Top 22 Strongest Dimir Commanders In Magic: The Gathering
Top 22 Strongest Dimir Commanders In Magic: The Gathering
Often regarded for potent strategies ranging from control to mill, the allied pairing of black and blue, Dimir is one of the most iconic color identities in Magic: The Gathering. Often associated with themes such as stealth and the pursuit of forbidden knowledge, Dimir is a multifarious color identity that has a great deal of utility under its belt in formats like Commander.
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As Dimir has been receiving legendary creatures since their inception in “Legends,” players have a wide variety of commanders to choose from.
Updated January 2, 2023 by Paul DiSalvo: Though it’s often known for its evasion and control capabilities, Dimir is a highly multifarious color identity. Over the past few years, new commander options has allowed Dimir to truly expand its horizons, providing it with various powerful tribal commander options and mechanics that have become heavily associated with the identity such as the ability to cast your opponent’s spells. With the new options available to Dimir players, there’s no better time than the present to build a Dimir Commander deck.
As mentioned, milling is a fundamental strategy within Dimir’s wheelhouse, and Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker is one of the best mill commanders that black and blue have to offer. Rather than trying to defeat opponents via a loss of life, commanders like Mirko Vosk seek to win by removing the cards from their opponent’s library as quickly as possible.
The vampiric Mirko Vosk approaches this win condition by making an opponent he has done damage to put cards directly from their library into their graveyard until four lands are revealed. As this ability is repeatable due to being triggered within combat, this makes Mirko Vosk a consistent engine to helm your Dimir mill deck.
21 Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth
A highly underrated Dimir commander option, Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth is a great choice for those interested in constructing a Dimir Aristocrats deck. A 4/4 human rogue for five mana, Eloise allows you to investigate whenever a creature you control dies, allowing you to generate a massive number of clue tokens if you’re able to reliably sacrifice your own creatures.
Though this ability is quite powerful in its own right, Eloise even provides already useful tokens such as clues and treasures with additional value. This is because Eloise surveils 1 whenever you sacrifice a token, meaning that through simply assembling a self-sacrificing board state, you’re simultaneously rewarded with both card draw and card selection.
20 Jon Irenicus, Shattered One
Recently printed in Commander Legends, Battle for Baldur’s Gate, Jon Irenicus, Shattered One is an underrated and incredibly unique commander that allows for decks unlike any other. A 3/3 Elf Wizard for four mana, during each of your end steps, you can give an opponent control over one of your creatures, putting two +1/+1 counters on it, and goading it for the rest of the game.
As this creature is perpetually goaded, it will still be attacking your other opponents and not inconveniencing you in any way. Moreover, Jon Irenicus prevents creatures that you’ve given to opponents from being sacrificed, even drawing you cards whenever they attack. Not only does this function as a consistent and snow-balling draw engine, but as there are a plethora of creatures with effects detrimental to their controller that have been printed throughout Magic’s history, Jon Irenicus can be used to force them onto opponents while they remain unable to sacrifice them.
19 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
via Wizards Of The Coast
A massive, cobbled-together abomination, Grimgrin, Corpse-Born is a powerhouse of a Zombie, toting potent abilities.
Though Grimgrin possesses a drawback that states that it enters the battlefield tapped and that it cannot untap during its controller’s upkeep as expected, Grimgrin’s other abilities more than make up for it. At the cost of sacrificing another creature you control, Grimgrin can untap itself at any time and put a +1/+1 counter on itself.
This consistent sacrificed outlet can be used to respond to opponents removal, making them fizzle whist Grimgrin grows larger and larger. When paired with creatures such as Gravecrawler that can be cast from the graveyard, Grimgrin can be made into a terrifying threat for your opponents.
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The cherry on top of Grimgrin is his ability to destroy a creature of your choice whenever he attacks, making him a consistent source of repeated removal that has the benefit of living in your command zone!
18 Gisa And Geralf
via Wizards Of The Coast
Due to Dimir being composed of black and blue, the color pairing has access to some of the best Zombies in all of Magic. Though one may expect a Zombie to be a strong contender for a Zombie tribal deck, Gisa and Geralf might just be the necromancer siblings you’re looking for.
Gisa and Geralf possess two synergistic abilities that each pair quite well with Zombie-based strategies, whilst remaining unapologetically Dimir. Upon entering the battlefield, Gisa and Geralf put the top four cards of your library into your graveyard. This ability is perfect ammunition for any Zombie deck, but Gisa and Geralf come with the added bonus of allowing their controller to cast a Zombie from their graveyard each turn, providing Zombie commander decks with redundancy and a constant means of reanimation.
17 Oona, Queen Of The Fae
Combining the utilization of mill with tokens, Oona, Queen of the Fae is a commander possessing a reliable and multifarious mana sink.
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At any time, Oona’s controller can pay an amount of mana of their choice, choosing a color, then milling an opponent for the amount of mana that was paid. While being able to convert mana into mill would be a strong ability on its own, for each milled card of the color that was chosen, Oona’s controller creates a Faerie token. Due to this ability’s flexible mana, its strength often correlates and grows with a game as it progresses.
16 Sivitri, Dragon Master
Though Dragon tribal is an archetype that isn’t often associated with Dimir, Sivitri, Dragon Master is a unique commander option that makes a solid case for blue and black Dragon decks. A four-mana Planeswalker, while Sivitri’s +1 serves as a solid barrier of protection, forcing opponents to pay two life when they attack you for each attacking creature, its -3 ability provides interesting deck-building potential.
This is because this ability allows you to tutor your deck for any dragon, putting that card in your hand. As you can reliably have access to any Dragon though this effect, you can effectively choose a non-legendary Dragon of your choice within the Dimir color identity and treat it as the commander of your deck. For those looking to make the most out of cards like Ancient Brass Dragon, Ancient Silver Dragon, or even Shimmer Dragon, Sivitri, Dragon Master can allow for many interesting and unique deck builds.
15 Lazav, The Multifarious
As the leader of House Dimir itself within Magic: The Gathering’s lore, it’s not a shocker that Lazav has made it onto this list. This particular incarnation, Lazav, the Multifarious, is extremely cheap to play, costing only two mana to cast. Upon entering the battlefield, Lazav surveils, setting up your next turn or putting an important card into your graveyard.
While affordability is well and good, the surveil is not enough to put Lasav on this list. His strength lies in his second ability, which allows Lasav to become a copy of any creature in its controller’s graveyard as long as they pay an amount of mana equal to that creature’s converted mana cost. This ability is incredibly potent and flexible, allowing Lazav to adapt to situations. For example, if an opponent were to target Lazav with a removal spell, Lazav could become a copy of a creature with hexproof in your graveyard to avoid death.
14 Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
Like fellow guild leaders such as Niv-Mizzet, the mysterious leader of House Dimir, Lasav has been depicted in numerous incarnations. While the most recent incarnation of Lasav, the previously mentioned Lasav, the Multifarious, is indeed powerful, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind possesses traits that push him forward.
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It has been long accepted that hexproof is one of the most powerful and impactful keyword abilities a creature can possess, as it makes a creature much more difficult to deal with. Lasav, Dimir Mastermind has the ability to become a copy of any opponents’ creature that is put into a graveyard from anywhere, meaning whether a creature is killed or milled, Lasav can become a copy of it. Most importantly however, Lazav has the aforementioned hexproof, and bestows it upon whatever creature it becomes.
13 Sygg, River Cutthroat
As a multiplayer and political format, there are numerous underrated nuances regarding what can make a card powerful in Commander. While certain cards may appear to possess great capabilities on paper, their obvious and inherent strength may draw the attention of other players who may seek to not only remove that card from the game, but its controller as well. It’s for this reason that it is important for commander players to use cards that are more impactful than they initially let on.
One such Commander, is Sygg, River Cutthroat. For only two mana, Sygg is an unintimidating 1/3 merfolk with the ability to draw its controller a card as long as one of their opponents lost three or more life on a given turn. While this does not appear to be much at first glance, over the course of the game, Sygg can draw many cards off of your attacks, opponents paying life for their own costs, and even for two opponents attacking each other.
12 Anowon, The Ruin Thief
Anowon, the Ruin Thief is a commander that single-handedly brought Rogue-Tribal decks from obscurity to one of the most popular strategies for a Dimir deck. A 2/4 Vampire Rogue for four mana, Anowon provides each other Rogue under its owner’s control with +1/+1, causing players dealt combat damage by Rogues to mill a number of cards equal to the amount of damage dealt.
As Rogues are often characterized by their evasive and hard-to-block nature, Anowon allows for additional damage to be pushed through whilst filling opponents’ graveyards, enabling potent Dimir effects that allow a player to access cards in an opponent’s graveyard.
11 Wilhelt, The Rotcleaver
via Wizards Of The Coast
While Dimir Zombie tribal decks have been quite popular for some time now, Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver is a new Zombie commander option that can provide significant value for its controller. A 3/3 Zombie Warrior for four mana, Wilhelt states that whenever a Zombie under its owner’s control that doesn’t have decayed dies, its controller can create a 2/2 Zombie token with decayed.
This synergizes in amazing fashion with the recursion that Zombie decks are known for. Wilhelt can even help convert these disposable tokens into card draw, allowing its controller to sacrifice a Zombie at the end of their turn in order to draw a card.
10 Phenax, God Of Deception
While numerous entrants on this list possess milling capabilities, they all pale in comparison to Phenax, God of Deception. The Dimir God of Theros, Phenax possesses indestructibility, making him a huge hassle to remove.
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More importantly, Phenax gives each of your creatures the ability to mill an opponent a number of cards equal to their toughness. This is an extremely powerful and repeatable mill engine that pairs incredibly well with Phenax’s own toughness of seven.
9 Umbris, Fear Manifest
Recently printed in Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Umbris, Fear Manifest is a Dimir commander that can function as a sizable offensive threat while depriving their opponents of their cards. A 1/1 Nightmare Horror for five mana, Umbris gets +1/+1 for each card their opponents own in exile. Umbris is able to enable this ability through the use of Nightmare and Horror creatures.
When Umbris, a Nightmare, or a Horror enters the battlefield under its owner’s control, target opponent exiles cards from the top of their library until they exile a land. As Umbris’ power growth is based on the number of cards opponents own in exile, even if it is removed from play, upon being re-cast, it will be just as large (if not larger) than it was when it left play.
8 Xanathar, Guild Kingpin
A legendary Beholder for six mana, Xanathar, Guild Kingpin is a Dimir commander with similarities to the ever-notorious Sen Triplets. A 5/6, at the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, that player chooses an opponent. Not only can that player not cast spells during that turn, but Xanathar’s owner can look at the top card of their library, play it, and even spend mana of any color in order to do so.
This means that if a Xanathar player wants to, they can ignore their own deck, playing their opponent’s instead, depriving other players of their own cards and gaining their value for one’s self.
7 Satoru Umezawa
Printed in Kamigawa, Neon Dynasty, Satoru Umezawa is a great Dimir commander that allows you to cheat out high-cost creatures without needing to pay their mana costs, whilst offering notable card selection. For the efficient cost of three mana, Satoru Umezawa is a 2/4 Human Ninja that provides all creatures in your hand with a Ninjitsu cost of four mana, meaning that you can put them directly into play by replacing an unblocked creature you control.
Moreover, the first time you activate a Ninjitsu ability each turn (something Satoru ensures you’ll have no problem doing), you can look at the top three cards of your library, putting one in your hand and the rest into your graveyard. This means that not only can this commander help you put the likes of a Blightsteel Colossus onto the battlefield for four mana, but it also ensures you’ll have access to more ideal cards for your subsequent turns.
6 Captain N’ghathrod
Another Horror tribal commander option, Captain N’ghathrod blends evasion, mill, and the ability to steal opponents’ permanents from their graveyard to form a commander that has garnered a lot of popularity since its recent printing. In addition to providing each Horror you control with menace, whenever a horror you control deals combat damage to an opponent, they mill that many cards, similar to Anowan’s ability.
However, perhaps the most powerful element of Captain N’ghathrod is that at the beginning of your end step, you can gain control of an artifact or creature an opponent milled that turn, allowing you to repeatedly steal some of your opponent’s most useful cards as you mill them away with your Horrors!
5 Ramses, Assassin Lord
A deceptively powerful Dimir commander, while at first glance Ramses, Assassin Lord may appear to be little more than an Assassin tribal commander, it provides a stellar shortcut for winning a Commander game. For four mana, this Human Assassin with deathtouch provides each other Assassin you control with +1/+1.
However, where this creature shines is its ability that states that if a player loses the game, if you’d attacked them with at least one Assassin that turn, you win the game. This means that if you’re able to focus your efforts into taking out a single player rather than all three of your opponents, as long as you’d swung at that opponent with one or more rogues that turn, victory is yours. Ramses pairs particularly well with volatile cards that can leave you in a precarious position while allowing you to take out a single opponent such as Hatred.
4 Tasha, the Witch Queen
A planeswalker capable of being your commander, Tasha, the Witch Queen is an excellent option that not only allows you to cast your opponent’s spells, but it rewards you for doing so. With two activated abilities, this four-loyalty planeswalker’s +1 allows you to exile an instant or sorcery from each opponent’s graveyard with page counters on them, drawing you a card in the process.
Once in exile, Tasha’s -3 allows you to cast a spell with a page counter on it without paying its mana cost! In addition to potentially allowing you to cast an opponent’s strongest spells without paying their mana costs, Tasha’s static ability creates 3/3 Demon tokens whenever you cast a spell you don’t own, converting these stolen spells into manpower.
3 Toxrill, The Corrosive
Printed in Innistrad: Crimson Vow alongside Umbris, while Toxrill, the Corrosive may cost a hefty seven mana, once cast it is capable of single-handedly taking over a Commander game. Toxrill is a 7/7 Slug Horror that puts a slime counter on each creature its owner doesn’t control during each end step, providing each creature with -1/-1 for each slime counter on it.
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As this ability triggers on each player’s end step and not just that of Toxrill’s controller, in a multiplayer format like Commander, this can provide each opponent’s creatures with -4/-4 after a single turn rotation. While this would already be quite devastating, whenever a creature with a slime counter on it dies, Toxrill’s controller creates a 1/1 Slug token, converting opponents’ creatures into a Slug army. As if this wasn’t powerful enough, for the cost of two mana, Toxrill’s controller can sacrifice a Slug in order to draw a card.
