Magic: The Gathering – 20 Best Wizard Cards for Commander

The Wizard creature type is a populous one across the history of Magic: The Gathering. Debuting in Magic’s first set, Alpha, in 1993 with the ever-present and not-quite-omnipotent “Tim” (aka Prodigal Sorcerer), Wizards have since become something of a mascot creature type for the game.

With over 1,000 Wizards now populating Magic, blue dominates the type with over 500 Wizards in their ranks. Green brings up the rear in terms of sorcerous sundries with only 32 Wizard creatures. But all colors feature at least 30 Wizards, so it’s a creature type that you’re sure to run into when playing Commander – but what are the best Wizard cards for the format?

Grab your floppy pointed hats, a wand, a staff, a spellbook, or whatever talisman you need to help hone your spellcasting abilities, and let’s explore the finest Wizard cards for Commander.

Honorable Mentions

Voidmage Prodigy

A revelatory card upon release, as well as Magic Hall of Famer Kai Budde’s Invitational card, this Wizard lord turns all of your Wizards into walking Counterspells (the capitalization is merited, as the activation cost for the ability is double blue. While the game has seemingly passed this card by, as a player who came of age during the release of Onslaught, I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least mention this mighty morphing powerhouse Wizard.

Arcanis the Omnipotent

Speaking of Onslaught and powerful Wizards, how does Omnipotence sound? No, not the one you’re thinking of. This legendary Wizard from Onslaught has a pretty bad rate (five mana for a 3/4 with no evasion), but the bonus is that you can tap it whenever you want to Ancestral Recall yourself. Again, the power level of this card is not ultra-high, but it did retain its rarity upon being reprinted in 2024’s Foundations, and it also makes for a great reanimation target for the first card on our list proper.

Top 20 Wizards for Commander

20. Bloodline Necromancer

While the majority of this list will feature blue creatures, we’ll kick things off with a premier black Wizard. Combining the black element of reanimation with the wizarding element of necromancy, this Vampire Wizard made its debut in the Commander 2017 release.

While five mana is fairly steep for a mere 2/2 flyer, it’s this creature’s triggered ability that really sings, especially when paired with cards that duplicate triggered abilities such as Panharmonicon. Simply gently place a threatening, mana-intensive Wizard or Vamp in your graveyard, then play this nifty little Wiz to get it back – no questions asked. Pairs well with beefy Wizard lords such as Cyclone Summoner and Galecaster Colossus.

19. Talrand, Sky Summoner

This legendary Merfolk Wizard hails from the core set Magic 2013, and it has long been a favorite for spellslinging Commander decks. While this card has become a bit obsolete – cards are far stronger now than they were in 2012 when this card debuted – the rate of producing a 2/2 flying Drake token for every instant or sorcery spell you play is still a nifty payoff for Wizard decks.

Talrand really shines when paired with cards that double (or even triple) your token generation, as well as cards that double up your triggered abilities, of which Wizard decks can happily apply multiples of. Still, this is an iconic card that can still be an important cog in spellslinger Commander deck archetypes. Also, this card simply has a great name, and "Sky Summoner" is an objectively cool title. It also happens to accurately describe this fishy fellow's creature-generating ability. When form meets function, one can't help but smile.

18. Niv-Mizzet, Parun

There have been a total of seven Niv-Mizzet iterations over the years, with four them being Izzet-colored and the other three costing WUBRG (all five colors). This version of Ravnica’s legendary Dragon Wizard hails from 2018’s Guilds of Ravnica. This card is a Commander classic, as it lets you draw a card whenever any player – not just you – plays an instant or sorcery.

This should activate quite frequently for you if you’re the owner of this card, and this beefy Parun makes for an excellent option as your Izzet commander. Beyond that, multiple different variants of Niv-Mizzet go infinite with one another as well as with Curiosity-style effects that draw you cards upon damaging foes.

17. Docent of Perfection / Final Iteration

The only true typal “lord” found here is this five-mana transforming Insect Horror from Eldritch Moon. While the front side of this card is certainly spicy for spellslinger Wizard deck variants, it’s actually the card’s backside (Final Iteration) that delivers a truly impressive boost to power and toughness for your myriad Wizards on the battlefield, including the ones that are produced whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell.

Beyond the Docent’s sheer power, this is a singularly flavorful card that directly references – and even features – a renowned card from a prior related set. Delver of Secrets remains a favorite archetype in the high-powered Legacy format, and its flipside, Insectile Aberration, is shown here as the upgraded Docent, and then, ultimately, the Final Iteration, completing the Delver’s transformation from devious Wizard to all-consuming Insect god.

16. Step Through

While not a Wizard creature, this five-mana sorcery features a spicy little activated ability that is perfectly suited to Wizard-focused Commander decks. Sometimes, there’s a specific Wizard you’re looking for, and you simply haven’t been able to find it through the various card-drawing mechanisms you have in place throughout your well-brewed Wizard deck. Enter Step Through’s wizardcycling ability.

Pitching this card from your hand and paying two mana to nab any Wizard you want from your library is tremendous utility, and keeping this card in hand for special occasions can sometimes spell the difference between utter defeat and clean victory. Furthermore, it also works as an emergency double bounce spell as a last resort, but you’d definitely prefer to use it as a two-mana tutor spell.

15. Goblin Electromancer

A staple Goblin Wizard in Wizard decks and spells-matter decks of all stripes is this Izzet card that originally released in 2012 as part of the Return to Ravnica set. While it might not be the most overpowered card in the history of Magic, the ability to simply lower the cost of all of your instant and sorcery spells by one colorless mana is often enough to transform Wizard decks from plodding, finicky piles to well-oiled machines.

Wizard decks are often focused on reaching a critical mass of spellcasting, and even if they’re not, the ability to lower the cost of counterspells, bounce spells, or other more control-oriented plays makes this two-mana Wizard a jack-of-all-trades that fits neatly into almost any deck that features its colors.

14. Flame of Anor

Introduced in Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings from 2023, this card represents one of Gandalf’s finest moments: his defeat of the Balrog after the Fellowship traipsed through the Mines of Moria. Seeing as Gandalf is among the most powerful and iconic Wizards throughout pop culture history, it’s no surprise to see one of his signature moments captured with a terrific Magic instant.

Of course, Gandalf being the adept Wizard that he is, this card’s modality is more effective when you control a Wizard as you cast it; instead of choosing one of three options, you get to choose two of three options – a supreme upgrade, especially when one of the options is drawing two cards. The most used modes chosen in Commander are likely to be drawing two cards and dealing five damage to target creature, though the artifact destruction is also a nifty option if one of your opponents has a particularly annoying trinket on the board.

13. Balmor, Battlemage Captain

Wizard decks have gotten many boosts over the years, especially ones that specialize in casting instant or sorceries. Cards with prowess, or cards that provide +1/+1 counters whenever you cast an instant or sorcery are perfect fits within a “spells matter” Wizard shell. One card that was first printed in 2022’s Dominaria United that perfectly fits into this theme is Balmor, Battlemage Captain.

This Izzet Bird Wizard gives all of your creatures trample and a +1/+0 boost whenever you cast an instant or sorcery. The trample addition is key here, as simply boosting power and toughness is often not enough for a gang of Wizards to get over the finish line – unless they have flying, of course. Balmor also serves as a terrific budget option as a Wizard deck commander, as it’s only an uncommon and was also reprinted in Foundations.

12. Wizards of Thay

An intriguing and highly synergistic Human Wizard, Wizards of Thay hails from the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate set, which unveiled the entire team that was featured in the award-winning RPG from Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3, alongside this 3/3 Wizard with the quite rare myriad keyword (only 32 cards in Magic’s history feature this ability).

Debuting in Commander 2015 on the card Broodbirth Viper, this ability allows the creature that hosts the ability to duplicate itself and attack each other player in your Commander pod. With Wizards of Thay, this is especially useful, as that means it can lower the cost of your instant and sorcery spells by a whopping four colorless mana. Oh, and this card also allows sorcery spells to be cast at instant-speed. As such, combat can truly become a nightmare for foes to deal with when you’re swinging away with Wizards of Thay.

11. Archmage Emeritus

This card originally released in Strixhaven: School of Mages from 2021, and it features the magecraft ability. Unlike many other Wizard cards, magecraft allows players to benefit from not only casting spells, but also from copying them. This is a notable bonus, as other Wizards on this list as well as a bevy of spells can copy your instants and sorceries with ease.

Being able to draw cards upon playing or copying your spells is big game, as Wizard decks always want to have several answers in hand lest their foes aim to quash their well-laid plans. Recently reprinted in Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander, this card is gearing up to be a Commander staple, as its average price point above $4 across all printings indicates.

10. Ertai Resurrected

Ertai has been a notable part of Magic lore for decades, and his name is featured on a total of seven cards, including three distinct cards of the man himself. While the original Ertai card, Ertai, Wizard Adept from Exodus, is somewhat underpowered by today’s standards and his follow-up card, Ertai, the Corrupted from Planeshift is only a niche Commander option, it’s 2022’s Ertai Resurrected from Dominaria United that truly shines across multiple formats.

While a 3/2 for four mana isn’t great, the ability to counter a wide range of effects (spells, activated abilities and triggered abilities) or destroy a creature or planeswalker when Ertai enters makes this card an amazing Swiss Army knife that can answer a number of “kill-on-sight” threats, often in a surprising way, as the fact that this card counters triggered abilities can really stymy a foe’s game plan in unexpected ways.

9. Thassa’s Oracle

While Laboratory Maniac is also a Wizard, it’s this two-mana Merfolk Wizard that deserves a spot on this list. Sure, the abilities are similar, but Thassa’s Oracle allows you to have at least a few cards in your library for its instant-win scenario, whereas the Maniac leaves you completely denuded of anything in your library.

Beyond that, if your board is littered with a lot of blue pips after playing cards such as Future Sight, Arcanis the Omnipotent, Azami, Lady of Scrolls or any other cards with blue in their casting cost – which, if you’re playing Wizards, will likely be most of them – then the ability to win the game on the spot becomes even easier, making this tricky little Merfolk an unassuming yet powerhouse threat for Wizards.

8. Basalt Ravager

This fun finisher hails from the Kaldheim set, which introduced a number of Giant typal synergies. Of course, this Ravager just happens to be a Giant Wizard, so this card’s ability can also be used to brilliant effect in Wizard decks that want to stack the board with Wizard tokens or other inexpensive Wizard cards.

The real fun of this card is if you can duplicate the ability with cards such as Naban, Dean of Iteration, Harmonic Prodigy, or Strionic Resonator (or, if you really want to get crazy, all three). Being able to blast any target – likely an opponent – for, let’s say, eight damage three or four times will almost certainly be enough to finish them off. This card is a ravager, indeed.

7. Riptide Laboratory

Another way to re-trigger some of your Wizards’ best abilities is with this nifty little utility land. Originally releasing amidst the typal cornucopia of 2002’s Onslaught, this nonbasic allows you to tap it and pay one colorless and one blue mana to return any one of your Wizards to your hand. Of course, this can be used to save that creature from removal, or to simply ambush your foes with the various strong ETB effects that Wizard cards are home to.

For example, return your Ertai Resurrected to your hand for future countering abilities. Or bring back your Basalt Ravager to dome your foe for big damage based on the number of Wizards you have. Or return your Bloodline Necromancer to your hand to reanimate another big-time threat from your graveyard. The possibilities are nearly endless, so toss this land in your next Wizard-based Commander deck and don’t look back.

6. Adeliz, the Cinder Wind

With an ability similar to Balmor, Adeliz is actually the slightly stronger option, though she lacks the beneficial trample keyword, and she is only limited to boosting Wizards – not all creatures. Still though, in a Wizards typal deck, that should be pretty much all your creatures anyway, so that limitation shouldn’t adversely affect the impact this uncommon Izzet legendary from the Dominaria set has on the game.

This card having haste makes it quite the potent threat, as you can throw it down and then immediately attack. Then, next turn, the fun can really begin. Whether you have a deck full of powerhouse red combat tricks or other fun shenanigans, all of your Wizards going forward will get a +1/+1 boost whenever you play an instant or sorcery. Combine that with cost-reducing cards like Wizards of Thay or Goblin Electromancer, and you’ve got the makings of an unstoppable freight train that your opponents better act quickly to stop or they’ll be toast.

5. Dualcaster Mage

This fun three-mana Human Wizard debuted in the Commander 2014 set and is a notable piece of tech for spellslinger decks, especially those that employ a critical mass of Wizards. This card is notable for being able to go infinite in a variety of ways, like with Twinflame, Molten Duplication and even Saw in Half from the “Un-set” Unfinity.

This card pairs beautifully with Archmage Emeritus, as you’re able to draw a card on the casting as well as on the copying of the spell you choose to duplicate. It can also put you far ahead on board when paired with another notable legendary Wizard…

4. Naban, Dean of Iteration

One of the best ways to maximize the plethora of ETB triggers that Wizard cards employ is via this legendary Human Wizard from 2018’s Dominaria set. Being able to double up any abilities that pop upon your Wizards entering the battlefield is surely going to be a massive swing in favor within your well-crafted Wizards deck.

Do note that this ability includes cards’ abilities that are already on the battlefield (such as Docent of Perfection’s or Talrand, Sky Summoner’s) as well as cards with the actual ETB effect (such as Basalt Ravager or Ertai Resurrected).

3. Azami, Lady of Scrolls

Originally printed in 2004’s Champions of Kamigawa set, this legendary Human Wizard features an amazing activated ability: Simply tap an untapped Wizard you control to draw a card… that’s it! This is a brilliant effect, as Wizards often care about drawing a card or feature cards that are able to go infinite via card-drawing combos (looking at you, Niv-Mizzet).

Certainly, Azami can go infinite with multiple different cards, such as past fabled combo-enablers like Mind Over Matter and Intruder Alarm, but perhaps Azami’s best infinite combo partner is The Locust God from 2017’s Hour of Devastation– as you can get infinite card draw, infinite draw triggers and other sweet payoffs in combination with a number of cards that play with creature types.

2. Inalla, Archmage Ritualist

Perhaps the best option to choose as your Wizard commander is this legendary Grixis Human Wizard that was originally released in the Commander 2017 set. Featuring the eminently rare eminence ability (see what I did there?), this Wizard allows you to duplicate any nontoken Wizard that enters the battlefield under your control by paying one colorless mana, though those tokens are exiled at end of turn.

However, with the right combinations of cards – such as cards with impactful ETB triggers – Inalla can be a nightmare matchup. As a commander, Inalla is a top-flight choice for Wizard decks as she opens up the best options in that creature type’s most populous colors: blue, black, and red. Of course, while her eminence ability is the eyebrow-raiser, her other ability is the one that can end games quickly with some spicy combos, as tapping five untapped Wizards to force the target player to lose seven life is pretty trivial in the right circumstances.

1. Harmonic Prodigy

Many of the cards on this list feature game-breaking triggered abilities or stupendously powerful ETB abilities and others, like Naban, Dean of Iteration, can double up those triggers so long as they’re ETB abilities. What if there was a two-mana Wizard that could double up any triggered ability, whether they be ETBs or static ones? You’d get Harmonic Prodigy.

This card pulls double duty as an amazing enabler for both Wizard and Shaman typal strategies, but in a Wizard-focused deck, Harmonic Prodigy is the engine that makes your entire deck hum. Want to draw another card via Archmage Emeritus? Sure thing. How about doubling up tokens created by Docent of Perfection, Talrand or Inalla? You got it. Doubling up the power and toughness boost Wizards receive from Adeliz? Harmonic Prodigy’s got you. This card’s supreme utility and power cannot be overstated, and to top it all off, it’s got prowess, so it gets a +1/+1 power and toughness boost (actually +2/+2 because it’s a triggered ability) whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell. An amazing creature from Modern Horizons 2, and definitely the best Wizard card for Commander ever printed.

Wizards For the Win

Perhaps it’s because the Wizard creature type shares a name with the parent company that’s been responsible for Magic: The Gathering since its founding in 1993, Wizards of the Coast. Or perhaps it’s simply that fans of the fantasy genre enjoy a character who can employ magic to succeed. Either way, Wizards will remain a popular and important part of Magic forever, and I hope you enjoyed reading about the best studious spellslingers in Commander.

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