Commander (also known as EDH) is one of the most popular formats in Magic: the Gathering.
Talk to just about any Magic player, and they’ve probably got several Commander decks. Dedicated Commander players will spend weeks meticulously choosing their Commander and fine-tuning one of these huge hundred-card decks.
If you’re looking to get into Commander, or just want to expand your already-existing collection of Commander-oriented cards, you could consider a booster box. We’ll show you what we think are some of the best MTG booster boxes for Commander.
You’ll discover the following:
- What traits to consider before you choose a booster box
- Our choices for the best Commander-oriented booster boxes
- What makes each booster box worth your while (and what the drawbacks are)
- Our overall top recommendation
Let’s get started.
Features to Consider
If you’re a beginner, it’s important to understand the basic construction of a Commander deck.
Rather than having 60 cards like the average deck, these have 100 cards. One of those cards is your Commander, a legendary creature.
It’s important to note that generally, when you’re looking to build a Commander deck, it’s better to buy single cards as opposed to boxes. That’s because if you’re looking for a specific card, you’re gambling on whether or not you’ll actually get it when you buy a box.
However, if you’re simply looking to expand your collection of Commander cards overall, there’s nothing wrong with choosing a booster box.
As a general rule, multi-color decks tend to thrive in this format. That’s why you should examine the following qualities when you choose your booster box:
- Legendary creatures
- Multi-color support
- Theme
Legendary Creatures
You can’t choose just any awesome creature to be your Commander. With a few exceptions, your Commander has to be a legendary creature type.
So if you don’t have one selected already or you just want a bunch to choose from for future decks, you’ll want to pick a booster box that has plenty of legendary creatures in it.
For example, Dominaria was a set that was built with a lot of legendary creatures. It even included some uncommon legendary creatures, expanding the available options for prospective Commanders.
Multi-Color Support
Generally, Commander decks make use of two or more colors.
Why? In short, when you use more than one color, you give yourself a deeper card pool to draw from.
However, choosing more colors is also a bit of a double-edged sword. As you use more colors, you complicate your mana base, because you’ll need to figure out a way to make all those colors readily available.
If you’re planning on making a multi-color Commander deck, you’ll need cards that support your colors. This includes cards that are themselves multiple colors, or cards such as artifacts that help you produce the colors you need.
Theme
Different sets have different themes.
Some, like Dominaria, have themes that focus on legendary creatures. Others, such as Dragon’s Maze, pay attention to guilds or multi-color cards.
There’s also “flavor” to consider here, if that’s something important to you. For example, if dark and gothic is your thing, you can’t really go wrong with sets like Innistrad or Eldritch Moon.
Fans of gods or Greek mythology will love the new Theros Beyond Death set. It includes gods galore, and uniquely beautiful constellation art versions of various cards.
Best MTG Booster Boxes for Commander
Dominaria
Uncommon legendary creatures were incredibly rare before the creation of Dominaria. What this set did was vastly expand your potential Commander choices by adding a plethora of uncommon legendaries.
If you don’t have a Commander picked out and just want to browse a bunch of options, this is a good box for you.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Has lots of Commanders to choose from
- Comes with a lot of historic spell support
Cons:
- Weaker land cards than in other sets
- Fast-paced aggressive cards are not as strong in this set
Dragon’s Maze
Multi-color deck options are abundant in Dragon’s Maze. With all ten guilds available, you’ll have tons of multi-color cards to choose from – and all for an affordable price.
This is the box for you if you’re looking to expand your collection of dual color cards.
Pros:
- With all ten guilds, you’ll have tons of dual color cards to choose from
- Extremely inexpensive
- Potential to pull shock lands that are consistently valuable
Cons:
- You won’t have as many choices for mono-color decks here
- Cards are in general very low-power
- Other than shock lands, there are not a lot of valuable cards in this set
Khans of Tarkir
If you’re going to play a tri-color deck, you’ll find a lot of support for it in Khans of Tarkir. As bonus, this set included a lot of expensive and powerful fetch lands.
Pros:
- Tons of tri-color cards makes building a triple-color deck easier
- Possibility of getting a rare and valuable fetch land
- Plenty of legendary creatures to select a Commander from
Cons:
- A little more on the expensive end of the spectrum
Battlebond
Although Battlebond works best for drafting or playing paired two-headed giant games, it’s a set that also has numerous Commander staples. Things such as Doubling Season and powerful dual color lands are all potential cards you might draw.
Pros:
- Plenty of classic Commander cards available, like Doubling Season
- Has cards with mechanics that focus on multi-player games
Cons:
- More expensive than some other options
- If you’re not playing with a teammate, some card mechanics may not be relevant for you
Theros Beyond Death
At the time of this guide, Theros Beyond Death is the newest set to come out. Time will tell how it performs in formats across the board, but it brings to the table many promising legendary creatures, such as gods.
Pros:
- Intriguing Greek mythology-inspired theme
- New gods to potentially choose Commanders from
- Uncommon legendary creatures expands the pool of potential Commanders
Cons:
- With brand-new sets, it’s difficult to tell how prices for individual cards will fluctuate. You may find your valuable cards drop or your seemingly cheap cards rocket up in price.
- Since the set is still new, you can’t necessarily tell for sure how many or which cards will be banned from Commander in the future.
Wrap Up
All the booster boxes on this list were included because they have something to contribute to the Commander format. However, our personal recommendation is Khans of Tarkir.
This is because it simplifies the building of tri-color decks, has a wide array of potential Commanders, and players consistently report it as being a high-quality set.
It’s also important to include that these things constantly change. With the advent of Wizards of the Coast’s upcoming Commander Legends set, a set designed specifically for Commander, we’re likely to see some interesting shifts in this format.