magic: the Gathering. Thanks to Wizards of the Coast releasing preconstructed Commander decks every set, getting into the format has never been easier! But what are the best MTG Commander Precons that you can buy in 2024? There’s so many to choose from, but we’ll tell you what’s the best.
Now, the Commander preconstructed decks that we’re looking at today are going to be ones that you can actually buy right now. Some of these decks came out last year, and others much longer. We’ll also try to keep the price in check here, as some of these can be very expensive due to being older or having some rarer cards in them. Now that Murders at Karlov Manor is coming, expect this list to change following their additions. Provided, of course, they end up being some of the best precon Commander decks in MTG.
What are the best precon Commander decks?
For me, my top five decks has to be the following:
Limiting yourself to a few precon Commander decks isn’t a hot idea though, as there’s a lot of variety and possibility in the entire list.
11. Elven Empire
The first deck on our best MTG Commander Precons list is the Elven Empire deck from Kaldheim. This deck is an elf tribal deck that is a fantastic foundation to building a bigger and better elf deck. Lathril, Blade of the Elves is a stellar Commander for this deck as she makes elves on her own which can help with the other elf synergies that are in the deck and that can be built into the deck. It’s a little on the pricier side of things coming in between $70 and $100, but that goes to show that this is a solid deck.
Elven Empire Commander Deck
10. Timey-Wimey
MTG’s collaborations with other IPs often produce fantastic sets. The Doctor Who set, responsible for the Timey-Wimey Commander Deck, is exactly one of those. As expected, the deck gives you control of time and space: introducing time counters and a slew of other wibbly wobbly chrono-inspired mechanics.
You’ll be able to bring cards into play in no time at all, thanks to the Time Lord’s abilities to suspend time, hence the Timey-Wimey deck name.
Timey Wimey Commander Deck
9. Buckle Up
The next deck on the list is the Buckle Up deck from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. This commander deck is one of the only decks that focuses around Vehicles, and there’s a bunch of very good vehicles that you can use to upgrade this deck with. You probably won’t use Kotori, Pilot Prodigy as your Commander, because Shorikai, Genesis Engine is just better. This deck is also very inexpensive, coming in around $40.
Buckle Up
8. Draconic Dissent
Number 8 on our list is the Draconic Dissent deck from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate. This deck is a Dragon tribal and Goad focused deck. While it’s a solid deck in its own right, it can also be a fantastic foundation for a deck piloted by Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm. Many of the cards that come with Draconic Dissent are great additions to many different kinds of decks, but would work wonderfully in Miirym. Considering that the deck is only $40, this is a great place to start.
Draconic Dissent Commander Deck
7. Token Triumph
At the end of 2022, Wizards of the Coast released five starter commander decks that are aimed at giving new players a strong start into the format. One of the ones that has great potential to be built upon is the Token Triumph deck. As the name implies, the deck is all about swarming the board with token creatures. Tokens is a very powerful and popular archetype, so this deck is a great foundation for building one of these on your own. It only retails for $30, so you’ll have plenty of budget left over to add some more fun cards to the deck.
Token Triumph Commander Deck
6. Urza’s Iron Alliance
Our next deck is Urza’s Iron Alliance from The Brothers’ War. This deck is similar to the Token Triumph deck, but the tokens we’re making are artifact tokens. We have plenty of tools at our disposal to create a massive army of tokens and pump them up for a lot of damage, but has tons of room to add more powerful cards into the mix. Not to mention, the whole deck has the Retro frame treatment, which gives this deck a particular flare to it. The best part? It’s only $40, so scoop this one up.
Urza’s Iron Alliance Commander Deck
5. The Ruinous Powers
Number 5 on our list is our first Universes Beyond commander deck, the Ruinous Powers from the Warhammer 40,000 collaboration. This deck is a hybrid Cascade and Demon tribal deck that can very quickly overwhelm your opponents with a ton of power. Demon Tribal is a pretty common archetype, so you can always find new cards to add into the deck. Cascade is broad enough of a mechanic that it will fit in nicely no matter what you do with the deck. This deck can be found for a little less than $50.
The Ruinous Powers Commander Deck
4. Tinker Time
Next up is the deck Tinker Time. This comes from March of the Machine, and is a Temur artifact tokens deck. The face Commander, Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy is more aimed at making artifact creatures slowly, but giving them trample so they can get through combat. My favorite way to play this is to use Rashmi and Ragavan as the Commander and go all in on making tons of Treasure tokens and casting my opponent’s spells. Not to mention, this deck has some wild combos in the deck right out of the box. You can find this deck for about $40, and since its one of the more recent releases, you may be able to find it at a local game store or big box store.
Tinker Time
3. Painbow
Number 3 on our list is the Painbow deck from Dominaria United. If you can’t ever decide which colors to play in Commander, this says “play all of them”. It rewards you heavily for playing all five colors, and has a Domain theme to back it up. Both Commanders for this deck are great. Regardless which one you choose, your gameplan is simple, play five color spells. This deck is starting to get towards the older Standard legal set offerings, but it’s still pretty reasonably priced at around $50.
Painbow Commander Deck
2. Necron Dynasties
Our other Universes Beyond deck on this is and our number 2 deck is the Necron Dynasties deck from Warhammer 40,000. This is a very interesting deck, as it’s a mono black artifact deck with a self-mill theme. Since this is a Universes Beyond deck, it has a ton of cards that have never been seen before in the game which makes the experience different than any of the other mono black artifact decks you could make without these cards. Right out of the box, the deck is a blast to play and is quite powerful. It’s the most popular of the 40K decks, and its price tag shows as it retails for around $75, but can sometimes be found for a little less.
Necron Dynasties Commander Deck
1. All Commander Masters decks
That’s right! Our number 1 spot on the best MTG Commander Precons list goes to all four Commander Masters commander decks. Each of these decks were masterfully crafted for their themes and are incredibly playable right out of the box. Here’s the four themes that you’ll find with these decks:
- Eldrazi Unbound – Eldrazi Tribal and colorless spells
- Enduring Enchantments – Enchantments, Graveyard
- Planeswalker Party – Planeswalker synergies
- Sliver Swarm – Sliver Tribal
These four themes are ones that are big fan favorite themes, and these decks provide incredible jumping off points for anyone who want to build into these themes, or build upon the existing decks. Now a couple of these decks, Enduring Enchantments and Planeswalker Party, come in between $55 – $60, but the other two are pushing $90-$100. But no matter which of these you choose, you’re in for a great experience.
Commander Masters Deck bundle
And that’s our list! This list is our picks, so if none of these decks fit your style, then don’t fret. Many of the other commander decks that didn’t make our list are great as well and you’ll have no problems with pretty much any of them. Commander precons are a fantastic way to get into the format, but if you wanted to build your own commander deck, consider checking out our guide on how to build a Commander deck, and also why not also take a look at our guide on how to play Commander. With Ravnica Remastered just around the corner, too, it might be time to consider more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a good Commander deck?
A good commander deck is going to have a great balance of cards. You’re not going to lean too heavily into cramming high-power creatures into your deck, but you’ll find a decent amount of instants, artifacts, enchantments and sorceries. Of course, though, you’re going to need to choose spells that directly compliment your commander – so that’s the main focus.
What is the perfect Commander deck ratio?
You’re going to want to run with anywhere between 34 – 40 lands. After that, you’re going to want an even split of creatures and non-creature permanents. However, if you’re planning to incorporate multiple colours into your deck – you might need to tune up the number of lands beyond 40.
