The 10 Best Energy Commanders
Lightning arcs overhead and aether, the magical substance powering everything on this world and allowing for great scientific achievement is pumped across the plane of Kaladesh. Elsewhere, across the Blind Eternities, a goblin on Ravnica charges through a lightning storm, conducting energy as he charges to meet his foes. And even further away, on some destroyed near-future Earth, an artificer from the Brotherhood of Steel uses their energy tools to repair a set of power armor.
Energy is one of the more unique mechanics in Magic. It's a newer resource accumulated and stored in a completely different way from any other resource, and it's only consumed when another permanent or spell instructs you to do so.
For years, this mechanic has been ignored in Commander, neutered as it was by virtue of not having any legendary creatures that mention it. But now, a series of new commanders from Fallout and other sets could set the stage for a resurgence of energy in Commander. Which legends should we keep an eye on? Let's find out!
What Are Energy Commanders?
Energy counters were introduced in the Kaladesh block, and featured heavily in the eponymous set and its follow-up, Aether Revolt. They received a one-off reference in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, an MTGA-only set. Modern Horizons 3 and the Fallout Commander decks both showcased the return of energy counters and designed them around the Modern and Commander formats, respectively.
Energy counters are placed on players, but have no inherent rules of their own. Instead, other spells either generate or allow you to spend energy counters for various effects. Amped Raptor, for example, generates two energy when it enters, and it then lets you spend energy counters instead of mana to cast spells exiled from the top of your library. If you've built up a significant amount of energy before casting the raptor, you'll have quite a lot of "free" mana to use on that forthcoming spell.
For the sake of this list, "Energy Counter Commanders" will mean any Commander-legal legendary creature that mentions energy counters or synergizes well with them. Only five legendary creatures have been printed with a direct mention of energy counters, so to fill the list we've rolled in a few proliferate-based commanders as well as a couple surprises.
HM: Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
I can't keep talking about Atraxa all the time, and I'm definitely tired of scoring her so high on all my lists. Let's get one thing straight: Atraxa is a good commander. She's the four best colors in the game, has a keyword soup of valuable abilities, and proliferates for free at the end of our turn. That's a ton of value stuffed into a four-mana 4/4. You can run Atraxa at the helm of your energy deck no problem, or at the head of your poison deck, or +1/+1 counters deck, or Witch-Eye good stuff, or...
You get it. Let's move on to some actually interesting choices.
#10. The Motherlode, Excavator
The Motherlode, Excavator is really hindered by its color identity. Sure, there are still 28 red energy cards and another 22 colorless ones you can include in a Motherlode deck, but it just won't hit the same as an energy deck with access to Bristling Hydra or Razorfield Ripper. Besides that, its triggered effect to destroy nonbasic lands is expensive (sucking up four energy counters), and it really doesn't hurt an opponent much.
#9. Liberty Prime, Recharged
Liberty Prime, Recharged is an 8/8 with vigilance, trample, and haste. For six mana, that's a steal for over a third of a commander-damage kill. However, every attack or block costs Liberty Prime two energy counters. Otherwise, it's sacrificed. It can charge itself up by sacrificing artifacts, and you draw a card in the process.
This energy commander is a little harder to build around. Without a built-in way to passively generate energy counters, Liberty Prime, Recharged needs to focus on other sources for generation if we want to attack with it as often as possible.
Jeskai does give us access to a number of untap effects, so even a simple Freed from the Real on Liberty Prime would help mitigate its costly energy generation effect, but we were probably planning to do that anyways in Dr. Madison Li, and she'll just do it better. Liberty Prime, Recharged isn't a bad card, it just fits better in the 99 rather than the command zone.
#8. Riku of Two Reflections
In a similar vein to Yarok, the Desecrated, Riku of Two Reflections takes the usually slow build-up of energy counter generation and kicks it into overdrive by doubling up on the spells we use to generate and spend those counters. Besides powerful creatures like Aetherwind Basker and Overclocked Electromancer, doubling up on instants and sorceries, like Confiscation Coup and Wheel of Potential, can turn some middling advantage generators into game-shifting haymakers. Really, the only thing holding Riku back is its additional cost to copy those creatures and spells.
#7. Agent Frank Horrigan
Agent Frank Horrigan's color identity makes a fun restriction when building around energy counters. Many of the best new energy cards are focused in white, blue, and red, meaning Agent Frank's decklist will lean more heavily on Kaladesh's valuable energy creatures, like Demon of Dark Schemes and Bristling Hydra.
What's cool about Agent Frank is he kind of runs himself. Once he's on the field and attacking every turn, he's his own threatening 8/6 trampler. The double proliferate trigger is just icing on our Aethercake.
#6. Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion
Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion is one of the best ways to increase the number of energy counters you generate per source. Being in mono-white means she'll at most be a two-color deck with a background, but there are a ton of different directions you can go with Lae'zel and still play an energy-focused game. Guild Artisan and Tavern Brawler can help us fly through our deck and cast more of our energy spells, while Shameless Charlatan can change Lae'zel into a copy of our Salvation Colossus.
#5. Cayth, Famed Mechanist
Cayth, Famed Mechanist may seem like the odd one out in this list, but she's deceptively useful in an energy-based Commander deck. Jeskai gives her access to all of the best energy counter spells we've grown accustomed to, and her proliferation ability is great for ticking up the number of energy counters we have at any given time. Granting all of our nontoken creatures fabricate increases the value of all those ETB-based energy generators, too, making them just a tad bit stronger or helping us build up a board of chump blockers.
#4. Yarok, the Desecrated
Now, here's an interesting pick. Many energy-generating permanents do so when they enter the battlefield, and the built-in Panharmonicon of Yarok, the Desecrated gasses up our energy machine to new levels of productivity. Built around the typical blink deck, energy cards like Architect of the Untamed and Aethertide Whale become perfect energy generators. With a similar set of energy payoffs, like Gonti's Aether Heart, Yarok, the Desecrated can be a punishingly fast energy deck.
#3. Rex, Cyber-Hound
I've never been much for commanders that rely on your opponents running valuable creatures. I just have too many friends that suck at this game. That said, Rex, Cyber-Hound could be just the energy commander for you if you've got friends running Experiment Kraj or Zirda, the Dawnwaker deck.
Rex, Cyber-Hound can exile your own creatures, too, which is a much more sound strategy. We can quickly fill our graveyard with any of blue's looting spells, like Ideas Unbound and Frantic Search, then make Rex unblockable with white's protection spells and blue's unblockable cantrips.
Some great targets for Rex, Cyber-Hound brain-counter include Arcanis the Omnipotent, Horseshoe Crab, Pili-Pala, and Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus.
#2. Dr. Madison Li
Jeskai-aligned Dr. Madison Li hails from the Fallout Commander decks. Her passive ability is one of the best ways to consistently generate energy, even from spells that don't normally generate any. Access to a Gonti's Aether Heart in the command zone means an artifact deck built around Dr. Madison Li and some cheap artifacts can look to generate three or more energy counters each turn.
While Dr. Madison Li's own outlets for energy counters aren't stunning, but they're definitely useful. Getting to five energy counters and returning a Darksteel Forge from your graveyard for free is easy with a ton of cheerios in the deck. Or, pay just one energy and make that Wurmcoil Engine an immediate threat.
#1. Satya, Aetherflux Genius
Modern Horizons 3's Commander precons featured one more energy commander that I'm very excited about. Satya, Aetherflux Genius lets us Splinter Twin in a token of a nontoken creature you control. We lose that token at the end of the turn unless we can pay an amount of energy equal to its mana cost. Luckily, Satya starts us on our way with two energy whenever he attacks.
I like Satya for two reasons. First, he's a commander with an attack trigger that'll most likely survive combat. Menace, haste, and five toughness will do that. Second, his token-generating ability pairs great with the large number of energy-generating creatures that do it on ETB. We can usually come out in the positive on an average Satya turn, banking enough energy to double up on something really nasty like a Combustible Gearhulk.
Best Energy Commander Payoffs
Modern Horizons 3 and the Fallout Commander decks injected some much-needed gas into the energy counter world, but those cards aren't the only great payoffs for our Aetheric decks.
Two artifacts specifically see a lot of play in energy decks. Gonti's Aether Heart has a consistent source of energy counters from any artifacts we play, and has probably the best outlet for our energy: an extra turn.
Aetherworks Marvel is another must-have in an energy deck. Digging six-deep into the top of your library for a spell to cast for free is just nuts, especially when we can do it regularly each turn with our huge amount of energy generators.
Finally, MH3's new Izzet Generatorium is the missing uncommon that energy decks have been waiting for. This cheap artifact boosts each instance of energy creation by one, which ends up being a substantial amount in the long run. Plus, it has an outlet to draw a card whenever we spend that energy; a common enough occurrence in our energy deck.
Wrap Up
Did you know that the Energy Counter Reserve tokens were accidentally omitted from the Kaladesh booster packs? They show up in the Aether Revolt ones, but for a few months there nobody had a specially labeled token to denote their current energy count.
Energy counters have always occupied an interesting space in Magic design. As a completely new resource in a Standard-legal set, it's understandable that R&D didn't want to go too hard and print a ton of synergy and overpowered cards. With Modern Horizons 3, we're finally starting to see some playable energy archetypes emerge across various formats.
What are your favorite energy spells? Which background works best for a Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion energy deck? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
