7 best MTG Commanders from Modern Horizons 3

MTG Modern Horizons 3 is coming soon, so it’s time to look at the best Commanders you can crack in a pack. Of course, this is a subjective list, and everyone values different things in their Commanders. That’s perfectly fine. I picked this crop of legendary characters based on personal feelings, overall usefulness/utility of the cards themselves, and a bit of extra research to see what people are excited about.

At the end of the day, it was my choice to put each and every one of these MTG Modern Horizons 3 Commanders on the list. This isn’t the end-all, be-all, because there are simply way more legendary creatures in the set than this. However, all of these creatures have something to offer players.

Note: This article is subjective and solely based on the author's opinion.

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Which Commanders are the best in MTG Modern Horizons 3?

1) Ulamog, the Defiler

Ulamog, the Defiler puts decks away with ease (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

I was honestly torn between Emrakul, the World Anew and Ulamog, the Defiler for the list of best MTG Modern Horizons 3 Commanders. Both cards are remarkable, but there’s something special about making a player exile half of their deck that speaks to me; probably in some kind of horrifying, cosmic horror, Cthulu-esque language. Sure, it’s a 7/7 for 10, but look at its abilities!

It has Ward - Sacrifice two permanents and comes into play with X +1/+1 counters, where X is the highest cost card among all permanents in exile. Then, on top of that, he’s got Annihilator X, where X is the amount of +1/+1 counters on him. Just run something that duplicates them, and watch opponents melt.

For those that don’t know, Annihilator is a keyword in MTG Modern Horizons 3 that, as this creature attacks, the target has to sacrifice a number of permanents equal to the Annihilator number. You could easily force a player to remove their entire board. Bask in the glow of the Eldrazi.

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2) Arna Kennerud, Skycaptain

This Commander is going to be Tron's best friend (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Arna Kennerud, Skycaptain is every token deck's dream and everyone else’s nightmare. This MTG Modern Horizons 3 Commander is Flying, Lifelink, and Ward - Discard a card. They have decent stats (4/4), but that extra ability is just so terrifying. Whenever a modified creature you control attacks (equipped, enchanted, given some kind of counter), double the number of each kind of counter on it.

Then, for each non-token permanent attached to it, create a token that’s a copy of that permanent attached to that creature. That means any equipment card. Imagine free copies of the “Swords of” set - or even better, the Colossus Hammer! Imagine giving an unblocked creature a total of minimum +20/+20! Absolute insanity.

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3) Sorin, of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate

Want to one-shot a player just by gaining life? It's not as hard as it sounds (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Even if you don’t transform Sorin, of House Markov deliberately (by only gaining 1 or 2 life a turn), he’s got plenty of value. Extort is a great ability, after all. However, he does shine as a planeswalker, and as your Commander in MTG Modern Horizons 3, he can just keep coming back as often as he likes.

However, his planeswalker form, Sorin, Ravenous Neonate has Extort too. So, anytime you cast a spell, you can pay B/W and make every opponent lose 1 life, and you gain that much. He makes Food Tokens, which is great, sure.

However, you can, in theory, one-shot players using his -1. It makes him deal damage equal to the amount of life you gained this turn to any target. You could easily put him in a life gain deck, never attack, and just one-shot people again and again.

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4) Ashling, Flame Dancer

You can always use more Red mana (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

What’s better than having lots of mana in Commander game? Having a Commander that prevents your unspent mana from going away! MTG Modern Horizons’s Ashling, Flame Dancer brings back one of my favorite lines “You don’t lose unspent red mana as steps and phases end.”

She also has an ability that whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery, discard a card and then draw a card. If you do it twice in a turn, it deals 2 damage to each opponent and creature they control. If you do it a third time, you gain RRRR in your mana pool.

For a red spell deck, this card is going to get out of control fast. Even if not a commander, it’d be amazing in the Blue/Red MTG Modern Horizons precon.

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5) Nadu, Winged Wisdom

Mana ramp is a popular, fun thing in Simic that doesn't frustrate players ever - honest (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Some players just want to mana ramp forever, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nadu, Winged Wisdom is a little less than “forever,” but in a format where you have zero-cost equipment artifacts (Lightning Greaves), you can easily start triggering this two times a turn, every turn.

Creatures you control have “Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, reveal the top card of your library. If it’s a land card, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, put it into your hand. This ability triggers only twice each turn.”

You can also use buffs on your creatures during your opponent's turn, and it’s important to note the wording of that card. Those lands don’t come into play tapped (unless the card forces it to, I Imagine). Simic decks are absolutely going to love the mana ramp Nadu brings, thanks to MTG Modern Horizons 3 Commander cards.

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6) Kaalia of the Vast

Have doom, will travel (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Kaalia of the Vast is one of my all-time favorite MTG legendaries, and I’m so glad she got a reprint in Modern Horizons 3. A nice, simple, powerful card, Kaalia of the Vast is a 2/2 for 4 with Flying. She’s all about getting your biggest, beefiest, meanest creatures into play for 0 mana. Since she’s White, Red, and Black, she synergizes well with a lot of cards.

Specifically, whenever she attacks an opponent, you can put an Angel, Demon, or Dragon card from your hand onto the battlefield, tapped and attacking that opponent. There are just so many cards that work well with this, like the leaked, but real Broodmate Tyrant. When it comes into play, it also creates a 5/5 red Dragon creature token with Flying. The possibilities of huge attacking turns are endless with Kaalia.

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7) Eladamri, Korvecdal

Why not use him to play the popular MTG creature Craterhoof Behemoth for free? (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Eladamri, Korvecdal, is a new iteration of a classic Elf from the old days of Magic: The Gathering. This version, found in MTG Modern Horizons 3 promises to be one of the best Commanders in the set. It’s a 3/3 for 3 (1GG), and it lets you look at the top of your library at any time - and cast creature spells from the top of your library.

It gets better, though—it always does. For 1 green, tapping him and two untapped creatures you control, you can reveal a card from your hand or from the top of your library, and if it’s a creature, put it into play. You can only do it on your turn, but it lets you put the biggest, most ridiculous creatures into play easily, and this is Green. That’s what they do best.

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MTG Modern Horizons 3 launches on June 14, 2024, and comes with a wide variety of overwhelmingly powerful cards. Designed for Modern/Eternal formats, it’s a set chock-full of amazing cards.