The Commander
First strike
Creatures with plainswalk can be blocked as though they didn't have plainswalk.
Creatures with forestwalk can be blocked as though they didn't have forestwalk.
Guide
Gameplan
Lord Magnus is a 6-mana 4/4 with first strike whose landwalk-hosing text is functionally blank in modern Commander, so you treat him as a sturdy GW commander shell and build the deck around him rather than with him. Ramp into him, then win through a GW good-stuff plan of big creatures, tokens, or Voltron auras, using first strike to make him a credible attacker and blocker. Lean on your 99 for the real power, since the command zone offers almost nothing relevant.
Strengths
- Two of the best support colors in the format: Selesnya gives ramp, removal, lifegain, and resilient creatures.
- First strike makes him a respectable combat body and a decent early Voltron carrier.
- Cheap to recast relative to many commanders and not a removal magnet because opponents rarely fear his text.
- Color identity opens powerful enchantments, tokens, and +1/+1 counter packages.
Weaknesses
- His printed abilities (anti-plainswalk/forestwalk) are dead text in virtually every game.
- Six mana for a 4/4 first striker is a poor rate with no card advantage or protection.
- No evasion or built-in resilience, so commander damage plans stall against blockers.
- GW lacks card draw and interaction relative to blue/black, leaving you behind in grindy games.
Key Cards
- Sword of Fire and Ice — Turns Magnus's first strike into evasion-light pressure plus card draw and removal.
- Smothering Tithe — Solves Selesnya's biggest weakness by generating explosive mana for big GW payoffs.
- Esper Sentinel — Provides repeatable card advantage that GW otherwise struggles to find.
- Sun Titan — Recurs auras, equipment, and utility permanents to grind value in a fair deck.
- Craterhoof Behemoth — Best finisher for a GW go-wide token or stompy build to close games out of nowhere.
Upgrade Path
Since the command zone is weak, invest your power into the 99: add premium ramp (Smothering Tithe, mana dorks, Nature's Lore) and the best GW interaction (Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Generous Gift). Pick one focused plan—Voltron equipment, token swarm, or +1/+1 counters—and add redundant payoffs and protection like Heroic Intervention and Teferi's Protection so a single board wipe doesn't end you.
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
- ▸Suit up Magnus with swords/auras and connect for repeated commander damage with first strike.
- ▸Go wide with tokens and finish with Craterhoof Behemoth or an Overrun effect.
- ▸Grind value with recursion and big creatures, then alpha-strike through an anthem.
- ▸Counter-based beatdown overwhelming blockers with trample and pump.
Archetypes
- Voltron — First strike lets Magnus carry equipment and auras safely into combat for commander damage.
- Tokens — GW excels at flooding the board with anthem and populate support to swarm opponents.
- +1/+1 Counters — Selesnya's counter package builds an overwhelming board that outgrows opponents.
- Stompy Ramp — Use GW ramp to cast oversized threats and Overrun effects for lethal swings.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GW), by popularity.
