Best Voltron commanders

Ardenn moves every Aura and Equipment you control at the beginning of each combat on your turn, for free. Pair her with Rograkh, a zero-mana partner with first strike, menace and trample, and the gear you cast earlier lands on the best attacker without paying a single equip cost. Rograkh is out on turn one, so a Colossus Hammer cast early can be swinging for ten by turn three. When one creature is about to be removed, the gear simply moves to the other next combat.

Best for: Players who want a fast, focused deck and know when to hold up protection.

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Light-Paws turns every Aura you cast into two. When an Aura you cast enters, she fetches another Aura with the same or lower mana value and a new name straight onto herself — so the deck is built as a ladder of cheap Auras. Ethereal Armor and All That Glitters grow with every Aura that lands, while protective Auras keep her alive. At two mana she comes back cheaply after removal, which matters, because her Auras do not.

Best for: Deckbuilders who enjoy a puzzle and want a cheap, consistent deck.

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Cloud has haste and attaches an Equipment to himself when he enters, so he attacks the turn you cast him. Each attack draws a card for every equipped creature in it, and once his power is 7 or more he also makes two Treasures. That makes Cloud a Voltron deck that doesn’t run out of cards: suit up two or three creatures, draw several cards a turn and spend the Treasures on the next piece. Naya colors add green ramp and white protection.

Best for: Equipment players who want card advantage, not just one big hit.

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Lightning is a three-mana 3/2 with first strike, trample and lifelink, and her Stagger ability makes everything after her hit count twice: once she deals combat damage to a player, any source deals double damage to that player and their permanents until your next turn. Give her double strike and the second hit is already doubled. Other attackers and burn spells aimed at the same player hit twice as hard, too. A direct, aggressive Boros commander.

Best for: Aggressive players, and anyone trying Voltron for the first time.

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Skullbriar is a two-mana 1/1 with haste that gets a +1/+1 counter each time it deals combat damage to a player — and it keeps its counters when it dies, is exiled or goes back to the command zone. Removal that resets other commanders only slows Skullbriar down. Build around counter boosters like Hardened Scales, proliferate, evasion and pump spells, and every hit makes the next one more dangerous. Golgari adds ramp and recursion.

Best for: Patient players who like a threat that keeps growing.

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Captain America catches an Equipment at the beginning of every combat on your turn — a free attach each turn. For three mana he can also throw it: unattach an Equipment and deal damage equal to its mana value, split among up to three targets. Expensive Equipment doubles as removal or the last points of damage, and next combat he catches it again. Jeskai colors add counterspells and white protection on top.

Best for: Players who want Voltron with interaction built in.

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Wolverine doubles all damage he deals, so 11 power is enough for 21 commander damage in one hit. Fights and blocks grow him, too: at each end step after he damaged another creature he gets a +1/+1 counter, and {1}{G} regenerates him against destroy effects and lethal combat damage. Gruul brings pump spells, trample and fight cards, and every one of them counts double through him.

Best for: Newcomers and players who like fights and big numbers.

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Kotis is an indestructible 2/1 that steals spells. Whenever he deals combat damage to a player, you exile that many cards from the top of their library and may cast any number of spells among them with mana value up to that damage, for free. Suit him up and each hit plays a turn of their deck for you. Sultai brings evasion, +1/+1 counters and card draw, and indestructible already handles destroy effects.

Best for: Players who prefer value and surprises to a straight race.

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Tifa doubles her power each time a land enters under your control. Pump her first, then play the land — a fetch land that finds another land doubles her twice. With extra land drops from Azusa, Lost but Seeking or Exploration and green pump spells, a two-mana 1/2 can trample in for lethal commander damage in a single turn. Mono-green keeps the mana simple and the deck cheap.

Best for: Players who enjoy combo-like turns and land synergies.

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Damage can’t hurt Anti-Venom: damage dealt to him is prevented and becomes +1/+1 counters instead. Combat, burn and damage-based board wipes only make him bigger, and a block by a large creature is a gift. When you cast him he also returns a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield, so recasting him after removal pays you back. His five white pips tie him to a mono-white deck.

Best for: Newcomers, and players who like a commander that is hard to fight in combat.

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