As long as Commander has been a format, Voltron decks have been a classic archetype within it. By leveraging the Commander Damage rule, Voltron decks stack their Commanders with a ton of buffs and knock out opponents with one big swing. While these decks rarely win an entire Commander game, they also rarely finish last, often knocking out a player before the rest of the table gangs up on them.
Since many MTG Commander players have at least one Voltron deck in their repertoire, you may be looking to build one for yourself, too. Here, we list the absolute best Voltron Commanders that the game has to offer so you can try them out for yourself.
Honorable Mention | Slicer, Hired Muscle
As a Voltron Commander, MTG Slicer, Hired Muscle is absolutely terrifying. Hitting the board as early as turn two thanks to its More Than Meets the Eye casting cost, Slicer moves between all of your opponents, dealing tons of damage per turn rotation.
Throw a few equipment onto Slicer, and your opponents will be forced to knock each other out in no time. Better yet, because you still own the equipment, you’ll still get your damage triggers from cards like Sword of Feast and Famine, even if your opponents are the ones attacking with Slicer.
Frankly, this synergy is absolutely obscene at most Commander tables, easily making Slicer one of the best Voltron Commanders the game has to offer. That said, Slicer is so good at what it does that, frankly, you don’t actually need to play him as a Voltron Commander. The best Slicer variants do play some equipment, but they’re mostly Mono-Red Prison cEDH decks.
For this reason, Slicer, Hired Muscle is an honorable mention on this list, but in terms of power, this Commander is probably among the top two best Voltron Commanders in the game.
5 | Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima
Despite being a newer addition to MTG, Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima is certainly one of the best Voltron Commanders that the game has to offer. Both options on Jin Sakai’s Exalted-esque trigger are huge for the archetype, allowing you to connect through chump blockers or set up a powerful lethal attack with Double Strike. This also lets Jin Sakai double up on any combat damage triggers from your equipment.
Thanks to trigger doublers like Roaming Throne
Roaming ThroneWard {2}
As this creature enters, choose a creature type.
This creature is the chosen type in addition to its other types.
If a triggered ability of another creature you control of the chosen type triggers, it triggers an additional time., you can even choose both of Jin Sakai’s attack triggers, creating lethal swings through blockers with ease. Get a Super State onto your Commander, and you could even knock out the table in one blow.
While this is enough to build Jin Sakai as a Voltron Commander, the card draw here is also extremely relevant, since this is a core weakness of Voltron decks. Removal will inevitably blow you out at some point, and a few extra cards can help make your setup turns more efficient.
Sadly, Jin Sakai has one major downside: the card is absurdly expensive on the secondary market. At $100 at the absolute cheapest, this isn’t a budget Commander. Still, if you don’t mind how expensive this card is, Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima certainly delivers as a Voltron Commander.
4 | Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER
The most popular Voltron Commander by a wide margin according to EDHREC, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is the Face Commander of Final Fantasy’s Limit Break Precon. This is essentially a playable Voltron Commander deck right out of the box, making it a great starting point for players who still need a lot of the core cards for the archetype.
That said, whether you use the precon or not, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER makes for a great Voltron Commander. Haste is a big deal here, allowing Cloud to immediately swing out for damage with something attached to him. If you flavorfully set up Buster Sword, Cloud will create a ludicrous amount so long as he can attack.
While the value Cloud creates can be quite strong, this Commander loses a lot of momentum compared to the other cards on this list after entering play. It doesn’t help that Cloud wants to equip multiple creatures to draw cards, since Voltron decks typically just want to beef up one creature. Still, for Final Fantasy fans, Cloud is plenty powerful, and shouldn’t let you down at a bracket 3 table.
3 | Kotis, the Fang Keeper
Among the best Voltron Commanders that MTG has to offer, Kotis, the Fangkeeper is the flashiest. By using equipment like Wrecking Ball Arm to give this creature a massive shot of stats, Kotis can cast a haymaker from your opponent each time it attacks. Give the Snake Hexproof with equipment like Swiftfoot Boots to dodge targeted exile removal, and Kotis’s Indestructible perk will make it extremely difficult to remove.
Once Kotis is massive, you can start doubling up on the Snake’s triggers with cards like Roaming ThroneRoaming ThroneWard {2}
As this creature enters, choose a creature type.
This creature is the chosen type in addition to its other types.
If a triggered ability of another creature you control of the chosen type triggers, it triggers an additional time., stealing two cards every time you connect. Granting Kotis Double Strike with something like Fireshrieker pushes this even further, letting you steal a whole bunch of spells from an opponent. Ironically, this can make killing certain opponents a downside, since you’ll lose all the cards you stole.
If anything, the only real downside to Kotis, like many other Voltron Commanders, is that this Snake’s game plan is incredibly straightforward. If your opponents focus on shutting down your Commander before you get started, this deck will struggle to get off the ground. Still, with tons of upside and some built-in protection, Kotis, the Fangkeeper is likely the most powerful traditional Voltron Commander out there.
2 | Captain America, First Avenger
As far as equipment Commanders go, Captain America: The First Avenger is one of the best. Able to equip something for free each turn, Captain America can easily utilize equipment with high equip costs like Colossus Hammer. The Cap is also surprisingly adept at controlling the board, utilizing his second ability with equipment like Excalibur, Sword of Eden, to take care of multiple threats at once.
You can take this even further by equipping your Commander with something that gives him Deathtouch, like Basilisk Collar. This gives Captain America the ability to remove three creatures per Throw activation, so long as you’re removing an equipment with mana value three or more. This can easily clear the way for a massive swing, taking down an opponent out of nowhere.
This control factor gives Captain America a lot of play that other Voltron decks don’t have, helping to police the table instead of going all-in on one creature. In a way, this avoids one of the Voltron archetype’s biggest weaknesses, preventing you from dying to an alpha strike after knocking one of your opponents out.
So long as you can shore up his card draw weakness, which is plenty easy with support cards like Puresteel Paladin, Captain America won’t let you down.
1 | Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice
While Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice is typically an extremely linear Commander, its sheer speed puts it a step ahead of the competition. So long as you can protect your Commander, Light-Paws grows big extraordinarily fast thanks to its triggered ability. Doubling up every time you cast an Aura, Light-Paws can one-shot your opponents quickly.
Despite being in Mono-White, it’s surprisingly easy to protect Light-Paws from your opponent’s spells, too. Benevolent Blessing can give Light-Paws Protection from any color of your choice, while Timely Ward can give your Commander Indestructible. Then, when you’re ready to knock your opponents out, All That Glitters and Ethereal Armor pump Light-Paws up to lethal levels.
Honestly, on top of Light-Paws being the best Voltron Commander out there, it’s also one of the easier Commanders to learn MTG with. Being one-color and having a straightforward game plan gives a new player a simple deck to learn. You’ll quickly learn which Auras to search for to protect yourself from common threats, and you’ll win a lot in the process.
While you can spend a lot of money building Light-Paws, you can also build this Commander on a budget. Being mono-color makes your mana base cheap, and many of the Auras Light-Paws uses are commons and uncommons. While this might not be the most fun Commander to play against, Light-Paws packs a ton of power for such a simple Commander and is easily the best way to play Voltron in the format.
Stick with us here at dev.mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast
