How Fun Are The Foundation Commanders?
Niv-Mizzet, Visionary | Illustrated by Dan Murayama Scott
Hurska Sweet-Tooth| Illustrated by GOSSAN
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar | Illustrated by Leonardo Santanna
Neerdiv, Devious Diver | llustrated by Yuchi Yuki
Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate | Illustrated by Ekaterina Burmak
Hey, nerds! With the release of Foundations and Jumpstart 2025, we're introduced to 39 new commanders, and while many people might ask which of these is the most powerful, I like to ask how fun they are.
Of course, each person's definition of fun differs, so I might rate a commander lower or higher than you; that doesn't mean I think it's bad or that you're bad for playing them, and to be clear, this is for casual EDH only.
The ranks are as follows:
- Want to build: These are commanders I'm interested in building. It could be that their effect is unique or a new take on an old mechanic I like.
- Very Fun: These are close to wanting to build, but not going out of my way to brew a list for myself.
- Fun: This is where most commanders fall. They either have enjoyable play patterns or a unique effect.
- Kinda Fun: This is where more generic commanders go that are kindred lords or tend to become pile decks.
- Not Fun: This is usually reserved for older commanders who are seven-mana vanilla creatures, legendary creatures that aren't meant for EDH, or are too salt-inducing for my taste.
Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate
Alehsa seems like a solid Rakdos reanimator commander. You need to pump their power to reanimate fatties, but you don't need to attack with Alesha. Even attacking with a cheap token triggers Raid. I'd look at cards like Grave Titan, Screeching Scorchbeast, and Gut, True Soul Zealot that make tokens and are great to reanimate.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Anep, Vizier of Hazoret
I'm not sure how interested I am in a 4/2 that doesn't do much if it isn't exerted. You can give them vigilance allowing you to exert them each turn, but the payoff isn't worth the effort in this case. There are more interesting mono-red commanders.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Aphelia, Viper Whisperer
A new Golgari Snake commander, which is cool. There are a surprising number of Snakes or cards that make Snakes in Golgari, such as Ophiomancer and Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons. Plus, their second ability can one-shot people with Wound Reflection or Bloodletter of Aclazotz, so that's fun. However, kindred commanders tend to be pretty straight forward.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Arahbo, the First Fang
Another kindred commander, but with Cats! There are over 100 mono-white Cats, so building this should be easy. They also make a powerful combo commander thanks to Felidar Guardian being a Cat. Whether you want to blink your Cats or play them, I think Arahbo is a solid option.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Braulios of Pheres Band
A straightforward mono-green commander that ramps and draws. Braulios can get big fast but is lacking keywords like trample or vigilance. You could build a "power four or greater matters" deck. Just don't forget to include Greater Good and Traverse the Outlands.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Brigone, Soldier of Meletis
Mono-white card draw in the command zone seems great. Granted, it's only one card a turn without any setup, and you have to remove +1/+1 counters to draw. Thankfully, white doesn't struggle with putting counters on creatures. Much like Braulious, you need to do some setup for it to become a major threat. If you're looking for a generic mono-white commander, though, I think they're a solid option.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Cleon, Merry Champion
Mono-red Heroic could be fun, especially with cards all of the cast from exile cards we have now. I'd want to add Delayed Blast Fireball, Wild-Magic Sorcerer, and Nalfeshnee, plus combat tricks that cantrip, like Expedite, Crimson Wisps, and Might of the Meek, to help draw and exile cards. Finally, storm payoffs, like Haze of Rage, Ignite Memories, and Spreading Insurrection, should help close the game, but with how linear the deck plays, I think it goes into kinda fun.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Cynette, Jelly Drover
If you want to play mono-blue Jellyfish or fliers, you have a commander I guess. Not sure how fun this commander would be, especially at four mana. Not much else to say here.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Dionus, Elvish Archdruid
If you're looking for another Elfball commander, Dionus seems like a great option. Their ability is powerful, it isn't as easy to abuse as some other Elf commanders. They seem like a great commander if you want to power down your Elf deck.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Elenda, Saint of Dusk
Orzhov life gain is a tried-and-true strategy, and Elenda doesn't wow me as a life gain commander. Yes, they can get massive if you have enough life, but just being a big creature doesn't always win you the game, and they don't grow as the game progresses, only when you have 50 or more life. I think they would be great in the 99 of decks.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder
Evereth is a mix between a traditional sacrifice deck and a Treasure deck. You can sacrifice anything at sorcery speed, but if you sacrifice a Treasure, they get lifelink. Yes, sorcery-speed sacrifice is worse than instant speed, but Evereth also has this neat ability that can one-shot the table with Tainted Strike because they deal damage on death. I've wanted to build a Rakdos sacrifice commander, and Evereth seems like a solid choice.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Fumulus, the Infestation
I love when Wizards makes a commander that cares about random creature types. Did they have to make Fumeulus care about Leeches or Slugs? Not at all. But now I get to scryfall search to see how many mono-black Slugs there are. The answer is four by the way. This commander is pretty straightforward, but I think mono-black creepy crawlers could be fun to brew and play.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
General Kreat, the Boltbringer
Much like Dionus for Elves, General Kreat seems like a great Goblin commander if you want to tune down your Krenko, Mob Boss deck. You still get a powerful three-mana commander that acts as an Impact Tremors, but without the stigma of playing Krenko. If you want to build Goblins in Pauper EDH, this is probably one of the better options, but for normal EDH, I'll pass.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Gornog, the Red Reaper
This is easily one of my favorite cards from Jumpstart 2025. I love that this makes your opponents' creatures into Cowards, it just feels incredibly flavorful. Plus, with over 300 red Warriors to choose from, it should be easy to find a mix that works for you. I'd take a pile of all my favorite red Warriors and shuffle 32 of them randomly into a deck each game. Keeps the deck fresh, especially since I don't think you need to be too picky with your Warriors.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Hurska Sweet-Tooth
It's a cute Bear that makes Food and buffs creatures for a turn. Honestly, I think this does a lot better in the 99 of a deck rather than a commander. It doesn't seem too powerful and the ability is rather lackluster.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Ivora, Insatiable Heir
Ivora seems like a fun mono-red madness, Blood, or wheel commander. Unlike some of the other uncommon commanders, they have trample, letting you grow this creature and smash in. Notably, they trigger each time you discard a card, so if you discard four or five cards, you get that many counters. I'd love to play Control of the Court, Burning Inquiry, and Goblin Lore as cheap ways to grow this commander. They also combo nicely with Brallin, Skyshark Rider and Glint-Horn Buccaneer
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Kellan, Planar Trailblazer
I guess Kellan is the new Jace, and much like other Kellan cards, I'm not super high on this one as a commander. It seems like a linear deck that has some cute things it could do, but it requires too much setup. For example, you could use Maskwood Nexus and activate their first ability repeatably to have them exile multiple cards whenever they deal combat damage.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Kiora, the Rising Tide
Spoiler: this is the first not fun commander. Kiora doesn't do anything exciting for a commander, and the token it makes is legendary, so you're not incentivized to attack with her more than once. Plus the token doesn't even have keywords. She's probably great in the 99 of a deck, but I have no desire to build her.
Fun Ranking: Not Fun
Koma, World-Eater
They fixed Koma, Cosmos Serpent, but this is still a Simic stompy commander. Make sure you have a board wipe ready for this thing, otherwise, you're going to be taking a lot of damage. That's all I have to say about Koma.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Kykar, Zephyr Awakener
I like this new take on Kykar. I think it works best as a token deck, weirdly enough. You can blink token-generators, like Blade Splicer, or make your own 1/1 Spirits. You could also build it as Azorius blink, but I think there are more interesting blink commanders out there.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Loot, Exuberant Explorer
It seems Wizards is trying to push this little guy on us as the new mascot, which I'm okay with actually. I find his creepy smile quite endearing. However, as a commander I think loot is quite underwhelming. No doubt they're incredibly powerful, allowing you to cheat big creatures into play and ramp, but there are plenty of commanders that let you do this already.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Nazar, the Velvet Fang
If you want a powerful draw engine in the commander zone, Nazar might just do the trick. I like the concept of feeding counters, and trading them in for cards at the cost of the life you just gained. They do need to attack to get the cards, which can be an issue. Not sure if I'd want to build Vampires or a life gain deck, but drawing cards is almost always fun.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Neerdiv, Devious Diver
Speaking of card draw, Neerdiv seems like a really fun mono-blue graveyard commander. Every time you flashback or jumpstart a spell, you get to grow the fish and draw more cards. Obviously, they are a house in a Muldrotha, the Gravetide, and as they grow, you can either mill yourself or other players. If this commander had black in its color identity, I'd probably rank it lower.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Niv-Mizzet, Visionary
Did you know Niv-Mizzet, Visionary combos with Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Niv-Mizzet, Parun? Well, now you do. I think that's about all I have to say on the card. It's pretty similar to every other Izzet Niv printed as of late. If you love combo, you'll probably rank it higher than me.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Ozox, the Clattering King
Have you ever looked at a commander and knew there was a way to break it you weren't sure how? That's how I feel with Ozox. They just get the gears turning in my head. I'm sure there's some weird combo we can do with this. Okay, if you have Ashnod's Altar and Pitiless Plunderer in play you can combo. I'm sure there are more interesting combos with this Skeleton.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Plagon, Lord of the Beach
Plagon seems like an interesting Azorious commander. Blue has a lot of different Crabs and Turtles with no power, but incredibly high toughness, not to mention that they can also provide a ton of card advantage over the course of the game. Throw in some blink spells and some cheap Crabs and you have yourself a powerful low-to-the-ground deck.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Pol Jamaar, Illusionist
Great in the 99 of kindred decks, but I don't want this as a commander. The biggest downside is it doesn't change its type, so if you have a Bird deck, it's still a Human.
Fun Ranking: Not Fun
Psemilla, Meletian Poet
Much like the other uncommon commanders on this list, I think Psemilla is great if you want power down an enchantress deck. They're still powerful, but not so oppressive as to be a major threat. It feels like a great middle ground.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Qala, Ajani's Pridemate
We finally have Ajani's Pridemate in the command zone and it rocks. I know this will be a straightforward life gain deck, but I can't help but be excited. The Timmy in me loves soul sister decks, and I even did a live deck build of this card a few weeks ago. Excited to build it in paper.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Rev, Tithe Extractor
I've always enjoyed theft decks as a budget option since they scale well with the power level of the table. Rev seems like fun theft deck where you'd load up on unblockable creatures. The biggest challenge with the deck is you need the colors of the spell you steal, so if you steal Overrun, you need . Thankfully she gives Treasures and there are many mana rocks that tap for any color, so it's 100% doable.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Shroofus Sproutsire
Shroofus is the first Saproling creature that isn't a token, and I love it. Yes, it is very much a green stompy commander. However, the idea of swinging in with a bunch of Saprolings, to make more Saprolings is so appealing to me, and this little fella has trample, making it easy to deal damage. I'm also excited to add it to my Bess, Soul Nourisher deck.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Slinza, the Spiked Stampede
A Beast kindred commander that also fights a bunch. Notably, it triggers whenever a creature with power four or greater enters under anyone's control, not just yours. Not to mention the massive cost reduction it provides you for Beasts. If you cast two or three Beasts after resolving Slinza, you end up so far ahead of mana, it should be an easy win, and I never need an excuse to play Thragtusk.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Sutina, Speaker of the Tajuru
Sutina ramps when it enters and lets you return lands to your hand. I wasn't sure how good it was since we don't have surveil lands, but here are some cool lands you can bounce for value: Diamond City, Khalni Garden, Zhalfirin Void, and Llanowar Reborn. I'm not sure if these are worth building around, but it could be fun.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Taeko, the Patient Avalanche
Well, they finally made a Ninja Turtle. The flavor here is solid and gives a powerful but not overwhelming payoff for cheating Ninjas into play, and if you don't want to build Ninjas, Dimir blink is always an option. Just don't forget to include Silver-Fur Master if you build this.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Thurid, Mare of Destiny
I both love and hate this card. It's one of the best commanders if you want to build Horse, Pegasus, and Unicorn deck, but it doesn't leave much to the imagination. Yes, you can copy a Crested Sunmare or Regal Bunnicorn. You could include Maskwood Nexus to copy all your creature spells. Thankfully, I love it more than I hate it since it's unique.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar
The third version of Tinybones, and this one is a lot less salt-incuding, but discard decks are still awful to play against. This isn't nearly as powerful as something like Tergrid, God of Fright, but it won't make you too many table friends.
Fun Ranking: Not Fun
Urdnan, Dromoka Warrior
A straightforward +1/+1 counter commander that gives first strike or double strike. This seems great in the 99 of decks but is incredibly underwhelming as a commander.
Fun Ranking: Not Fun
Zimone, Paradox Sculptor
Another Simic counters commander that also doubles counters. If you want to build Simic superfriends, Zimone is a great option. You can turn your 'walkers into creatures using Luxior, Giada's Gift or turn them into artifacts with Liquimetal Torque and Liquimetal Coating. Or you just do the usual counters nonsense and crush skulls.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord
Zul Ashur seems fun in the 99 of Zombie decks, but I'm not sure how fun they are as a commander. You can cast a single Zombie on your turn, and you don't even get a benefit for doing so. I love this card as a support piece, but not as a commander.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
