by Johnny Cycles, December 10th, 2024
For those of you who don’t want to watch…
Hello! I’m Johnny Cycles with cyclesgaming.com and welcome to my very first top 10 list. This year, I’ve written about a budget Selvala, Heart of the Wilds Elf Tribal deck and a non-budget one, so I’ve had elves on my mind.
Today I’m going to share my top 10 Mono Green Elf Lords in Commander.
Real quick: my parameters for Elf lords are 2-fold. First, they have to be elves. Second, they have to at least grant elves +1/+1. My inspiration for these guidelines is Lord of Atlantis from Alpha.
Of course, now that I’ve stated my rules, I may as well tell you that I do bend them…just a little!
On to the top 10!
10.
Starting us off at #10 is an old card with a single printing – Kaysa, a legendary Elf Druid from Alliances. For 5 mana we get a 2/3 body attached to a worse Gaea’s Anthem. Still, the art is cool AND she can be your commander…maybe in Druid Tribal…or wispy, long-hair tribal.
9. 
The stats on this Elf Warrior from Magic Origins are respectable. Reach is nice for a tribe that lacks fliers, while the lifegain can be relevant, though not as synergistic in a mono Green Elf Deck as it would be in some other, non-Elf Tribal builds. 4 mana is a lot and the main reason I have this Lord at #9.
8. 
Another 4-mana Lord, this one taps for 3 , making it a legitimate target for Wirewood Lodge and other untap effects. Generating a lot of mana is what my Elf Tribal deck is about, giving this Elf Warrior the edge over Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen.
7. 
Our first 3-mana Lord, Imperious Perfect is budget friendly, its cheapest version coming in at around .50. 3 mana is the going rate for Lord effects, making this Lord superior to the ones above it simply for this reason. It’s ability to make a 1/1 every turn also makes this Elf Warrior a 1-Elf army generator…albeit slowly.
6. 
Costing 2 is why this otherwise vanilla for Commander lord is at #6. Yes, that’s a lot of useless text for us, but don’t underestimate the power of a Lord effect that comes down on turn 2.
5.
Starting our top 5 is a powerful Lord that can let us swing for lethal the turn we play him against anyone playing or if we have a Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth out.
4. 
This Elf Soldier checks the box of costing 3-mana, while serving as a lethal mana-sink in the late game. For a deck that can make upwards to 20 mana easily and early, there will be games where we cast this and get 8 copies alongside the original. That alone makes this Lord a serious contender for 1st on our list.
And yet…it’s not even in the top 3! What could possibly be better?
3. 
A super budget-unfriendly card, this Lord has only a single printing and is our only non-traditional Lord. That is, it doesn’t grant Elves the usual +1/+1 associated with the origin of the lords in Magic, Lord of Atlantis.
Granting forestwalk is undoubtably powerful, but giving our team shroud is why this Lord is #3 on our list. And all for just 2 .
2. 
A budget friendly Lord in the top 3! Yes! Is this Druid really better than Galadhrim Brigade? Well, one of our best ways of generating all the mana we need to make a game-ending number of copies of that card is Elvish Archdruid Even without Galadhrim Brigade, generating a ton of mana in a single turn is usually the way we win with our Elf deck, making Elvish Archdruid #2 on our list.
What could possibly be better than what we’ve already seen?
1. 
A 2-mana Lord that turns each subsequent Elf we cast into a 1-mana cantrip is what. Running out of gas is the kryptonite of any synergistic, go-wide creature strategy. This rare from Dominaria United is the Elvish Superman.
So what do you think? Which Elf Lord tops your list? Have I forgotten any? Does Allosaurus Shepherd deserve an inclusion, even if it’s ability isn’t quite up to Elf Lord restricitions? And if you’re interested in Elf Tribal in Commander, be sure to check out cyclesgaming.com where you can find both my budget friendly and my non-budget decklists.
Thanks for watching! I’m Johnny Cycles. I’ll catch y’all on the next one!
