Image credit: Wizards of the Coast
Starting with Edge of Eternities, all legendary Vehicles (and Spacecrafts) with a power/toughness box will be eligible as commanders. With this announcement, I've devised the ten best legendary Vehicle commander cards that already exist in Commander.
Let's take a look at some of these fantastic rides and how you can make the most of them in your next Commander game.
Honorable Mention
Shorikai, Genesis EngineShorikai, Genesis Engine is a powerhouse of a card.
As you may guess, any Vehicle commander making creatures that can crew your commander is going to be super powerful. Furthermore, if it can accrue value for you in other ways, that's amazing too.
Shorikai is all of this and an oppressively strong body to boot. I would have made Shorikai our #1 pick... If not for the fact that it was already eligible as a commander.
In this article, I wanted to highlight the Vehicle commanders that weren't already there. Share the limelight, Shorikai!
#10. Parhelion II
It's no surprise that many players, upon learning about this new rule change, flocked to the idea of making Parhelion II their Vehicle commander. However, with 21 total options available (besides Shorikai), Parhelion II is arguably the worst of the best.
It's a middling commander. For one, while it makes bodies, it already costs a staggering to cast and four power to crew. Sure, it can then replace any crew with its 4/4 Angel tokens, but this clunker of a Vehicle's crew cost can't easily withstand board wipes without added help.
Don't get me wrong, it's still a force to be reckoned with in the late game, but it's not going to shine through other mono-white options.
Plus, it isn't even the top mono-white option on this list. Nevertheless, it's strong enough as a battlecruiser to make #10 on my list.
#9. The Falcon, Airship Restored
The Falcon, Airship RestoredThe Falcon, Airship Restored is a new option from the Final Fantasy Commander decks. It's a formidable option because it can not only recur a creature upon connection, it also has the ability to recur itself from the graveyard.
As such, The Falcon is a commander tax evader. This has always been a powerful ability to have on a commander (e.g., Derevi, Empyrial TacticianDerevi, Empyrial Tactician).
Alongside its reasonable size and fairly low crew cost of 2, The Falcon is a fair choice for my #9 pick.
#8. The Indomitable
At #8 is The IndomitableThe Indomitable. Another tax evader from the grave, this flagship of Admiral Beckett BrassAdmiral Beckett Brass is a neat choice for either a Pirate deck or a Vehicle deck. Or a combination! It's a choice I could endorse here.
This card is a #8 because of the amount of value it accrues as a Coastal PiracyCoastal Piracy/Bident of ThassaBident of Thassa variant. Also, as a trampling 6/6, it has built-in pseudo-evasion for combat, and that's really strong.
Crew 3 is nothing to worry about, and if The Indomitable goes down, you may have already tapped three Pirates to facilitate its return!
#7. Golden Argosy
The #7 pick for this list is Golden ArgosyGolden Argosy. This ship is really funky. It wants to blink the creatures that crew it, but is stuck in colorless - its only real flaw here.
I wouldn't even fully call it a flaw, though, because decks can be built in colorless to work around or even exploit that fact. There are plenty of artifact creatures, and even some colorless nonartifact creatures, that can make the most of a blink effect such as this Vehicle's.
To make Golden Argosy your Vehicle commander is a choice, to be sure, but it can't be said that it'll always be a bad one.
#6. RMS Titanic
The RMS TitanicRMS Titanic, in all of its memetic glory, is my #6 pick for best Vehicle commander to exist currently.
As a meme, the deck is a bad one. (This won't stop me from writing up a deck tech about the memetic version, but even still, the deck won't be about a Bracket 2!)
However, if you're making the RMS Titanic with a serious, dedicated mindset, this deck could be very potent. There are more than enough artifact synergies in mono-red to make a deck like the RMS Titanic do work in context.
Still, there are better non-Vehicles eligible as commanders that do similar things. Towing a line between bad and pretty good, the RMS Titanic also tows the midpoint of this list.
#5. The Regalia
The RegaliaThe Regalia is another colorless Vehicle commander option and is #5 on my list. Being colorless hurts it a bit for this ranking, much like Golden Argosy, but more decks can utilize The Regalia in context.
Namely, The Regalia is an interesting, if decidedly withheld, choice for a commander in an Eldrazi kindred deck. It also works for decks that just want to ramp up to expensive, splashy colorless spells.
Heck, there are plenty of Vehicles that would love this as a commander, not to mention the sheer mass of expensive artifacts elsewhere that could benefit from more ramp in the command zone. The crew cost of 1 is also really nice here, not to mention having haste.
It's an easy, intuitive card to use, overall, but there are some better options with colors, which is why The Regalia is only my #5 pick.
#4. The Prydwen, Steel Flagship
Coming on at #4 is The Prydwen, Steel FlagshipThe Prydwen, Steel Flagship. This beast of a flying Vehicle is certainly stronger than Parhelion II, due to its passive ability synergizing with its crew cost, which then enables you to attack with The Prydwen at least one turn before most players can reliably cast Parhelion II.
Sure, it has fewer keywords, but The Prydwen makes up for this with better stats and a much stronger token-generating ability in a general sense.
In a more perfect scenario, you're swinging in with The Prydwen and its many 2/2 Knight tokens every turn. Plus, those Knights will more often be 4/4s than 2/2s most turns you're attacking with them.
#3. Esika's Chariot
I really appreciate Esika's ChariotEsika's Chariot as a Vehicle commander. As my #3 choice, I would suggest that a tokens-matter build is best for the card. Fortunately, mono-green has plenty of ways to make that kind of deck possible.
One way to make Esika's Chariot shine is with cards like Idol of OblivionIdol of Oblivion or Tarmogoyf NestTarmogoyf Nest. Both create some really strong token creatures right away. Then, the attacking Chariot can do a lot to make that one token into many.
The card is great, plain and simple. There are two better options for Vehicles in the command zone, though.
#2. The Last Ride
The Last RideThe Last Ride is my second pick in this list. The best way to describe this commander is this: Don't ever animate it unless you need a trigger from its death.
What you're doing instead with The Last Ride is playing it on turns two or three, and then capitalizing on its GreedGreed-esque activated ability.
This deck is for fans of the aforementioned Greed, Vilis, Broker of BloodVilis, Broker of Blood, Dark ConfidantDark Confidant, or even GriselbrandGriselbrand (who, as of writing, remains Grisel-banned). These cards (barring the last one) would be fantastic additions to a deck like The Last Ride.
And at just for a cost, you can't really go wrong!
That leaves us with our final, #1 pick for this list of best Vehicle commanders. What got there in an absolute photo finish?
Best Vehicle Commander
The JackdawJackdaw!
Jackdaw is a two-color legendary Vehicle (one of only two, the other being The BelligerentThe Belligerent), and a fantastic choice for a commander.
Being able to play this card in a blue-red artifact-centric shell is no joke. The ability to discard your hand and immediately draw maybe six or seven fresh, new cards is amazing.
It fuels Daretti, Scrap SavantDaretti, Scrap Savant, The Locust GodThe Locust God, and even the semi-thematic Captain Howler, Sea ScourgeCaptain Howler, Sea Scourge (if you have an extra combat at the ready)!
That's why, of all the potential Vehicles that could be your next commander, I endorse Jackdaw as the priority pick here.
With that, I'll open the floor to you, dear readers. How do you feel about the new rule change, effective August 1st? Are you planning to make any of these potential Vehicle commanders into your next deck project? Sound off below!
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