Top 15 Strongest Golgari Commanders in Magic The Gathering
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Top 15 Strongest Golgari Commanders in Magic The Gathering
A good Commander can be a make or break in Magic: The Gathering. These are the strongest Golgari Commanders in the game. Few combinations of colors in have as many synergies with the graveyard as green/black Golgari decks. Despite this, Golgari is a very multifarious color identity with a multitude of strong strategies at its disposal. By examining the numerous powerful commanders in the Commander format we can see the vast capabilities under Golgari's belt. So today, we're going to take a look at the best of the best that green and have to offer in regards to potential commanders. Updated on February 3, 2022 by Paul DiSalvo: Magic's Commander format is constantly growing and evolving as new legendary creatures are added to the game, enabling new powerful decks and strategies. Throughout 2021, Wizards of the Coast have put a notable emphasis on the Commander format, introducing a sizable number of new commander options and more Commander preconstructed decks than in any other year prior. This has provided the Golgari color identity with a sizable range of potent new choices for one's commander. So we're going to explore the new Golgari commanders of the past few years and see how they compare to the well-established Golgari commanders of the format. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY Slimefoot The Stowaway
Slimefoot, the Stowaway is the perfect example of an effective Golgari commander whose abilities reflect both colors that make up its identity. Able to create a 1/1 saproling token for four mana, Silmefoot comes with an excellent mana sink that works well in conjunction with the copious mana green can produce. Additionally, Slimefoot causes each opponent to lose one life and for you to gain one life whenever a creature you control dies, synergizing greatly with the disposable tokens Slimefoot can produce. Mazirek Kraul Death Priest
In Magic: The Gathering, few things fit into black's color identity as well as forcing opponents to sacrifice permanents. Conversely, the ability to buff up and bolster your creatures is something found in numerous green strategies. , Kraul Death Priest is a Golgari commander who ties all of this together, putting a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control whenever an opponent sacrifices a permanent. Not only does this synergize well with "edicts" and other effects that force opponents to sacrifice creatures, but Mazirek also capitalizes off of cards that sacrifice themselves - such as lands like evolving wilds. Glissa The Traitor
Providing synergies with artifacts, Glissa, the Traitor is a Golgari commander unlike any other. Allowing artifacts to be returned from your graveyard following the demise of any of your opponents' creatures, Glissa can be used to replay artifacts that can be sacrificed to activate an ability. Additionally, Glissa comes packing two relevant combat keywords - first strike and deathtouch. This means that very few creatures are able to best her in direct combat without some kind of other edge. Hogaak Arisen Akropolis
Oh, Hogaak. Only having a brief stint in Modern before a swift ban, Hogaak Arisen Akropolis showed the power and value that come with a card that does not require lands to cast. While not as strong in commander as it is in other formats due to higher life totals and a lack of duplicate cards in deck lists, Hogaak is still a very strong card that can be utilized as a powerful commander. An 8/8 with trample that possessing both delve and convoke, Hogaak cannot be cast by the utilization of lands, rather, it must be cast my utilization of creatures and one's graveyard. This gives Hogaak the flexibility to helm a creature-based deck, a graveyard deck, or a combination of the two, all without requiring the use of your lands. Nath Of The Gilt-Leaf
While are traditionally a flagship tribe of green, Nath of the Gilt-Leaf is an elf commander who brings a black twist to the tribe. Keeping the appeal of power in numbers that elves are known for, Nath creates 1/1 elf tokens like his mono-green contemporaries. However, staying in line with black, Nath does so at his opponents' expense, causing them to discard a card at random during your upkeep and creating elf tokens whenever your opponents discard a card. This is a perfect marriage of green and black's abilities, resulting in an elf tribal commander that is authentically Golgari. Skullbriar The Walking Grave
Possessing an ability that warps the conventional rules of Magic and Commander, Skullbriar, the Walking Grave is a zombie elemental with haste that receives a +1/+1 counter each time it deals damage to a player. While this may not seem to be out of the ordinary, Skullbriar keeps any and all counters on itself even if it is put in a graveyard or returned to the command zone. This allows Skullbriar to become a constant threat over the course of a game that is incredibly hard to deal with. If it is ever killed, as soon as it returns it will be just as powerful as it was when it left. Jarad Golgari Lich Lord
One of the most straightforward commanders on this list, Jarad Golgari Lich Lord is a commander who wants as many creatures to be in your graveyard as possible. who gets +1/+1 for each creature in your grave at a given moment, Jarad has the potential to become a huge powerhouse with enough self-milling. Additionally, in the instance that you need to push any extra damage through to opponents or move a creature from the battlefield to your graveyard, Jarad can sacrifice creatures you control in order to deal damage to each opponent equal to the sacrificed creature's power. Hapatra Vizier Of Poisons
While +1/+1 counters are a common sight across commander tables, the more uncommon -1/-1 counters are an effective means of slowing down and nerfing your opponents' creatures. For only two mana, Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons is one of the best options players have for a commander when building a deck around a -1/-1 counter theme. Supplying -1/-1 counters whenever she deals damage, Hapatra can create a huge amount of snake tokens over the course of a game through her ability to create a snake token whenever -1/-1 counters are put on a creature. Cheap to play early in a deck built around distributing -1/-1 counters, Hapatra can be a very effective engine of value. Dina Soul Steeper
Dina Soul Steeper is an efficient commander option for those looking to build a Golgari life-gain deck. A 1/3 dryad druid for two mana, Dina causes each opponent to lose one life whenever its controller gains life. This incentivizes Dina to be paired with several effects that can incrementally gain life several times within a turn, rather than a single larger life-gaining effect. Dina is also capable of functioning quite well as an Aristocrats commander and can even potentially take out players via Commander damage. For one mana, Dina can be used to sacrifice a creature, providing Dina with +X/+0 where X is the sacrificed creature's power. Belbe Corrupted Observer
Printed in Commander Legends, Belbe Corrupted Observer is a deceptively powerful Golgari commander that allows its controller to generate mana through effects that damage each player. For the low cost of two mana, Belbe states that at the beginning of each player's post-combat main phase, that player generates two colorless mana for each of the Belbe player's opponents who lost life that turn. Due to how this ability is worded, this means that the Belbe player is able to generate up to six mana each turn with this ability, while their opponents are limited to being able to produce four mana this way at the most. Most notably, as there are several low-mana Black cards such as Vicious Conquistador that can cause each opponent to lose one life, Belbe can allow its controller to play an eight-mana or nine-mana spell as early as turn three. Beledros Witherbloom
While Beledros Witherbloom is a mana-intensive commander option costing a sizable seven mana, it can offer incredible value for its controller. A 4/4 elder dragon, at the beginning of each player's upkeep, Beledros Witherbloom creates a 1/1 pest token that gains one life for its controller when it dies. As commander is a multiplayer format traditionally played with four players, this dragon can create four pests per turn rotation. Despite this useful effect, the appeal of Beledros can be found in its activated ability. At the cost of ten life, Beledros can untap each land under its owner's control. While this ability can only be used once per turn, it can allow for truly explosive turns. This is largely because Commander format players have much more life to spare than within formats like Standard. The Gitrog Monster
Seeing how black is a color that cares greatly about players sacrificing permanents, and how green is a color that cares greatly about lands, it was only a matter of time before the two colors came together to bring us a commander like The Gitrog Monster. A massive Frog Horror, The Gitrog Monster allows its controller to play two lands each turn at the cost of needing to sacrifice a land each turn. While this may initially not sound the most appetizing, The Gitrog Monster also draws its controller a card each time a land is put in their graveyard. This frog is capable of drawing absurd amounts of cards and accelerating your plans. When paired with lands that sacrifice themselves and cards like Crucible of Worlds that allow for lands to be played from the graveyard, The Gitrog Monster is an engine of unparalleled value. Lathril Blade Of The Elves
Lathril, Blade of the Elves by Caroline Gariba Though Elf-Tribal decks are traditionally a Mono-Green affair, Lathril, Blade of the Elves is an incredibly popular commander that makes a great case for Golgari elf decks. For four mana, Lathril is a 2/3 elf noble with menace that, upon dealing combat damage to a player, creates that many 1/1 elf warrior tokens. As Lathril's menace makes it rather difficult to block, this allows it to serve as a reliable source of elf tokens while its controller continues to cast powerful Elf-Tribal staples. Once Lathril's controller has a sizable army of elves in play, Lathril can be tapped alongside ten other elves in order to cause each opponent to lose ten life, even gaining ten life for its controller in the process! Chatterfang Squirrel General
Chatterfang Squirrel General by Milivoj Ćeran While Squirrel General may look like a Squirrel Tribal commander, it's a stellar option for a Golgari token deck. A 3/3 squirrel warrior with forestwalk for three mana, Chatterfang has an ability comparable to that of Parallel Lives. Whenever Chatterfang's controller would create any number of tokens, those tokens plus that many 1/1 squirrel tokens are created, allowing token generators to create massive numbers of creatures. While these 1/1 tokens may not seem like much, they are gained for very little cost. Additionally, Chatterfang comes with an activated ability that provides a flexible alternative use for these Squirrel tokens, allowing any number of squirrels to be sacrificed to provide a creature with +X/-X where X is the number of sacrificed squirrels. Meren Of Clan Nel Toth
While Golgari is capable of non-graveyard strategies, strategies that utilize reanimation and necromancy are truly where the color identity shines. Meren of Clan Nel Toth is not only the crown jewel of Golgari commanders but the measuring stick of graveyard-centric commanders as a whole. Providing her controller with an experience counter whenever a creature under their control dies, during each end step is where Meren is the most potent. At the end of each end step, Meren can return a creature with converted mana cost less than or equal to the number of experience counters you have directly to the battlefield. This is an extremely efficient means of playing numerous creatures without paying their mana costs that can be reliably repeated due to experience counters being put on Meren's controller rather than Meren herself.