Tromell, Seymour's ButlerTromell, Seymour's Butler | Art by Kotetsu Kinoshita

Hey there! I'm Michael Celani, author of How They Brew It and Cardboard Cupcakes: 55 Recipes for Your Old Dual Lands. I like looking for unique and interesting commanders, especially during work hours when my boss isn't watching.

Final Fantasy is full of memorable and iconic characters, and some of them are that way in Magic, too. Over 150 such characters have been represented as legendary creatures, so separating the interesting from the fluff can be a daunting task.

But I did it, so there's no point wasting any more of your time; let's take a look at the most unique commanders!

Edgar, King of FigaroEdgar, King of Figaro

Though blue isn't poised to take advantage of it very well, EdgarEdgar's unmatched ability to cheat at coin flips makes him invaluable in the ninety-nine of many decks, such as Yusri, Fortune's FlameYusri, Fortune's Flame, who is thrilled to have a guaranteed OmniscienceOmniscience at its disposal.

Don't sleep on his draw trigger, either. In all but the most green of Commander decks, it's a given that you've got two or three mana rocks floating around by the time you have , and dedicated artifact strategies have counts an order of magnitude beyond that.

Gogo, Master of MimicryGogo, Master of Mimicry

I've already written about copying fetchland triggers with GogoGogo, but there truly is no limit for this personified Rings of BrighthearthRings of Brighthearth taken to its logical extreme.

So many aspects of this game are implemented as triggered abilities. Want to double your storm count for ? How about speeding through suspend at a rate that would make a Time Lord blush?

Did you know that you could copy the initiative in three separate ways? Visit your attractionsVisit your attractions again and again!

Seriously, just search Yawgatog for the word triggered and the ideas will flow.

Y'shtola RhulY'shtola Rhul

Copying upkeeps is one thing, but additional end steps? Now that's a fascinating prospect. Y'shtola RhulY'shtola Rhul gives you twice the end step triggers, but don't fret; she makes up for it by also throwing in twice the blinks of a standard Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet, all at six mana.

Any well-constructed deck will be drowning in value if she's allowed to live — and she will be allowed to live, because no blue player is going to have a hand without a CounterspellCounterspell after two or three MulldrifterMulldrifter triggers.

Kain, Traitorous DragoonKain, Traitorous Dragoon

Group hug and group slug come together in Kain, Traitorous DragoonKain, Traitorous Dragoon, the riskiest commander in the set. With enough combat tricks and buffs like Bad MoonBad Moon at your disposal, you're going to refill your hand and gain the resources to use it with every swing.

The question is whether or not your powers of persuasion are enough to convince your enemies not to immediately return the favor. Or, you could simply make the decision for themmake the decision for them, which is a surprisingly apropos outcome for this double-faced dragoon.

Clive, Ifrit's DominantClive, Ifrit's Dominant

CliveClive single-handedly rescues red from the bottom of the devotion tier list with his ridiculous enters trigger, which is all but guaranteed to give you a fresh grip of cards.

To make things better, you don't even have to put that much effort into reusing that trigger once you've spent that hand, since his transformation will automatically reset him to his Human form in due time.

What a transformation, too; it's removal and ramp on a single card alongside a devastatingly large body. Bring your best red cards, and CliveClive will do everything possible to make sure you play them.

Firion, Wild Rose WarriorFirion, Wild Rose Warrior

Copying any nontoken Equipment that enters is great not only for a commander-focused Equipment strategy, but also for a go-wide assault based on job select and For Mirrodin!

It's a shame that Firion, Wild Rose WarriorFirion, Wild Rose Warrior doesn't keep those token copies around for more than a turn, but that's nothing that a Sundial of the InfiniteSundial of the Infinite won't fix, right?

Gau, Feral YouthGau, Feral Youth

Sultai () is full of abilities that trigger when a card leaves your graveyard, but it's not all that common in red alone. Gau, Feral YouthGau, Feral Youth fills that gap by dealing damage equal to his power every turn it happens.

That damage is going to add up fast, and there's more ways to empty your graveyard in red than you might think.

Flashback and jump-start will move instants and sorceries to the stack from the graveyard, while other effects like encore and unearth can bring back creatures. Failing that, you've always got silver bullets like Relic of ProgenitusRelic of Progenitus to fall back on, with the added bonus that no Reanimator player is ever going to get a foothold against you.

Professor HojoProfessor Hojo

Professor HojoProfessor Hojo is the inverse of Horobi, Death's WailHorobi, Death's Wail. Fill your deck with beneficial, targeted activated abilities and go wild drawing cards. The theme of the precon he hails from should point you towards Equipment, but don't stop there; there's tons of variety if you're willing to dig a little deeper.

I'm especially fond of abilities like <em>bloodrush</em><em>bloodrush</em>, which don't even need another permanent on the battlefield for you to reap the benefits.

Tromell, Seymour's ButlerTromell, Seymour's Butler

The text "proliferate X times" alone excites me when I look at Tromell, Seymour's ButlerTromell, Seymour's Butler, but when you factor in that it only costs and that he's a source of counters for all incoming creatures, you've got a recipe for ridiculously huge creatures.

+1/+1 counters are a great target, but if you're really looking for some spice, try to ult planeswalkers the turn they come down, or turn one poison counter into ten before your opponents have a chance to react.

Cid, Timeless ArtificerCid, Timeless Artificer

CidCid is the first singleton-buster commander; you can include as many copies of him in your deck as you want.

While that sounds like a terrible idea, given that each Cid is legendary and thus they can't coexist, each Cid you put in your graveyard makes the copy you have on the field that much stronger. Very conveniently, excess copies cycle away, so finding one is never a dead draw.

You only really need +3/+3 to make any artifact creature into a problem your opponents need to deal with. And if you're going wide with artifact creature tokens like Servos, then you'll be conquering your table in short order.

Emet-Selch of the Third SeatEmet-Selch of the Third Seat

You can sneeze in black and make an opponent lose life, so Emet-Selch of the Third SeatEmet-Selch of the Third Seat can, more-or-less, cast nonpermanent spells from your graveyard on command.

Better yet, those spells are discounted and they ignore the usual timing restrictions that hold sorceries back, so it's actually worth it to just loot big spells away and cast them on an opponent's turn when they're unprepared.

Tellah, Great SageTellah, Great Sage

Many commanders care about the mana values of the spells they cast, but referring to the amount of mana spent is markedly more strange.

Tellah, Great SageTellah, Great Sage is a rare Spellslinger commander that cares about quality over quantity. Instead of durdling and building up massive storm counts, or eviscerating your opponents by a death of a thousand burns, TellahTellah asks you to consistently cast single, impactful spells.

He'll sacrifice himself to take down your enemies if you ever spend more than eight mana on a single instant or sorcery, which sounds like a downside until you realize it makes every spell a copy of FireballFireball.

Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier

What is there to say about ViviVivi that hasn't already been said? This little guy is the most popular commander in the set, and for good reason.

No, he won't draw you cards, but he will do everything else your deck needs on his own; he'll ramp, burn your opponents, and block for you while he does it. His most impressive aspect is that he can make mana without worrying about summoning sickness, which is a bullet point I took great advantage of.

Jenova, Ancient CalamityJenova, Ancient Calamity

When JenovaJenova infects a creature, it becomes a ticking time bomb of value. Sacrifice it, and you'll be showered in cards equal to the dead creature's power.

A single +1/+1 counter per turn to build up such a shower seems slow, but green is well-known for its abundance of ridiculously high-statted creatures. All you really have to do is play the biggest and most versatile dunces you can, and you'll be home free.

Sephiroth, Fallen HeroSephiroth, Fallen Hero

If playing big dunces isn't your thing, then consider Sephiroth, Fallen HeroSephiroth, Fallen Hero, who makes anything into a big dunce without lifting a finger.

He uplifts all modified creatures by turning them into 7/5s when he attacks — and plenty of creatures enter the battlefield pre-modified, whether it be because they enter with a counter or an Equipment is immediately attached to them.

Quest Complete

Now, this isn't an exhaustive list of all the unique commanders in the set; these are simply the ones I found with the fewest parallels in other, previously released sets.

That doesn't mean you should limit yourself to this list! Even commanders with direct analogues in older sets can be built in a novel way; small details in wording or effect can make a big difference in gameplay.

Let me know below the unique ways you're building the commanders from this set, and I'll see you around next time!