The 7 Most Unstoppable Commanders (And Their Decks)

These commanders are SUPER tough to stop, and we're showing you what their decks look like!
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[@saintkupo7164]

Had a friend playing a Nissa planeswalker as commander. Another person said "Oh, you have Ghalta in there, you should make him your commander, your deck would do much better." *friend listens and does nothing else to alter deck.* The person "OMFG YOUR DECK IS BROKEN STOP PLAYING IT ASDFASDFASDFASDF."

[@NitpickingNerds]

Unstoppable! 😂

[@doomofthedestiny8065]

Used to have a ghalta deck but it was too simple even for green stompy... Edit: the real MVPs for that deck before I parted it out were the multiple cards that generated +1/+1 counters whenever anyone casted or casted green spells. And there were plenty of ways to dump those counters on Ghalta if it isn't one of the ones with a built in way.

[@saintkupo7164]

@@doomofthedestiny8065 Old One Eye Trample Tribal. Try it today!

[@zacharybecker8228]

it do be hard to beat mono green stompy sometimes

[@doomofthedestiny8065]

@zacharybecker8228 mono green is deceptively good at recovery and going both voltron and wide in the same board state. So you can usually kill two players in one shot if not all three. And that gives a small window for the last player to avenge the fallen (unless you do something truly evil like Vitalize, a one mana spell to untap all your creatures.)

[@nicholasschmelzer9943]

The friend who got me into Commander bought the Ur-Dragon precon when it was $40. For fun, I looked up on Amazon the price for that precon today. $500. Wild times we live in.

[@guillaumeblaineau9264]

We need more simple videos like this! Love the fact that you talk about old commanders too from a 2023 perspective.

[@seanmaertens8483]

Surprised Sauron made the cut over Yuriko and Edgar Markov. Great list overall.

[@douglasluiz2225]

Oh they are great but they are great in specificaly commanders,but in their decks? Awfull😅

[@altromonte15]

Yuriko is one of the least interactable commanders there are, you don't want to kill her because that just helps her I'm surprised she wasn't #1

[@NateFinch]

I like this kind of video. I already had a ghalta deck because of an offhand comment from the Nerds about how good it wss as a commader, and they're totally right. Unless you boardwipe, it cones right back, and if you have vehicles, it even comes back then.

[@EDZ1LLA]

Nothing more satisfying than having it countered, then just recasting it again immediately for 2G.

[@taa347]

Important to consider with Ringsight that you don't need a legendary creature on the field to use it because the ring tempting you makes a creature legendary

[@vds92]

So glad you've mentioned Liesa, she's amazing. Some cards I run alongside those you've mentioned are: Sheoldred the Apocalypse, Ankh of Mishra, Isolation Cell, Mana Web, Bloodchief Ascension and Wound Reflection. Death by a thousand cuts or better said - taxes and so satisfying to play.

[@drboolin]

I guess people aren't realizing this is for mid-power casual EDH, not high power or cEDH. These decks can be hard to stop for the power level they'd be played at, like who's playing Grist at an 8/9 table? Great video y'all, highly enjoyed

[@keetakitten]

Yeah he's talking about a 4 power level 5 color koala tribal with 0 interaction

[@blues6304]

Grist is played in cedh, either as a commander or in the 99 to generate a fodder for Protean Hulk while being able to removal a creature/walker like narset in a pinch

[@warthog948]

Grist 12 entomb exists to turbo hulk lol

[@seantheelite]

MIA'S LOOK ateeeeee!😎

[@marcoottina654]

I couldn't contain a smile while spotting where the string"coolstuff" were placed (actually, in a very normal location, to be honest). Probably my sense of humor AND my priorities / maturity level needs to be revised a bit Anyway, what does "atee" means?

[@jarrodalbers6127]

I had to rewind cause I missed it the first time 😂😂😂

[@seantheelite]

@@marcoottina654haha “ate” is a term meaning she basically looks amazing! The hair, the look and her overall energy. In this situation, she ate because she killed it!

[@DocHudson420]

@@seantheeliteyall hype up nothing it’s weird

[@seantheelite]

@@DocHudson420 you definitely didn’t eat 🥹. Go do that

[@zachharrell7776]

Gentlemen of culture, we meet again.

[@Shiek200]

I can't believe Muldrotha didn't get a segment here... Between Command Beacon, Kaya's Ghost Form, siren stormtamer and glen elendra, I've gotten my muldrotha deck to the point where people don't even bother removing her anymore. I once replayed her 7 times in a single game, never once did I pay the tax. Now people just save their removal to exile my OTHER key pieces.

[@Deamonic]

In Feather, the Redeemed, I like Zada, Hedron Grinder. Target Zada, with Feather out, and make a copy of the spell targeting Zada for each creature you control. And it goes back to your hand.

[@thatguyintherain3168]

Yeah this comment is making me build feather.

[@natelagrassa9337]

@@thatguyintherain3168yeah me too. Lol. I have 23 decks, 5 of which I just build. So brews to build. 🤣🤣

[@gabrielharvey956]

The thrist for mia in the comments is real , stay strong brothers xD

[@grist836]

Fr it’s insane and cringe

[@DocHudson420]

@@grist836 they gotta be sooo desperate 😂

[@TheLionking0569]

Magic and Squish..... the real companions

[@mastershake42019]

I was on the fence with Mia. But a recent pair of developments has "Tipped" me over the edge. 😅😮

[@mastershake42019]

Also she knows exactly what she is doing. Engagement is a thing

[@andrewroy5677]

Feather is wicked, but there's a green enchantment that says spells can't target creatures - lol, but normally feather kills - my build includes stormkiln artist - so good, cast my hand in response to a wheel.

[@simonchi5372]

I faced Sauron at pre release, it just put the game to a halt the second he hit the table. Felt like actually Sauron on the battlefield, it was cool. Tempted to make it as a commander deck.

[@ddifi66126]

I've been watching this channel for often the past few weeks. Can't really put my finger on why

[@bluepomegranate]

I think my most unstoppable commander is either Anikthea or Josu Vess. Anikthea is amazing at building back from a board wipe because all of my ramp is enchantment based like utopia sprawl and the deck has tons of recursion so nothing stays gone. Josu Vess, on the other hand, is hard to stop because spot removal does very little against him; I mostly care about his etb, and I run so much ramp that I can usually recast him easily, even with the kicker cost. Plus, he has a field of the dead package too to make him extra unstoppable.

[@caseyp5665]

Wow, this was a big beautiful episode. 😮

[@DeeJy33]

yeah those two are great together

[@stigmurder99]

Best nerds episode yet for sure!

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

@@DeeJy33so your mom and daughters together

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

So your kids

[@jovismarshall]

26:30 everyone loves/hates Spore Frog but nobody remembers Kami of False Hope whitch does the same thing at the same cost but is white instead of green

[@Chucklepuffs]

I’m digging these longer vids from the Nerds! Keep ‘em coming! Great content 😁 I need to make a Liesa deck now lol 👀

[@natelagrassa9337]

Yeah I saw her and was like ima swap her for my teysa… just way more potential there then just exiling everyone’s board… it gets old and takes forever to build up.

[@AtlasAdvice254]

Honestly I’m impressed the comments are tame, unexpected but a pleasant surprise

[@diegoperezsommariva2509]

Its crazy that with sauron you can destroy your opponents legendary creature in response and watch their kill spell go to the dumpster along with their morale.

[@TheLastTinMan]

flavour win for that card

[@tharengore7215]

This definitely gives me ideas for new commander deck.

[@Ransungg]

Shadow shelf belongs in the background. Universes beyond has no limits /s

[@NitpickingNerds]

Shadow secret lair incoming

[@jacobbrown9894]

@@NitpickingNerdsplease no. If they ever crossover with Sonic it is actually a threat on my debit card’s life

[@mattcampbell5187]

Slimefoot and Squee feels unstoppable at times. The key is to take away the sac outlet or kill the saproling tokens and leave them stranded in the yard.

[@coryledwitch6492]

I would have mentioned Sunforger for Feather. It’s pretty insane in my Feather deck

[@Beckola44]

These are some really cool cards. I like some of the White / Black cards. Thank you for the video Nitpicking Nerds.

[@TheSureBlock]

You signed my playmat at Commandfest Orlando!

[@NitpickingNerds]

It was great to see everyone, we had a lot of fun!

[@riverswater5688]

Continuously, the best MTG channel ever

[@hermodnitter3902]

It's good for commander. Honorable mention: LSV's new channel, great draft videos.

[@lovetownsend]

Watching this while brewing a Goose Mother deck :)

[@robertoso8796]

my katilda deck reaches that tipping point faster than any of my other decks and my favoritw wincon is halo fountain so once i'm setup NO ONE sees it coming. i make tons of human tokens and can pump them up with katilda. with drumbellower or seedborn muse i can throw three =1 counters by the time my turn comes around so people assume i'm gonna attack with a dozen 6/6 humans and i can absolutely dome people but it's easier to play grand abolisher then halo fountain and just tap my humans pay to activate and win on the spot if i get my soul warden/attendant on early and gain life i can just squall line/hurricane, especially with a leyline of abundance + vitalize/to arms!

[@GrimmTutelage]

I personally hate the ban update today except Nadu. But to each their own. My pod already plays no banlist and has been having fun for years. My collection just took a hard liver shot though. That idocracy line at the end got me 😂 👌

[@carlosparra3672]

Mia looks fire haha She kept me watching the video Great content as always !

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

So your kids

[@zonimi]

The new unstoppable commander that simply wrecks every game they join? Anikthea, Hand of Erebos. It's gotten to the point of people just not wanting to sit across from her at my local game store.

[@ghost_tickler1575]

Soooo glad I built her.

[@mikeyp266]

The look on people's faces when they see her make three blind mice a token enchantment, that starts snowballing copies of itself is awesome

[@keetakitten]

Is your LGS full of toxic casuals that play 5 color koala tribal with zero interaction

[@zonimi]

@@keetakitten My LGS is full of people who's main goal is to have fun and be social (for the most part). Sometimes a new person will show up with a pub-stompy deck, and the next week will usually come back with something reasonable. Recently a few Anikthea decks have been making the rounds and we are coming to realize how lopsided the deck really is.

[@keetakitten]

@@zonimi so y'all play to fill up board states and run 0 removal so everyone can sit there with stalled board states? Anikthea is ok in a 5 power level situation, calling Anikthea pub-stomp is really whack to me

[@JushakF]

All I really got from this video is that I NEED to buy Hylda of the Icy Crown and make a deck for her. Easy to make it thematic since there's a ton of ice-themed stuff out there like Icy Manipulator that does exactly what this deck wants and needs.

[@tildukeball]

Funny that Feather follows Liesa in this list considering how the former punishes the latter. Great episode.

[@kyleharrison713]

Ghalta: I've had this commander for so long, its good to see others play it and make it wreck everything lol.

[@fuzsyskunk4252]

Good episode, but damn those hair readjustment cuts were not very subtle 😅

[@jasa_TheRealOne]

Dimir Signet is great...but Relic of Sauron is next level with Sauron

[@tomdoetsch8603]

Thoughts on Treebeard? The Ward 2 is great and there are tons of low cost instants that gain a lot of life. Voltron Treebeard is fast.

[@SnowFoxWithAGasMask]

Gyrson starn is a menace, and if you play spellslinger your pingers become brutal, just one pinger hitting your opponent’s for 3 is obnoxiously strong.

[@thekwjiboo]

Prossh fits into a unique category, similar to the rest of the commanders here. If you kill him, sure, they have to pay 2 more, but you're just causing an ever larger pile of kobolds.

[@ilove2pillage]

Really, Ghalta? Where is Korvold.

[@QuimFreecss]

Sauron is such an evil deck but I love to play it like an all lord of the rings evil creatures theme. See I also play LotR warhammer and the know me as the Witch Kim of Barna, so of course I'm playing him and a Lord of the Nazgul Ringwraiths deck!

[@RandomDumGuy]

The friend who got me into mtg plays ur-dragon, he has yet to beat a random Ashling deck I made (tbf I am considering changing deck since Ashling does tend to finish games a bit too quickly), morale of the story, some commanders can easily be stopped by dropping 25 nukes turn 4

[@bacurana]

My favourite tech for stranding commanders in the battlefield is mystic reflection on a manland

[@Dtoszi]

I prefer Tiamat over Ur Dragon. The 1-mana discount is nice, but you already ramp hard in dragons and I much prefer the 5 (FIVE) card tutor.

[@Dtoszi]

@@rawritstayl0r866 I know, but I still love beeg dragons :p Search into Miirym, Lathlis, and Ganax then 2 other tech dragons.

[@klaiken989]

​@@rawritstayl0r866He/she isn't talking about what is boring or not. They are saying in terms of power and consistency. Tiamat is the better commander over Ur-Dragon

[@JushakF]

Yeah, Tiamat is consistent and boring. I have a Tiamat deck in my usual playgroup and it's the deck I like the least from that player. I played a game with it myself at one point and was flabbergasted by how few actually good dragons it had when I cast Tiamat, because literally every game the guy plays with it, it does the same thing with the same handful of dragons. Power level wise I guess you can make pretty powerful deck with her, but as commander deck I find her to be a failure. Doing the exact same thing every game is literally the antithesis of the format.

[@GuusLot]

Before watching the video I am thinking of Yuriko

[@markesewilliams240]

Another commander that can go on this list is orvar the all form, because they’re running all these bad spells the he makes good and so in response they just target the thing you try to remove and make a new one and if you remove orvar they have no issues recasting it bc they made plenty of lands with orvar too

[@IzzRei]

It was so powerful, it’s in our cube and I won A GAME with it!!” 😂🤟

[@jacobbrown9894]

Not even the commander of that section but MAN Soul’s Attendant/Soul Warden/Essence Warden are so good. I run Soul Warden in my Adeline and Essence Warden in my Selvala (monoG). They’re not even life based decks so it’s just to keep me alive but Jesus do they keep me up. And it’s so fun going “I gain a life” when opponents play creatures

[@hobez64]

I love Grist in Karador because my Karador build is also an Umori companion brew, and Grist doesn't break the companion restriction. So cool that it does that

[@NitpickingNerds]

Nice! Grist is just amazing all around 🙌🏻

[@EPICJ0HN]

With amass an orc I thought u could only make 1 army at a time unless you had changelings. Instead of making a 2/2 orc army can I make 2 1/1s?

[@alexabney7913]

I’ve been wondering about that too.

[@alexabney7913]

Orc armies count as goblins??

[@EPICJ0HN]

@@alexabney7913 no orcs are separate but Saruman the white hand has ward for both

[@marcwilliams1942]

there are a couple of reasons I love this episode

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

Same as your kids

[@sinisterflex0692]

Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow and Narset, Enlightened master drive me nuts in our group

[@jurgenhanewald673]

I like the playtest, I just think it needs some homebrews. Pub variant as a basic facility, some use for the basic ones (bedroom needed for long rest, kitchen makes better rests etc) I really wanna give my players this feeling of "guys, if we aquire x this allows us to build y wich gives us z" this has so much Potential with just a few changes and could be really fun

[@Sweetguy1821]

Coolstuff wont let me stack discounts 😢, right now I get 12.5% off singles and it wont let me get the extra 5%

[@TheLeftistOwl]

I'm surprised Henzie wasn't on here considering the more you kill him, the more powerful he becomes

[@ryanc4185]

HOLY mia is BUSSIN

[@stigmurder99]

😂😂😂😂

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

Same as your kids

[@6laccdemarco]

I like how every video about the Ur dragon I hear is “you don’t even have to play him” my Ur list is all about playing commander and getting broken permanents like Omniscience on the board.

[@thecanadian5428]

What about Edgar Markov, Beantown bullies, neckusar

[@Dark563]

Mia your hair looks amazing! Anyways, great video! A friend of mine even built the galta deck you guys recommended and it has been a blast!

[@echoesvayne9790]

yeah... i put all my fast mana into my sauron deck.. that is the only part that is optimized... also threw in my only copy of dockside... which i know you guys hate... i took my ringsight out though to keep the deck casual still... i just want sauron on the board... i have only one counterspell commit/memory

[@echoesvayne9790]

sauron.. 9 nazgul... I'm still tweaking the deck, but I am thinking I might test nazgul tribal and play alll the mimics... I do have to thank you for your cards we would ban list... I couldn't think of expropriate... I wanted a small suite of outnof nowhere wins like insurrection, breach the multiverse, and I couldn't think of the right name for it... I legit don't feel bad about them in Sauron because... it's sauron... and it's thematic to win out of nowhere (see Numenor 😂).... like the deck is... ramp... sauron.... durdle.... hope to get an epic spell to maybe insta win... sounds on point for him in LotR... is the necromancer really sauron...... let's take our time finding out.... O NO!!!

[@shawnpanzegraf5642]

I just realized Railway Brawler is going to come out of Plot-Exile just ahead of Ghalta shaking off his most recent bout of summoning sickness in the worst-case-scenario of no available Haste, to give the big Dino 12 +1/+1s and facilitate the 1-hit Commander K.O.

[@writingresearch]

All I'm seeing is someone hasn't ever played against Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. With the crazy colorless ramp you can usually get him out by turn 4. He exiles two permanents on cast. (this can include lands which can cripple a player early) He is indestructible so you have to exile him or pacify. Even if you counter his cast, the exile still happens since it's a cast trigger. When he attacks you have to exile 20, whether he hits you or not. I hate playing against him, he's hard to beat.

[@matthewstooksbury]

As someone who plays Ur-Dragon and gets stopped very frequently I don't think its unstoppable, just strong.

[@MasonSheffield]

Same 😞. Counter spell literally stops it in its tracks.

[@sabomusicllc8165]

Same lol it always get targeted

[@tharengore7215]

My Angel tends to counter Ur-Dragon fairly well also.

[@psychozen7169]

Void rend is the best spell to kill ward. I run it in every deck I can and I also run more board wipes now because of ward. I think single removal or spot removal is just garbage. I think wotc did this because of some other channel that was saying spot removal better than board wipes. Only want to remove threats that target you, thus ward! Board wipes greater than spot removal. Use to run 5 to 7 wipes with 10 or so spot now I runs 2 to 5 spot 10 plus wipes!

[@kamilwhaley-kalaora4839]

I have a Liesa deck and villis is absolutely insane in it. Once he resolves he just constantly gives you cards for the rest of the game as he essentially just turns liesas ability into “whenever you cast a spell, lose 2 life and draw 2 cards”. Plus rug of smothering is another super oppressive piece as it’s basically a reverse aetherflux.

[@anthonymoreno6156]

Who is villis?

[@natelagrassa9337]

@@anthonymoreno6156 vilis, broker of blood. Yes that is insane. Throw him in the grave in the first couple turns… reanimate him a turn after you cast your commander… watch the heads roll! 🤣🤣

[@serpentsilver6323]

My unstoppable commander is Marath, Will of the Wild. You want to kill it sure NP in response I'll make some token/ +1/+1 counter and/or do some damage to something and recast and get an even bigger Marath in a turn or 2. All I need is mana, aka Cryptic Trilobite, Ashnod's Altar, Phyrexian Altar, and so many cards can cause Marath to go infinite token,+1/+1, damage. 😂

[@wolfiebones5414]

Suprised not to see yuriko

[@marcoottina654]

Liesa is nice with Famished Paladin + Resplendent mentor, which goes infinite in gaining life, and Firja's Retribution + Sigarda's SUmmon & Archangel of Thune / Maskwood Nexus + lots of token generation in order to clean the board (Thrull Parasite helps keeping the Saga alive and extorts, like Pontiff of BLight)

[@Big-AL6789]

I built a Karador deck for my budget league. When it pops off, it feels great.

[@NitpickingNerds]

What's the deck's budget?

[@patricklynch4074]

The only decks in this video im not building or planning to build are karador (i play muldrotha already) and derevi This vid has so many tips for my decks XD

[@CDShap]

I built an Oloro deck with every extort card I could, the life gain was insane.

[@MrShrapnelDK]

So i do have have birds tribal Derevi deck, and one nasty thing i found was playing Dismiss into Dreams and suddenly making Derevi into a removal engine. Its so mean but man is it effective.

[@thatmtgnerd]

For me #1 is and probably always will be korvold. I have stopped playing him more than once each week. He generates so much value, Is so easy to protect and half the time and the deck Is absurdly consistent with all the tutors green and black have.

[@matthewanderson3261]

Bummed my boy Norin didn't make the cut.

[@cjacobpitt]

They probably mentioned him and he exiled himself in response

[@matthewanderson3261]

@@cjacobpitt 😂

[@kniveJustice]

Chandra's Ignition for Sauron is also great

[@jangolangthespy]

Ghalta player here, look at the card "mold adder"

[@stigmurder99]

👀 dude that is sweet

[@arkzgrizz]

Finally it’s my birthday video 😁

[@NitpickingNerds]

Happy birthday!

[@nzephier]

I'd add momir vig to this list. I played it the other night at my LGS. It got killed twice, and I still won.

[@Buchaus]

Day 55 of guessing the Moxfield ad at 16:44. Clearly the most OP ad time guess

[@Myagic]

Inferno the star mounts deserved a mention imo

[@zr2guzman749]

She has some weights

[@samreecewellsable]

yooooo where did they come from

[@mws12345]

I just realized right now that I love you guys

[@foilmajestic]

I have watched this video a few times. Great content. Thanks!

[@doomofthedestiny8065]

For that life drain stacking effect (which is itself a fine name) I used to have a yugioh deck I called princess drain that worked similarly by using a bunch of princess cards to burn and gain life. Though I don't see "Princess Drain" catching on as a term, the idea amuses me.

[@schwertunddonner3953]

With princess pikeru and kuran? I like that idea but sadly there is not much support for them I belive

[@doomofthedestiny8065]

@@schwertunddonner3953 also fire princess and a few other spells and traps that do regular intervals of either damaging my opponent or gaining me life. And I built that deck before any of their support cards had been printed. Also used to use this trap card, think it was wall of light or revealing light, spend life monsters can't attack you unless they're bigger than that. And a trio of spear cretins that could indefinitely fetch each other out of the graveyard. There were at the time, less than a dozen ways to deal with any of it, but now, none of it is the least bit playable.

[@derekwilliamson2118]

17:52 will be the moxfield add

[@NitpickingNerds]

Maybe it will!

[@jrrtokens5407]

Grist is my go-to. Things get chaotic quick. Insect hivemind for the win. Narratively cool and horrifying.

[@HutchTheWolf]

1st Deck - 1:05 2nd Deck- 7:00 3rd Deck - 12:40 4th Deck - 18:13 5th Deck - 23:20 6th Deck - 29:00 7th Deck - 35:08

[@MasonSheffield]

The real MVP

[@stigmurder99]

Nice.

[@alicesaxon601]

Yeah i play sauron, nobody ever targets him. That ward is usually too high a cost for people to pay. And basically always having the option to draw 4 has saved my ass in numerous games.

[@peremos7781]

9:43 Miirym my favorite dragon commander

[@dougwithlaserz5298]

Hoped to see Dragonlord Dromoka

[@mitchellmiller5064]

Goblin bombardment is the best sac outlet that exists.

[@mikahthefett]

Dem mana barbs 😍🤤👌 subscribed 😎

[@UraniumChef]

Loved the video!

[@nwoizaakgoldmann4519]

When are you two going to play with the guys from the Command Zone?

[@GeneralRubenCaboose]

How can he come back for 2 mana every time ? You still HAVE to pay the commander tax on top of normal casting costs whenever he dies

[@michaelstone7467]

I have to thow out chiss-gorea the forge tyrant affinity to artifacts she just never stays dead pluse she drops more on an attack trigger it gets dumb fast