The Commander
Guide
Gameplan
Chromium is an evasive, hyper-resilient Esper threat that flashes in at instant speed and dodges removal by becoming a hexproof 1/1, making it the perfect repeatable commander for a control or voltron-flavored midrange deck. Spend the early game holding up interaction and ramping, then deploy Chromium as a hard-to-answer beater while you grind opponents out of resources.
Strengths
- Extremely hard to kill: uncounterable on cast, can gain hexproof and dodge targeted removal every turn for a card
- Built-in evasion via flying plus the unblockable mode lets him connect for commander damage
- Esper colors give access to the best removal, counters, card draw, and tutors in the format
- Flash lets you hold up mana and deploy reactively, fitting a control shell perfectly
Weaknesses
- The 1/1 mode loses ALL abilities (including flying/evasion), so the protection has a real trade-off and costs cards
- Board wipes that don't target (Wrath, Toxic Deluge) still kill him since hexproof doesn't stop them
- Discard cost can strain your hand and is irrelevant against sacrifice or edict effects
- Seven mana and a slow clock at 4 power means he wins damage races slowly without buffs
Key Cards
- Lightning Greaves — Adds haste so flashed-in Chromium can attack immediately and stacks redundant protection.
- Swiftfoot Boots — Gives haste plus an extra hexproof source that doesn't cost a card from hand.
- Esper Sentinel — Turns your reactive, interaction-heavy game plan into a steady stream of extra cards.
- Rhystic Study — Refuels your hand so paying the discard cost to protect Chromium never leaves you empty.
- Cyclonic Rift — The premier Esper finisher that resets opposing boards while Chromium and your value engines stay intact.
- Teferi's Protection — Saves your board from the non-targeting wraths that Chromium's hexproof can't dodge.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Mana Crypt, Arcane Signet, Talisman cycle) and the best tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor) to find your protection and finishers consistently. Lean into a tight interaction suite (Swords to Plowshares, Counterspell, Mana Drain) and double-spell with Chromium's flash to control the late game. To raise the ceiling, layer evasion-doubling and protection like Hatred-style burst, Aggravated Assault for extra combats, or a compact combo backup such as Thassa's Oracle with Demonic Consultation.
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
- ▸Commander damage from repeated evasive (flying or unblockable) attacks, often boosted by equipment or auras
- ▸Grinding opponents out with card advantage and board wipes until Chromium ends the game
- ▸Cyclonic Rift or mass removal to clear the way, then swing for the win
- ▸Planeswalker ultimates protected by Chromium and Esper interaction
Archetypes
- Control — Flash and an uncounterable, resilient threat let you hold up counters and removal, then close with a creature that's nearly impossible to remove.
- Voltron — Flying plus the unblockable mode lets you suit up Chromium and push lethal commander damage through any defense.
- Midrange Value — Esper card advantage engines support a grindy plan where an evasive, self-protecting commander is the inevitable finisher.
- Superfriends — BUW planeswalkers thrive behind a hard-to-kill flying blocker and Chromium's defensive flexibility.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BUW), by popularity.
