Whether you are coming from my article on the top 20 commander strom cards, or found me online, storm commanders are a lot of fun.
For those who do not know, storm commanders are designed to encourage the casting of several low CMC spells to eventually create so much value in one turn, that they win.
So what goes into making a good Storm commander?
Table of Contents
What Makes a good storm commander?
A good storm commander will usually do 1 of 2 things, ramp you a ton for casting more spells, or drawing you more cards than usual. This helps offshoot the two biggest weaknesses to storm; draw & ramp.
As such even if you see a commander not on here and want to build a storm version of it, ask these two questions. (1) Does my commander allow me to draw more cards, the more I draw? And (2) Does my commander allow me to ramp more the more I ramp?
If your commander can do either one of these than your commander will most likely make for a good storm commander. But enough of that, let’s delve into the storm.
Kykar, Wind’s Fury
Kykar, Wind’s fury is one of the classic storm commanders. Giving you both bodies, and mana everytime you cast a noncreature spell, this becomes a great way to assemble an army of spirits or mana to cast more spells. Either way this is a really versatile commander that many players have loved over the years.
Pros-
- Supplies you with a lot of mana
- Supplies you with an army of 1/1 spirits
- Versatile and unique playstyle
Cons
- White is not storm friendly
- Deck can be a little challenging to navigate without a clear plan
Who Likes it
Players who would like Kykar as their storm commander are usually those you like being more offensive than combo. This means they prefer to attack and swing with several small creatures or a few huge creatures. Making this one of the more combat friendly storm commanders.
Win cons
- winging wide with several 1/1 spirits,
- polymorphing into big creatures,
- underworld breach+ brainfreeze storm line.
Elsha of the Infinite
While Kykar was the deck for storm players who love combat, Elsha was designed for those that love combos. This deck while a little less simple, attempts to win by using a combo to generate an arbitrarily large storm via using the commanders ability to cast cards from the top of their library to assemble a win.
Pros-
- Combos synergize well with the commander
- Able to always have an additional card thanks to commanders ability
- Very distinct way to win
Cons
- Lacks versatility
- Heavily reliant on commander
- Slightly High Commander cost
Who Likes it
People who will enjoy this deck are usually those with a love for always having more cards to play and don’t mind infinite combos. Due to the commanders innate design this deck works best by playing several pseudo infinite win-cons that if resolve win you the game.
Win cons
- Aetherflux Reservoir
- Dualcaster+ Heatshimmer
- Elsha+ Sensei Divining Top+ Mana reducer
Eruth, Tormented Prophet
Eruth, tormented voice is a great storm commander. While not giving you the ramp your deck needs, it in turn allows you to have double the amount of cards when you storm off. This can be an incredibly fun deck by abusing cards like frantic search to effectively draw 4 and potentially discard none, but can be hamstringed hard by cards like drannith magistrate.
Pros-
- Draw a ton of cards
- Can circumvent discard effects
Cons
- Weak to drannith magistrate cards
- Hard to rebuild if storm fizzles
Who Likes it
Eruth is the perfect storm commander for those that love options. While more restrictive in timing than other commander, this one’s ability to see more cards overwhelms most other storm decks. Making this a great option for those that like to see half their deck every game.
Win cons
- Thassa’s oracle
- Grinning ignus+ Birgi/Treasonous ogre + Aetherflux reservoir
- Thousand-Year Storm
Birgi, god of storytelling
Birgi trades easy draw, for easy mana. Being able to get a red for ANY spell cast, means you can easily keep a storm going. Making her a great storm commander.
Pros-
- Easy mana creation
- Flexible backside
Cons
- Mono red
- Lacks card draw
Who Likes it
Birgi players are those that like to always have mana to cast spells, while they may not have a ton of cards in hand, they always have the mana to make impactful casts. As such, this should be a deck you should try if you find yourself constantly wanting more mana to cast more spells.
Win cons
- Mizzix Mastery
- Grinning Ignus+ Grapeshot
- Dualcaster+ twinflame/heatshimmer
Jhoira, weatherlight captain
One of the more unique storm commanders that encourage casting more spells. This deck takes a different approach in that rather than storming through instant and sorceries, it does through artifacts. Ranking in one of the higher power slots, this deck attempts to cast a bunch of historic spells to generate a large board presence and then win through a few different lines.
Pros-
- Unique way to storm off
- Access to a large amount of artifacts
Cons
- Card quality is lower
- Loss of usually meaningful storm win-cons
Who Likes it
This is obviously a great deck for your artifact lovers. Being able to draw off all sorts of ramp means your deck will usually have a hard time sputtering out when you try to storm off. So if you have always leaned into artifacts as a favorite card type, then this the storm commander for you.
Win cons
- Isochron Scepter+ Dramatic Reversal+ Temporal fissure/grapeshot/brainfreeze
- Tidespout Tyrant
- Grinding Station+ Underworld breach+ lotus petal
Krark/Sakashima
The storm commanders. While they may not seem to encourage drawing more, or ramping more like other storm commanders. They do encourage one thing, casting more spells. The goal of this deck is win or lose the coin flip, it doesn’t matter cause you are just going to cast more spells. Making this a complicated fun deck designed to flip as many coins as possible.
Pros-
- Considered the strongest storm deck currently out there
- Win con in the command zone
Cons
- No straightforward wincon
- Storm gets incredibly challenging to control
Who Likes it
This is the deck for you if you like 2 things, flipping coins, and having to think on your feet. Due to the inherent nature of coin flips, this is a challenging deck to play. Because of this, it should only be played for those willing to commit the time to learn the intricacies of the deck. Failure to learn how this deck works can often lead to people having a bad time. If you would like to learn how to play this deck, I recommend watching this video created by the person who invented the deck.
Win cons
- Dualcaster+ Twinflame/heatshimmer
- Krark+ more Krarks
- Underworld Breach+ brainfreeze+ lotus petal
Veyran Voice of Duality
Veyran, Voice of Duality is arguably the best storm commander for voltron. This commander synergizes well with instant and sorcery triggers, while also making himself bigger to eventually kill your enemies.
Pros-
- Solid way to build up commander damage
- Incredibly versatile to build
Cons
- Voltron is harder to win with in commander
- It’s versatility can make it hard to figure out how you want to win
Who Likes it
Obviously, anyone who likes this as their storm commander will be those that like voltron. While it’s secondary affects are solid of boosting castings, the ability to make himself bigger is the bigger draw to most player. So if you love swinging a 21/21 after casting a bunch of spells, I highly recommend Veyran, Voice of Duality.
Win cons
- Commander damage
- Aetherflux Reservoir
- Guttersnipe
Wort, the Raidmother
Not your usual storm colors, but a really fun storm commander nonetheless. Consisting of red and green this storm commander tries to swarm the board with tokens made through instant and sorcery spells. From there they eventually win through damage using either a combo, or a buffing spell like Craterhoof Behemoth, or Overwhelming stampede.
Pros-
- Access to green
- Ability to swarm boards quickly when set up
Cons
- 6 CMC commander
- No blue
Who Likes it
This is another storm commander that is loved by players who like to beat opponents. Getting access to green is huge for this kind of playstyle as you get a much larger pool of cards that synergize with token creation. Making this a really fun commander to copy a spell a bunch of times and win by making your 1/1’s into 7/7’s.
Win cons
- Beastmaster Ascension
- Impact Tremors
- Surge to Victory
Prosper, Tome Bound
Not your usual storm commander, but makes an excellent storm commander nonetheless. Being in both red and black adds a huge amount of benefits to being able to cheat spells out or ramp up big to draw a ton. Add the fact that you get treasures every time you cast a spell from exile, and you are in good shape to keep looping more and more spells to win the game in one explosive turn.
Pros-
- Access to black
- Able to have a ton of mana quickly
Cons
- Lacks Blue
- Exile effects tend to be impulse
Who Likes it
Prosper is a great commander for anyone who likes value. While lacking a lot qualities that makes a storm deck storm. This commander does what all storm commanders do, encourage you to cast more. Because of this, this can make for a great way to storm out with value and win big.
Win cons
- Torment of hailfire
- Peer into the abyss
- Aetherflux reservoir
Conclusion: 9 Storm Commanders For You
There you go! 9 storm commanders that I am sure you will love to play. As you can see Storm, is more than just a combo finish, it can be swarming the board with tokens, casting a lot of artifacts or spells from exile to have a spectacular finish, or playing all your cards over and over to eventually close out the game. If you are interested in how I built these decklists, or are looking to know the secrets to making a great deck, I highly suggest checking out my Rule 20 book it is a great resource that goes over in detail the steps needed to make your decks do what it wants every time. I hope you have a fantastic day and have fun playing!
P.S. If you would like to support my website simply click this link when buying your cards from TCG and i will get a small portion of the profits. This goes a long way to supporting more content made. Thanks!