Last updated on January 17, 2025 March from the Black Gate | Illustration by Victor Harmatiuk The magic of building a Magic: The Gathering Commander deck is finding the cards that synergize best together to help pave the way to your desired win condition
There was once a deck that played Puresteel Paladin and another similar card (to be seen later on this list) and a bunch of zero-mana equipments like [c]Paradise Mantle[/c] and [c]Kite Shield[/c]
Taking a spell and removing it from relevance for a few turns is a perfect encapsulation of tempo, in that youre not actually dealing with the card outright, and are instead just delaying the inevitable
Several pieces of information from official channels and card designs suggest that changes are underway
Lifegain Liesa, Shroud of Dusk | Illustration by Slawomir Maniak Commander (1) Creature (26) Archangel of Thune Archivist of Oghma Athreos, God of Passage Auriok Champion Burnished Hart Celestine, the Living Saint Dauthi Voidwalker Felidar Sovereign Giada, Font of Hope Gray Merchant of Asphodel Great Unclean One Kambal, Consul of Allocation Lion Sash Rhox Faithmender Righteous Valkyrie Serra's Emissary Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Solemn Simulacrum Sun Titan Sunscorch Regent Suture Priest Tymna the Weaver Valkyrie Harbinger Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose Vizkopa Guildmage Witch of the Moors Instant (7) Crush Contraband Despark Flawless Maneuver Return to Dust Surge of Salvation Swords to Plowshares Szat's Will Sorcery (9) Austere Command Blot Out the Sky Deadly Tempest Debt to the Deathless Farewell Fumigate Revival / Revenge Unburial Rites Yawgmoth's Vile Offering Enchantment (17) Ashes of the Abhorrent Aura of Silence Authority of the Consuls Blind Obedience Cleric Class Dawn of Hope Ethereal Absolution Exquisite Blood Firja's Retribution Ghostly Prison Painful Quandary Phyrexian Arena Polluted Bonds Rampage of the Valkyries Sanguine Bond Smothering Tithe Sphere of Safety Artifact (4) Arcane Signet Norn's Annex Sol Ring Well of Lost Dreams Land (36) Bojuka Bog Cabal Coffers Castle Locthwain Caves of Koilos Command Beacon Command Tower Fabled Passage Fetid Heath Godless Shrine High Market Isolated Chapel Memorial to Folly Myriad Landscape Orzhov Basilica Path of Ancestry Plains x6 Reliquary Tower Seraph Sanctuary Shattered Sanctum Shineshadow Snarl Shizo, Death's Storehouse Silent Clearing Swamp x4 Temple of Silence Temple of the False God Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Vault of Champions Vault of the Archangel As the name suggests, lifegain decks want to increase their life total and trigger lifegain payoffs like Sanguine Bond or Dawn of Hope
