Dog Token (From Murders at Karlov Manor)| Art by Alayna Danner

Hello and welcome to a special article dedicated to our canine friends! It was recently International Dog Day, so to celebrate our best friends, I've decided to go through all of the Dog and Dog-adjacent commanders, in-universe and beyond it.

I was originally going to do a decklist for our adorable puppers, but there just isn't enough support for them at the time of writing. Unfortunately, our best bet would've been to make a Rin and Seri, InseparableRin and Seri, Inseparable deck, but that also meant running Dogs and Cats together (no hate for felines, they'll have their day) when this deck should be about Dogs.

It also meant running those hideous pretenders called changelings. Ewww.

Dogs and Cats Living Together

We start off with the aforementioned Rin and Seri, perhaps the go-to for Dog commanders at time of writing. Unfortunately, most lists using this commander tend to lean harder into the Cat support. Secondly, and worse, changelings become unavoidable, as we'll get both tokens from Rin and Seri instead of one.

For all we know, changelings could be Uncle IstvanUncle Istvans in disguise. The tap ability on this commander will rarely be relevant, too.

On the contrary, this isn't to say that we could flip the script and focus the commander on Dogs. But, to have a solid shot at the deck performing well, the Cat support is necessary. On another note, we gain access to most of the best Dogs in the game by going Naya colors. It's a trait that will come up at least once or twice more.

Second to the Top

Still within Naya colors, Jinnie is less a Dog commander, let alone a Cat commander, but a tokens deck. The idea is to swarm the board with tokens, then converting them into Dogs (or Cats), each with their own benefits.

On theme with today's article would be Release the DogsRelease the Dogs. Cards like that will produce something stronger than a 1/1. Even better if we're running some anthem effects. Of course, like with Rin and Seri, we can run all the Dogs we like. However, what's the point when we're turning the tokens we make into Dogs or Cats?

This is what I meant in the introduction by "Dog-adjacent." Commanders that aren't Dogs themselves, but support them in some way. Jinnie is the biggest stretch we'll see in this article, mainly off the back of all the tokens we'll be making. If she gets removed, then it's going to feel awkward to have a bunch of Plant or Goblin tokens in a deck that would rather have Dogs or Cats.

ZOINKS!

Taking a break from Naya for a moment, we have a commander option who's more closely tied to Dogs as a theme. Sophia, Dogged DetectiveSophia, Dogged Detective will create a legendary Dog named Scooby Doo Tiny. From there, we're buffing up the Dogs we control by sacrificing artifact tokens, so expect to run a lot of cards that make Food or Clue tokens.

Dogs that can either investigate or make Food tokens, like FloodhoundFloodhound, are at their prime here. We can also get both tokens if our Dogs hit a player during combat, so giving them trample or some form of evasion will allow us to make them stronger more frequently.

As for the Dog count, it's considerably lower than if we were to add red. There aren't as many Dogs in blue as in red, but blue is also a major color for Clue tokens, so that makes things even.

There's also a variety of +1/+1 counter support in these colors, including the conveniently printed Generous PupGenerous Pup. However, fewer Dogs being in the deck also might allow for more Istvans...I mean changelings.

Howls From the Underworld

A double whammy! Firstly, Kroxa and KunorosKroxa and Kunoros is not a Dog deck, but a reanimator list. We want to fill our graveyard, then exile cards from there to bring big threats back. However, that price is steep, and this is on a six-cost commander, so don't expect to rely on this card heavily.

One of the best doggos to run with Kroxa and Kunoros is Enduring CourageEnduring Courage. While this ghastly pupper may not work with our commander, per se, it can do its work on creatures we reanimate before combat.

As for Kunoros's earlier iteration, he's better served in the 99 of decks that can run him. That said, he hoses graveyard decks in a way other than exiling graveyards. This, complimented with a few relevant keywords and a cheap casting cost, makes him a good choice. Provided, of course, we're at least running white and black.

Here, Fetch!

Again, not so much about Dogs in general, but the game plan is very much centered on one. Pako will grow huge quickly, and Haldan allows us to cast the spells that his best friend brought back. That said, Pako leans more on the expensive side, so the goodest boy will need some protection to ensure he can keep fetching those noncreature cards.

We also need our deck to be more centered on said noncreature cards, so we can cast our own spells, too. Ideally, we want to ruff our opponents up with commander damage while keeping Haldan around to use everyone's stuff. Ramp is also important here so we can cast our commanders (and exiled noncreature cards) reliably.

Amassing a Junk Pile

Ok, ok. Last Naya legend for this article, I promise. Only this time, we want to go the commander damage route. Even the precon he was featured in pushes us in that direction.

As the sole Universes Beyond card in the list, Dogmeat, Ever LoyalDogmeat, Ever Loyal does a lot of work, letting us dig and recur cards on entry. The Junk tokens are quite valuable, too, as we can cash them in to dig deeper into our deck.

That precon also came with some key support pieces, and it's honestly a really good starting point for our own take on the commander. No wonder he's a constant companion within the Fallout franchise.

On Fields of Flowers

A new and recent favorite card of mine, I covered Rinoa Heartilly a while ago, but under a different pretext. Here, we're in two thirds of the colors we need for Dog support, and it's something we could do with Rinoa.

Losing red does sting this build a bit because we lose some key pieces for Dogs like the aforementioned Enduring CourageEnduring Courage and Tesak, Judith's HellhoundTesak, Judith's Hellhound. Ideally, we want to load up the board with tokens, then use Rinoa's attack trigger to have a creature steamroll an opponent, one at a time.

Another way is to put her in the 99 of a Jinnie Fay deck, so you get red back, make Dog tokens, and use said tokens for the attack trigger. Though, there's no harm in losing red if you can offset the Dog support that we lose.

The Best of the Rest

There's more than these three for this section, but they're the more popular options. Yoshimaru, Ever FaithfulYoshimaru, Ever Faithful can partner up with others who have the mechanic, often being paired with Kediss, Emberclaw FamiliarKediss, Emberclaw Familiar or Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh.

Speaking of partner mechanics, K-9, Mark IK-9, Mark I can partner up with one of the Doctors to protect them or any other legendary creatures we're running. Phelia, Exuberant ShepherdPhelia, Exuberant Shepherd does work in blink decks, provided she keeps attacking. Mowu, Loyal CompanionMowu, Loyal Companion grows big very quickly, and his decks will opt for the commander damage route, like with Dogmeat.

For the sake of brevity, I won't be exhuastive, and that's coming from someone who perhaps dug a little too deep at this point.

An Homage to (One Of) Our Favorite Companions

I covered as much ground as I could, and there's some I definitely missed. But now, I turn to you, the reader: Who's your favorite Dog commander? Favorite Dog cards, perhaps (One of mine is Alpine WatchdogAlpine Watchdog)?

In any case, I hope I've done our favorite four-legged friends enough justice, seeing as they've been at our side since time immemorial. They give so much to us in exchange for us looking after them.

Alas, I better stop before I get too emotional and teary-eyed, and look instead to the future. Tune back into my series, Beyond the Multiverse, where we may learn to bend some metal.