Over the years, Magic: The Gathering has seen various play formats spark the interest of its passionate community. Some have come and gone, while others, like EDH, otherwise known as Commander, have become such a force that they've dictated the release of entire sets dedicated to the format.
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In the world of Magic: The Gathering, the Zombie creature type is rather popular. For those who want to take this fandom into Commander, it's important to know which are the best Zombie commanders, standing, or rather, rising, above the rest.
Updated June 5th, 2023, by Chris Stomberg: It's no secret that Zombies are beloved by the Magic community. In fact, new Zombie cards are printed with nearly every Magic set release. Couple that with the presence of Zombie populated settings like Innistrad, and you've got a ton of Zombie cards running amok in the Magic universe. As they should be, of course. Zombies are pretty much pack animals, all things considered. Jokes aside, here's the biggest and baddest Zombies happy to serve as your commander.
Ratadrabik is by no means the best Zombie commander, but he is a great choice for players interested in making use of the white Zombie cards released in the Amonkhet setting. This commander also rewards you for stocking your deck full of legendary Zombies as it creates tokens of them should they be removed.
Thanks to ward 2, Ratadrabik himself is a bit of a pain for opponents to get rid of. Consequently, enemies are incentivized to use their removal on other creatures you control, which powers Ratadrabik's token ability.
The addition of vigilance to every Zombie creature on your side of the battlefield also makes it difficult for opponents to break through your defenses. This shores up the weakness of creature-based strategies in Commander, as turning all of your creatures sideways usually makes you susceptible to other players.
Perhaps a bit of a strange choice for a Zombie tribal deck, Bladewing is nonetheless effective at generating a fair number of Zombie creature tokens. Even better, these Zombie tokens are Knights that come with the menace keyword attached.
Bladewing might best serve as a commander for some kind of Dragon, Knight, Zombie hybrid creature type deck. Thankfully, Rakdos is a great color pairing for these creatures. If you can't choose just one creature type to focus on, or you're simply ready to shake things up with a cool new Commander deck, Bladewing's skeleton is at the ready.
Muldrotha may not be a Zombie itself, but it does make for a great Zombie commander due to its ability which allows you to cast one card of every permanent type from your graveyard each turn. Besides, that art looks pretty Zombie-esque.
Furthermore, cards like Prized Amalgam reward you for casting spells from your graveyard, providing you with added incentives and benefits for using Muldrotha's passive ability. Another benefit is that Muldrotha does not exile cards you play with her after they're played: a common side effect of casting cards from your graveyard.
Josu Vess is a great Zombie commander in any deck that expects to go into the late game. While late-game or control strategies aren't necessarily common when talking about creature type decks, Commander is a format where games often go into upwards of fifteen turns.
Consequently, Josu Vess makes for a commander that acts as a game-ending threat each time you cast him with kicker. As soon as you hit ten mana and every turn afterward (if he's removed), you can cast Josu Vess again and again from the command zone - filling your side of the battlefield with a nigh-infinite number of Zombie tokens. That's one way to crash a Commander party.
Why have one commander when you can have two instead? Tormod and Kraum make for good partners, seeing as you can cast them on turns four and five. They also provide you access to Grixis (red/blue/black) colors. Zombies are predominantly printed in black and blue, so having access to these colors provides you with a lot of options as far as creatures are concerned.
Furthermore, Tormod's ability will trigger off of many Zombie-related effects, making you tokens for simply doing what your deck wants to do. Meanwhile, Kraum is a significant threat on its own thanks to flying, haste, and its four toughness. Additionally, its passive ability to draw cards makes it incredibly powerful if it stays on the battlefield.
Acererak fits well in a Zombie deck that also runs a venture into the dungeon theme. Unfortunately, there are not all that many venture into the dungeon cards solely in black. That being said, you can allow Acererak's trigger to return it to your hand instead of the command zone and continue to cast it again and again until you complete the dungeon.
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Once you've completed Tomb of Annihilation, Acererak's attack trigger becomes difficult for opponents to deal with. Forcing each opponent to sacrifice a creature or allow you to create a Zombie token is no small thing. While it's unlikely that every one of your opponents will be hit hard by this ability, it's fair to say that at least one or two will find it a nuisance.
Ayara may not be a Zombie herself, but her abilities are incredibly good for a deck that's planning on playing creatures repetitively. Once she's on the battlefield, every creature you play deals one damage to each opponent while increasing your own life total.
Furthermore, you can use Ayara to dig deeper into your deck by sacrificing creatures or Zombie tokens you create, giving you even more chances to activate her ability. It's worth mentioning that you can also place infinite combos into your Ayara deck that provide you with an alternative win condition. While these combos don't all involve Zombies entirely, Reassembling Skeleton is an important piece in many of them.
Nevinyrral, Urborg Tyrant is a Zombie Wizard that functions as an S-tier Wrath of God with additional benefits. For six converted mana, this 3/6 enters the field with hexproof from artifacts, creatures, and enchantments. When it dies, you can pay one mana to destroy all of the things it has hexproof from, essentially wiping the board.
If you can cast him in the same turn that he is removed, you'll get maximum return from his token spawning ability. It creates a 2/2 black Zombie token for every creature that died during the same turn in which he enters the battlefield.
Seeing as he wipes the battlefield when he leaves it, that's a lot of Zombies we're talking about. With enough mana and setup, Nevinyrral can single-handedly change a game of Commander in your favor.
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born is considered by many to be the most entry-level and newcomer friendly of all the relevant Zombie commanders available in the format. For five converted mana, you get a 5/5 creature with a host of abilities. It enters the battlefield tapped, and the only way to untap this Zombie Warrior is to sacrifice another creature, which also lets you put a +1/+1 counter on Grimgrin.
Additionally, when Grimgrin attacks, you get to destroy target creature an opponent controls, and you get to add another +1/+1 counter to it. To get the most out of him, you'll want to build a deck that can get Zombies out onto the battlefield while also having ways to reanimate them from your graveyard.
Grixis is the color combination of blue, black, and red mana. It provides a stable base of destruction and control. Sedris, the Traitor King is easily the best Zombie commander in this category. The 5/5 Zombie Warrior costs six converted mana and has an ability that gives each creature card in your graveyard unearth for three converted mana.
This means that for three mana, you can bring a creature to the battlefield with haste. If it doesn't die in combat, it will be exiled at the end of that turn. In a deck focused on milling, this ability can provide late-game answers to a host of overwhelming board states from your opponents.
It's hard to deny how classic and iconic the original art for Mikaeus, the Unhallowed feels in terms of representing Zombies in the world of Magic: The Gathering. The legendary Zombie Cleric is a 5/5 with intimidate and essentially gives you protection from Humans.
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Whenever a Human damages you, it is destroyed. Pair this with Mikaeus' other ability, which gives all non-Human creatures you control +1/+1 and undying, and for six converted mana and you have yourself a true Zombie commander.
When it comes to strategy and playstyle, this is one commander that can flip the status of a game rather quickly. Varina costs just four converted mana and will lead an Esper (white/blue/black) deck centered around getting as many Zombies in play as possible.
Attached to its 4/4 body is an ability that triggers when you attack with Zombie creatures. For every Zombie you attack with during a given combat phase, you'll draw that many cards, then discard that many cards. Depending on what this number is, you'll also gain that much life. Varina works as both a mill commander and a self-healer: both great boons for a Zombie deck to have.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant is a rather effective Zombie token generator, but its reliance on a three-color Sultai (black/green/blue) deck forces building a deck around it to be a bit more difficult.
That being said, whenever Sidisi attacks or enters the battlefield, it lets you mill the top three cards of your deck. Its second ability makes it so that when a creature is discarded from your library into the graveyard, you get a free 2/2 black Zombie token as a reward. It's a pretty good trade-off for a commander who can be cast early in the game.
While you won't find a ton of Zombie cards in green, it is the source of some of the best ramp in the game. This makes it easier to unload your Zombies onto the battlefield earlier in the game.
Zombie players looking to keep it classic with a mono-black deck need look no further than Ghoulcaller Gisa. Ghoulcaller is great for blanking opposing removal and creating a huge army of Zombie tokens. What's more traditional for Zombies than winning with an inordinate amount of 2/2 tokens?
Importantly, Gisa has a toughness of four which allows her to survive many damage-based removal spells. You can also use Gisa in combination with the popular Zombie combo of Phyrexian Altar, Gravecrawler, and Champion of the Perished to create infinite Zombie tokens. It doesn't get much more flavorful than that.
When thinking of the best Zombie commanders, you likely think of cards that are of the Zombie creature type, but the legendary duo of Gisa and Geralf breaks this mold. The Human Wizards have you mill four cards when they enter the battlefield. In addition, on each of your turns, you can cast Zombie creature spells from your graveyard.
Building a Commander deck focused on milling your deck into your graveyard can take great advantage of this wonderful ability. Just make sure to have counter spells and removal for things that would cause you to exile your graveyard, or else this pair will have trouble getting online.
Liliana is one of the most popular planeswalkers in all of Magic: The Gathering and easily the most notable in regard to those belonging to the black mana color. Her three converted mana cost card, Liliana, Heretical Healer, is a 2/3 with lifelink that will create a 2/2 black Zombie token anytime another non-token creature you control dies.
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Her transformed state is titled Liliana, Defiant Necromancer and is an actual planeswalker card that functions as a solid reanimator. Liliana lovers and players interested in using a planeswalker as their commander alike may just prefer this particular Zombie leader.
When MTG decided to add Gods to their lineup as a creature type, it was inevitable that something like The Scarab God would come around. This thing has a host of abilities, but at its base, it is a 5/5 for five converted mana.
In addition to triggering multiple things based on how many Zombies you control, this commander will be sent back to its owner's hand when it dies, meaning it can continuously be cast for its base five converted mana until it is discarded or exiled. The Scarab God, for four converted mana, can also exile creatures from any graveyard and create a 4/4 black Zombie token copy of said creature.
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver is arguably the best choice when it comes to building a Commander deck with a Zombie commander. For four total mana value, Wilhelt gives you a sacrifice outlet for your creatures, adding synergy with other cards, and adds Zombie tokens to the battlefield each time a Zombie dies.
When he triggers, Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver puts a 2/2 black Zombie token with decayed onto the battlefield. If you choose to use his ability to sacrifice a Zombie you control on your end step, you'll be able to draw a card, adding more cards (Zombies, hopefully) to your hand. Let the Zombie parade begin!
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