8 Commander Cards You Should Play More Often

As we head into 2026, I took a moment to think about the cards in my collection and in my brewing piles that I want to play more of in 2026. After coming up with a few firm favorites, I decided that actually, these are cards I think you should play more often, too. 

8 COMMANDER CARDS YOU SHOULD PLAY MORE OFTEN

KARAZIKAR, THE EYE TYRANT

Whenever I play a Karazikar, the game gets interesting. What makes it interesting is how double ended this card can be. Sure, it can give you cards and direct attacks elsewhere. But, it also has opponents digging deeper too, and you’ll lose life when they do so. Eventually, they could hit their big pieces before you, which is risky.

That said, the juice is definitely worth the squeeze here, especially if your games tend to be on the longer side. Karazikar speeds up games, and even if you don’t get what you need, someone else will.

BARROWGOYF

John Barrowgoyf is an excellent card, and one that doesn’t need to be limited to the Goyfs precon or some kind of keyword soup deck. In any black deck that cares about creatures and the graveyard (which, spoilers, is a lot of them), Barrowgoyf is a homerun of a card. It’s hard to attack into, it’s hard to block, it provides continual value, and it even tops up your life. That’s a pretty perfect three drop.

THE BLUE SPIRIT

Ever since this one was previewed in Avatar Jumpstart – which has some great cards, by the way – I’ve been really high on it. Anything that encourages people to play with more creature-based blue decks is much needed, and this Human Rogue Ally not only encourages you, but rewards you handsomely. Flash speed casts, and card draw? And a 2/4, with great creature typing? What’s not to love?

PORTAL MANIPULATOR

The kind of card that makes me want to play Azorious single-handedly, Portal Manipulator manipulates portals… two-handedly. Ahem.

Portal Manipulator makes the ever-101st Portal Mage into a real card, and it’s a card I can’t stop playing. It’s a fog, yes, but it also redirects damage. Unlike some other similar effects, it doesn’t allow an extra attack (which is why I’m low on Take the Bait, as opponents get extra attack triggers). Instead, it just switches attacks to someone else. It also gets around Ghostly Prison and Propaganda, which is great.

It’s saved my bacon plenty of times, and I always feel galaxy-brained for pulling it off.

SUN TITAN

A few articles ago, I wrote about how Sun Titan is Truly the Sun that Never Sets. One of the cards I want to play a lot more of in 2026 is Sun Titan… because it just always brings me joy. It’s a tempo-setting card, and it does a lot. I stopped playing it as often for a hot second as I wanted to play more varied cards, but if there’s a card that’s seemingly out-of-fashion but is actually still a banger, it’s Sun Titan. Play it more.

RUSHED REBIRTH

On the list of cards that people forget exist, Rushed Rebirth is pretty high. It’s a cheap piece of interaction that does somewhat rely on your playgroup playing wraths as well as exile removal, but if you’re also sacrificing your own stuff, then you should be able to get a lot out of this one. It’s a to-field tutor, bypassing paying mana costs, which is good value for only two mana. Conditional tutors like this that balloon in value if you can pull them off are a lot more exciting to me than a Demonic Tutor in Casual play.

DRAGONFIRE BLADE

Dragonfire Blade has impressed me a lot since it came out, and it shows no signs of stopping. It’s essentially most of a Champion’s Helm but for a good deal less mana, especially if your creature is three or more colors. Hexproof from monocolored means hexproof from most spells two mana and below, and that means you’re generally quite safe from removal – especially as this is hexproof from all permanent or card types, not just instants. 

CUT TO RIBBONS

Cut to Ribbons is something of an old-school favorite of mine at this point. I played a lot of it in Amonkhet Standard, I used it in Chaos Drafts to great effect, and it featured in both my Chainer Nightmare Adept and my Burakos/Guild Artisan Rakdos decks. I haven’t played with the card for a hot second, but it seems better than ever, considering how often people sit at low life totals toward the end of the game and you just need something to break a stalemate. It’s worth another look for sure.

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These are eight cards I believe you should check out, and hopefully play more often. They bring a lot of value to lists, and I don’t see them across the table very often. Do you play these? Let us know on socials.