The Commander
Enlist (As this creature attacks, you may tap a nonattacking creature you control without summoning sickness. When you do, add its power to this creature's until end of turn.)
Whenever a creature you control attacks, if it enlisted a creature this combat, the creature that attacked gains double strike until end of turn. If that creature's power is 4 or greater, draw a card.
Guide
Gameplan
Aradesh turns Enlist into a powerful attack engine: tap a beefy non-attacking creature to pump an attacker, then that attacker gets double strike and draws you a card if its power hits 4+. You build a wide-but-beefy white board, swing each turn with double-strike haymakers, and bury opponents in commander damage and card advantage. The deck plays like a midrange go-wide/go-tall hybrid that closes through combat.
Strengths
- Repeatable card advantage in mono-white, the color most starved for it
- Double strike makes even modest creatures lethal and stacks with combat damage triggers
- Enlist lets you concentrate board power onto a single swing, dodging chump blocks
- Cheap commander that rebuilds fast and is hard to keep down
Weaknesses
- Enlist only works with creatures that have no summoning sickness, so it's slow off fresh boards
- Highly board-wipe vulnerable since the plan leans on creatures and combat
- Mono-white means limited ramp, draw outside Aradesh, and interaction
- A single removal spell or blocker assignment can blunt the alpha attacker
Key Cards
- Skullclamp — Converts your small tokens and dead creatures into a relentless card-draw engine to fuel attacks.
- Brave the Sands — Lets enlisted attackers also block and gives vigilance so tapping creatures still leaves you defended.
- Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite — Buffs your team's power past the 4-threshold while crippling opposing blockers.
- Sword of Fire and Ice — Stacks extra damage and card draw on a double-strike attacker, snowballing the trigger.
- Cathars' Crusade — Pumps your whole board every cast, making every attacker easily clear the 4-power draw line.
- Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist — Moves your equipment for free each combat to load up the chosen Aradesh attacker.
Upgrade Path
Add mono-white ramp and draw like Smothering Tithe, Land Tax, and Mind's Eye to stay fueled, and pack board-wipe insurance such as Teferi's Protection, Flawless Maneuver, and Heroic Intervention. Lean into payoff anthems (Cathars' Crusade, Elesh Norn) and efficient equipment (Sword of Feast and Famine, Embercleave-adjacent white gear) to reliably clear the 4-power line. Tighten the curve and add extra-combat or vigilance enablers to maximize how many enlist-powered swings you get per turn.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Repeated double-strike alpha strikes dealing lethal combat or commander damage
- ▸Out-grinding the table on card advantage then overwhelming with a buffed board
- ▸Voltron kills via an equipped, enlist-pumped attacker with double strike
- ▸Anthem effects plus tokens swinging wide for a one-shot kill
Archetypes
- Aggro Midrange — Enlist plus double strike turns attacks into lethal, card-drawing haymakers turn after turn.
- Tokens / Go-Wide — A wide board gives plentiful enlist fodder and bodies to carry buffs and equipment.
- Voltron — Pumping one attacker with enlist and equipment delivers fast double-strike commander damage.
- +1/+1 Counters — Anthem and counter effects easily push attackers to 4+ power for guaranteed draws.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (W), by popularity.
