If you’re looking for a great Magic: The Gathering Commander to help combat your mana woes, then look no further than Bant, the green, white, and blue combination. You’ll never be short on mana again if you build around this mana identity, known for fast, powerful ramp and huge creature spells that look to get damage through to players by any means necessary.
Updated October 29, 2026, by Niall Walsh: Bant is the ramp machine of Magic, and there are some genuinely fun Commanders within the white, green, and blue mana pool. It’s been over a year since we last looked at this list, so we’ve returned to add any stand-out Commanders from the past seven-plus Magic sets.
21
Phelddagrif
He Just Wants To Give Everyone A Hug
As one of the premier Group Hug commanders of the format, many players view Phelddagrif as a joke commander. While there is some truth to this, Phelddagrif brings political negotiating power to the table in a multiplayer format.
A 4/4 for four mana, Phelddagrif has three activated abilities that give you a minor benefit while helping another player. For one white mana, Phelddagrif can give another player two life; for one blue mana, it can draw another player a card; and for one green mana, it can create a 1/1 Hippo token under another player’s control. These effects can be used to bribe players during negotiations, but you can take back these gifts with spells like Reverse the Sands and Reins of Power.
20
Isu The Abominable
No Problems Like Snow Problems
It is always a winter wonderland when you’re playing Isu the Abominable in Commander, a rare Yeti creature that gives you a challenge in your deck design, to use as many Snow cards as you can.
Snow is a supertype in Magic; it doesn’t do anything on its own, and instead only comes into effect when cards like Isu check for it. Isu lets you look at the top card of your library at any time, and if the top card is a snow land or a snow spell, you can cast it from there.
Any time another snow permanent enters the battlefield under your control, you can pay either one white, blue, or green mana, putting a +1/+1 counter on Isu. With enough mana, you can continuously play from the top of your deck, casting practically anything off the top of your library so long as you have the mana for it.
19
Rafiq Of The Many
You Only Need One
While Rafiq of the Many was once one of the most popular commanders in the format, as power levels have shifted over the format’s lifespan, some have grown to view Rafiq less favorably. However, it is still a quite solid option for a Bant Voltron commander. A 3/3 with Exalted for four mana, in addition to its access to Exalted, Rafiq further incentivizes that you only attack with one creature at a time by providing a lone attacking creature with double strike.
This means that, simply by itself, Rafiq can swing in for eight damage for only four mana, growing even larger when paired with equipment and other creatures with Exalted, making the goal of defeating players with Commander Damage quite attainable.
18
Galea, Kindler Of Hope
Can Never Have Too Many Swords
Galea, Kindler of Hope is another Voltron commander option much like Rafiq. For four mana, this vigilant 4/4 allows you to look at the top card of your library at any time.
This is notable, as Galea allows you to play equipment and aura spells from the top of your library, even immediately attaching equipment played this way directly to a creature. This is quite powerful, as not only does Galea provide additional card access, but it can subvert high equip costs, potentially ignoring them entirely.
17
Morska, Undersea Sleuth
Can Never Have Enough Clues
Leave no stone uncovered with Morska, Undersea Sleuth, a Clue-based commander that rewards you for all your investigative skills with some huge power-ups. This cheap commander only costs three mana, one of each color initially, and has a great upkeep trigger. You get to keep making Clue tokens at the start of each of your upkeeps, so if you can give yourself multiple upkeeps in a turn, you get that many Clue tokens.
Then anytime you draw a second card on each turn, not just your own, you get to put two +1/+1 counters on her. You can trigger this on any player’s turn, effectively letting you pump her up on every turn she’s out. Once she has enough power, you can give her some type of evasion, either by giving her flying or making her unblockable, and then you can start taking your opponents out in a single swing.
16
Estrid, The Masked
A Planeswalker Among Commanders
A four-mana Planeswalker that can be one’s commander, Estrid, the Masked is a perfect option for those looking to play an Aura-based Bant deck. Versatile regarding aura synergies, Estrid can untap any enchanted permanent with its +2 ability, potentially providing mana ramp when targeting the likes of an enchanted land or mana-producing creature.
When short on Auras, Estrid’s -1 can create a Mask aura enchantment that can provide any permanent with totem armor, while its ultimate -7 ability mills seven, then putting all enchantments from your graveyard into play, potentially cheating high-impact cards into play.
15
Roon Of The Hidden Realm
Go Wild With ETBs
Flicker decks are those that aim to gain repeated value from “enter the battlefield” triggers from creatures. An iconic Bant flicker commander, Roon of the Hidden Realm is a 4/4 Rhino Soldier with vigilance and trample for five mana.
Once in play, not only can Roon make great use of its keywords, but, for two mana, it can be tapped to exile a creature, returning it to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step. This ability can not only flicker your own creatures, but it can also be used to interfere with an opponent’s plans by targeting key creatures such as blockers or those stacked with auras and equipment cards.
14
Falco Spara, Pactweaver
Why Not Make Your Deck Your Hand?
The leader of the Brokers faction of Streets of New Capenna, Falco Spara, Pactweaver, is a commander that allows you to convert counters on their creatures into card advantage. A 3/3 Bird Demon with flying and trample for four mana, Falco Spara enters the battlefield with a shield counter. Though shield counters offer solid protection, this creature provides all manner of counters with alternative utility.
Falco Spara’s most important ability is that, in addition to letting you look at the top card of your library at any time, you may cast spells from the top of your library as long as you remove a counter from a creature and pay that spell’s normal cost. This can give you access to many more cards and still let you cast spells even if your hand has run dry.
13
Shanna, Purifying Blade
Turn Your Life Gain Into Card Draw
While lifegain is a strategy that may tend to be written off as underpowered, Shanna, Purifying Blade is a great commander that is capable of converting your life-gaining effects into card advantage.
For the cost of three mana, this 3/3 Human Warrior with lifelink states that at the end of your turn, you may pay X mana to draw X cards, with the only restriction being that X can’t be greater than the amount of life you’d gained that turn. Because green excels at mana ramp and white offers plenty of ways to gain life, Shanna decks rarely run out of mana or life, so they can reliably draw massive amounts of cards over the course of a game.
12
Kellen, the Kid
It’s High Noon Somewhere
Up next from Outlaws at Thunder Junction is Kellen, the Kid. This three-mana 3/3 enters with Flying and Lifelink. Whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand, you may also cast a permanent spell with equal or lesser mana value from your hand without paying its mana cost. If you don’t, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield instead.
Kellen may have quite a lot of text for what is a fairly straightforward ability, but it’s just to ensure there is no grey area with his use. He works best in a deck built around Flashback spells, as well as anything that lets you cast spells directly from graveyards or exile.
