Legions is a weird set. Released in February of 2003 as the second set of Onslaught Block, it has one of the most extreme set gimmicks we’ve ever seen. That’s because every single card in the set has the same card type! All 145 cards in Legions are creatures.
On the whole, Onslaught block was very focused on creature types, so it makes some sense that they went as hard on creatures as they possibly could in one of its sets. So, it should come as no surprise that there are some powerful creatures in the set!
The muse cycle, and especially Seedborn and Windborn Muse are probably the Legions cards you’ve encountered the most when playing Commander.
However, there are many other creatures in Legions that deserve more serious consideration when building your Commander decks.
Wirewood Channeler
Played in 2% of Green Decks on EDHRec
This sees more play than most of the cards that I look at in these articles, but the Channeler should definitely be played in 100% of the Elf decks on EDHRec and it’s only played in about half of them So I think it’s worth addressing here.
While it’s got an ugly stat-line, the Channeler’s ability to tap for mana is almost unrivaled, even among elves. Most of the time Elvish Archdruid is better, but you definitely want to have more than one elf in your deck capable of tapping for this much mana. This is especially true if your Commander is Ezuri, since he has a very powerful activated ability that you can sink all that mana into.
The Channeler even has one advantage over the Archdruid, since it can tap for mana of any color. Not all Elf decks are mono-green, and sometimes you’d like to make a bunch of mana of another color. In fact, these days Lathril is the most popular Elf Commander. And she also happens to make lots of Elf tokens and like the Channeler, pays you off for having tons of them.
Goblin Clearcutter
Played in .0012% of Red Decks on EDHRec
Goblin Clearcutter requires a very specific deck. After all, it’s a mono-Red card that has an ability that only works if you have Forests in your deck.
However, once you’ve cleared that hurdle, the Clearcutter gives you access to some impressive ramp. If you have a deck that likes it when lands are in the graveyard, you won’t even feel like you’re giving anything up to generate all that mana.
For example, if you’re using Windgrace – whether in planeswalker or creature form – you should take a pretty hard look at Goblin Clearcutter. They can both get you lands back from the graveyard and give you powerful effects when you do it.
Bane of the Living
Played in .9% of Black Decks on EDHRec
Morph is a big feature in Legions. After all, if you have a set without any noncreature spells in it, you still need to find a way for there to be some instant-speed interactions. Otherwise, the Limited format especially would suffer. They did this by putting lots of Morphs in the set with spell-like effects when they are turned face up.
Bane of the Living is one of the most powerful morph creatures in the set. When it’s turned face up, it has the potential to wipe the board. It’s also a sweeper effect you have tons of control over. If you have bigger creatures around, giving -2/-2 to the whole board might be the best course of action.
But it still has the potential to wipe away everything. And because it’s a -X/-X effect it can kill virtually anything as long as you pay enough mana for X. Indestructible creatures aren’t even safe.
It’s also a sweeper that’s very difficult to counter or stop in any way, since Morph is a special action that doesn’t use the stack. Add all of that up, and we have a sweeper that more Black decks should be playing. This is especially true if you’ve got a commander like Zask, you can get extra mileage out of the Bane’s creature type.
Warbreak Trumpeter
Played in .04% of Red Decks on EDHRec
Warbreak Trumpeter is another creature with X in its Morph cost. While it’s effect isn’t quite as gamebreaking, adding a ton of Goblins to the board at instant speed is no small thing.
If you’re playing a commander like Krenko, who loves going wide with Goblins, Warbreak Trumpeter should probably be in your deck. Sure, Krenko is better at making those Goblins, but the Trumpeter can do a bad impression of Krenko, and even allow Krenko to go off even faster.
The Trumpeter also works nicely alongside commanders like Purphoros, who damages your opponent any time a creature enters the battlefield. He can also pump your entire board! Warbreak Trumpeter can very easily take advantage of either of those effects.
Planar Guide
Played in .006% of White Decks on EDHRec
Planar Guide is the only card in the game that blinks every creature. The symmetry of the effect is definitely a double-edge sword, as sometimes you’re going to wish you could only blink your entire board. However, there are some pretty serious benefits to being able to affect every creature.
You can of course use it to give everyone ETB abilities all over again, but because it’s a delayed blink, you can also use it to save all creatures from sweepers. The Guide also wipes out all creature tokens, something that is useful in a whole lot of situations.
There are also a few ways for you to break the Guide’s symmetry. For one thing, you can just be playing a deck that’s all about abusing ETBs. If you do that, you’re more likely to generate the most value from its ability.
However, the most powerful way to break that symmetry is to use Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines as your Commander.
She doubles all of your ETB abilities while shutting off all of your opponents’. In that style of deck, there’s a good chance activating Planar Guide’s ability is just game over.
End Step
Those are my picks for the most underrated commander Cards in Legions. What do you think? Am I overrating any of these cards? Or are there some cards you think I missed? Let me know over on X.
Jacob has been playing Magic for the better part of 24 years, and he especially loves playing Magic’s Limited formats. He also holds a PhD in history from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, he started his YouTube channel, “Nizzahon Magic,” where he combines his interests with many videos covering Magic’s competitive history. When he’s not playing Magic or making Magic content, he can be found teaching college-level history courses or caring for a menagerie of pets with his wife.