Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves have been Commander staples for as long as anyone can remember. But are they basically the same, or is one better? Let’s dig in a little and figure out which is the better fit for your Commander.
SWIFTFOOT BOOTS VS LIGHTNING GREAVES
Having an onboard way to protect your key pieces is great value, and means you don’t have to sit with a protection spell in hand or dig for recursion. In Commander, this often ends up being used as a way to protect your Commander so you don’t have to take a turn off recasting it. This works especially well if you can deploy the equipment first and your Commander costs more, as it’ll already be on board.
If you can keep a key piece in play, it means you’re able to spend mana on other pieces that synergize with it – and eventually, this means you’ll get closer to a win a lot quicker.
What’s more, the haste on these equipment can help Commanders or other creatures with strong attack trigger or tap abilities come out of the gates swinging, which can help when you’re concerned you might lose creatures to removal before you untap.
But when are Boots better, and when are Greaves better?
LIGHTNING GREAVES COST ZERO TO EQUIP
The big part that attracts people to Lightning Greaves is that they cost zero to equip. This means you don’t need to hold up extra mana or add {1} mana to your calculations when figuring out how to deploy a key creature.
When it comes to a Commander that you want to be attacking with straight away, it makes sense to play Lightning Greaves. Slamming Etali, Primal Storm or Kaalia of the Vast on curve with a Greaves already in play is much easier than needing the extra mana for Swiftfoot Boots.
In a deck like Kaalia, you’re not overly concerned with having Kaalia have Shroud either. You rarely need to target her, and so it won’t mess you up. Shroud can and does mess people up in other builds, though.
SWIFTFOOT BOOTS ARE BETTER FOR RUNNING ALONE
If you’re out for a lone run, then Swiftfoot Boots start to perform better. Voltron decks that like to target their own creatures with other Auras and Equipment, and Spellslinger decks that often target multiple creatures in play with powerful instants and sorceries? They much prefer Swiftfoot Boots, as Lightning Greaves can often get in the way.
In addition, the extra mana to equip Swifties is rarely felt by equipment decks, as they have many ways to reduce equip costs by at least {1} mana. It’s also somewhat true of Spellslinger decks, as many of them give you extra ritual or treasure mana that – though better to bank if possible – can be used for equipping Boots.
TRY ON THESE FOR SIZE
Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves aren’t the only options, and there are a number of noteworthy cards also in the conversation. For the most part, you’ll be choosing these to complement the outfit – you’ve already got your shoes sorted. It can’t hurt to have these in your wardrobe too, though.
Silver Shroud Costume is an instant speed trick that can give a creature Shroud, and then sticks around as a way to make it unblockable. It doesn’t replace Greaves or Boots, but it can be played well alongside them. Decks that ordinarily go for Boots are happy to play the Silver Shroud Costume as a trick, even if they’d otherwise steer away from Greaves.
If you’re running Urza’s Saga or you have ways to copy equipment in your deck (looking at you, Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain) then Lavaspur Boots can be worth a look – especially if haste is important to you. The extra attack buff can be helpful for getting those last points of damage you need.
If you’re in Blue, I’d consider Winged Boots for sure. Ward {4} is basically hexproof, and having Flying and Hexproof for the same cost as Swiftfoot Boots is really good value. It’s honestly a card I would expect to see a lot more.
Voltron decks might snap up Boots (or Greaves, if they’re feeling greedy), but instead of running both, it’s nearly always better to look at Champion’s Helm and newcomer Dragonfire Blade. If you really care about the hexproof and killing people quickly, these are the best of both worlds. Dragonfire Blade is especially enticing in three or more color decks.
END STEP
While Boots and Greaves are both good, they have their places. While it’s “better to be lucky than good” (and you could easily take Greaves in a Voltron style deck and not be punished too often), it’s important to understand where each card excels.
As you get to higher power tables, redirect effects like Redirect Lightning and counterspells like Fierce Guardianship start to become more attractive options. They’re better tempo plays and more economical with card slots, being much more flexible in different gameplay situations.
One interesting card to evaluate here is Fire Lord Azula. While she is like Kaalia or Etali in that she wants to come out swinging with protection as soon as possible, she is also leading the kind of deck where you want to target your own creatures. 56% of Azula decks are running Swiftfoot Boots, which is correct seeing as you have spells that can target your creatures – but a massive 39% of Azula decks are still also running Lightning Greaves. Is that the right choice? Or are instant speed tricks much better in an Azula deck? Let us know your thoughts on Socials.
Kristen is Card Kingdom’s Head Writer and a member of the Commander Format Panel. Formerly a competitive Pokémon TCG grinder, she has been playing Magic since Shadows Over Innistrad, which in her opinion, was a great set to start with. When she’s not taking names with Equipment and Aggro strategies in Commander, she loves to play any form of Limited.