Magic: The Gathering’s Commander format is one of the most popular and diverse formats in the game. Allowing players to build decks around specific legendary creatures and use cards from across the game’s history, the sky is the limit when it comes to deck construction.
While traditionally, the goal of Magic: The Gathering is to bring your opponent’s life totals to zero, there are numerous other ways to win and lose a game of Magic. There are numerous cards and combos that can cause a player to lose the game through a means besides traditional combat damage. So today, we’re going to count down the strongest alternative win conditions in the Commander Format!
18 Mayael’s Aria
Between the litany of aggressive, creature-heavy decks and Voltron decks within the Commander format, there are countless Commander decks that seek to create a singular, massive, hard-to-answer creature. While many decks look to wreak havoc on their opponents with such a massive creature, Mayael’s Aria is a Naya enchantment for three mana that provides increasingly better effects based upon if its controller has creatures of different power thresholds.
Firstly, at the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, if that player controls a creature with power five or greater, they may put a +1/+1 counter on each creature they control. Then, if that player controls a creature with a power of ten or greater, they gain ten life. Last but certainly not least, if that player controls a creature with a power of 20 or greater, that player immediately wins the game. This means that rather than requiring a player to best their foes with the massive monster they’ve created, a player can win the game just by simply creating such a massive threat.
17 Test of Endurance
Many players look down on life gaining strategies, citing that while gaining life can make it more difficult for an opponent to win, it doesn’t help a player get any closer to winning. Test of Endurance is an impressive white enchantment for four mana that can allow one’s high life total to become an easily achievable alternative means of winning a game. Simple yet effective, at the beginning of its owner’s turn, if that player has 50 or more life, they immediately win the game.
While reaching 50 life is a decently difficult feat within the majority of formats due to the fact that players begin games with 20 life, within the Commander format, in which players begin with 40 life, reaching 50 is far from difficult. Only requiring a Commander player to gain ten or more life, Test of Endurance is a great way for life-gain decks to quickly steal a game out from under an opponent’s nose. This ability triggers at the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, meaning it may be responded to before a player can use it to win a game, when paired with spells and abilities that can bestow flash to other cards, it can be much more difficult to respond to at instant speed.
16 Approach Of The Second Sun
Approach of the Second Sun is a unique white sorcery for seven mana that offers different abilities based upon if it’s the first time the spell has been cast. The first time a player casts Approach of the Second Sun, it offers a very lackluster effect, simply gaining seven life for its controller, then putting itself on top of its caster’s library, seventh from the top.
However, if this spell’s caster has already played it prior within a game, it immediately causes that player to win the game. This means that within a deck with massive amounts of card-drawing effects, Approach of the Second Sun can be cast as early as the very next turn after its initial casting, allowing a player to convert their card draw into a victory.
15 Simic Ascendancy
A number of +1/+1 counter decks are incredibly popular within the Commander format, and can be found in a wide variety of color identities. An excellent inclusion within +1/+1 counter themed decks with access to both Blue and Green mana, Simic Ascendancy is an enchantment capable of converting counters into a direct victory.
For a mere two mana, Simic Ascendancy totes an activated ability that for three additional mana allows its controller to put a +1/+1 counter on a creature. However, the most integral feature of this card is the fact that whenever its controller puts one or more +1/+1 counters on a creature, that mana growth counter are put on Simic Ascendancy. This is key, as at the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, if this enchantment has 20 or more growth counters on it, its controller wins the game!
14 Aetherflux Reservoir
It’s not hard to see why Aetherflux Reservoir is a common inclusion within life-gain Commander decks of any color identity. An artifact for four mana, whenever this card’s controller casts a spell, they gain one life for each spell they’d cast that turn. This allows its controller to reliably gain sizable sums of extra life by simply casting their spells.
While life gain can be helpful, the reason that Aetherflux Reservoir sees so much play within the Commander format is due to its activated ability. Capable of being used at instant speed, Aetherflux Reservoir’s controller can pay 50 life in order to deal 50 damage to the target player. This means that when paired with enough life-gain, this card can be reliably used to remove problematic players from the game, allowing its controller to easily snag a victory.
13 Mortal Combat
Commander is a format brimming with decks that seek to fill their own graveyards. These decks tend to view their decks and graveyards as primary resources, milling frequently and repeatedly sacrificing creatures to amass value.
Mortal Combat is a black enchantment for four mana that can win a player a game seemingly out of nowhere. At the beginning of Mortal Combat’s controller’s upkeep, that player wins the game as long as they have 20 or more creatures in their graveyard.
12 Liliana’s Contract
Referencing the Planeswalker, Liliana Vess’s contract with four demons, Liliana’s Contract draws its controller four cards and causes them to lose four life when it enters the battlefield. While this is a strong ability in itself, the potency of the card lies within the clause of its second ability.
At the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, if that player controls four or more demons with different names, they win the game. Controlling four or more demons is an extremely easy feat, especially in a demon-focused deck. While demons don’t tend to have a lot of synergy with one and other, this card’s ability to win its controller the game practically out of nowhere should not be underestimated.
11 Mill
Mill is perhaps the most popular and widely known alternate win condition in all of Magic. Referencing the card “Millstone,” Mill decks seek to put cards from the top of an opponents’ library directly into their graveyards, whilst also often drawing players additional cards. This is because if a player were to draw a card from an empty library, that player loses the game.
Mill decks can be a fun departure from combat focused strategies, as a player can sustain virtually no damage and still lose the game through a loss of cards.
10 Hellkite Tyrant
A 6/5 dragon for six mana, Hellkite Tyrant is a card that most artifact-oriented decks and dragon decks featuring red awould not want to be without. Costing six mana, whenever Hellkite Tyrant deals damage to a player, Hellkite Tyrant’s owner gains control of all artifacts controlled by that player. As Commander is an artifact-heavy format, this can often be devastating, setting players back several turns.
However, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. At the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, if that player controls 20 or more artifacts, they win the game. When working alongside an artifact-centric deck, Hellkite Tyrant can often result in a victory if played in the late-game.
9 Halo Fountain
Printed in Streets of New Capenna, Halo Fountain is a potent alternate win condition for white decks capable of amassing a sizable board state. As a white artifact for three mana, Halo Fountain possesses three activated abilities, each of which requires a different amount of white mana to be spent as well as a different number of tapped creatures to be tapped. Firstly, at the cost of one mana and the untapping of one tapped creature, this artifact’s controller may create a 1/1 citizen token. Secondly, for the cost of two mana and the untapping of two tapped creatures, Halo Fountain’s controller may draw a card, a rarity within white. Thirdly and most notably, Halo Fountain boasts an ability that allows its controller to potentially with the game instantly.
If five white mana is spent and a sizable 15 tapped creatures are untapped, Halo Fountain’s controller wins the game! Halo Fountain is an excellent card due to its combination of power and flexibility. Unlike other cards on this list that are rather narrow, only functioning as an alternative win condition, Halo Fountain can provide various forms of value throughout a game, simply offering an alternative means of achieving victory in addition to already useful features.
8 Mechanized Production
Mechanized Production is a blue aura that can enchant an artifact, causing a copy of that artifact to be created during each of its controller’s upkeeps. This allows for Mechanized Production’s controller to accrue large quantities of the same artifact. This is important as mechanized production also states that if its controller controls eight or more artifacts with the same name, they win the game.
While these abilities may synergize with each other, this card may appear to not be fit for a singleton format like Commander. However, when working in conjunction with tokens such as treasures, clues, thopters, or servos, Mechanized Production can be an excellent means of closing out a game without needing to deal any damage.
7 Revel In Riches
An enchantment with some similarities to the previous entry on our list, Mechanized Production, Revel in Riches is an enchantment with two potent abilities that synergize with each other in an impressive fashion.
Firstly, Revel in Riches creates a treasure token for its controller whenever a creature dies. These tokens can be sacrificed for a mana of any color, and can ramp the enchantments’ controller significantly. When paired with a board wipe can create a massive amount of tokens. This is paramount, as Revel in Riches second ability states that if that player controls ten or more treasures at the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, they win the game.
6 Felidar Sovereign
Upon examining Felidar Sovereign, it can immediately be seen that the card predates Wizards of the Coast’s acknowledgment and support of the Commander format. In modern card development, cards are designed with numerous formats in mind. When Felidar Sovereign was designed, it was done with traditional life totals of 20 being the standard, not bearing in mind the future success of the Commander format.
Felidar Sovereign is a 4/6 for four mana that states that if its controller has 40 or more life at the beginning of their upkeep, they win the game. While this ability is very balanced in formats like Modern, 40 life is each player’s starting life total. This means that as long as a player resolves a Felidar Sovereign without having previously taken damage, a victory is likely in their future.
5 Infect
Infect decks usually coincide with attacking, as they don’t technically win via combat damage, instead utilizing poison counters, allowing it on this list. Infect is a mechanic that causes creatures to deal damage in the form of poison counters rather than traditional damage. If a player has ten or more poison counters at any point, that player loses the game.
Infect decks traditionally hit very quickly, utilizing their means of accessing a significantly lower damage threshold that what’s usually expected. It’s common for infect decks to possess numerous means of pumping up creatures and making them unblockable as they defeat opponents in one false swoop.
4 Helix Pinnacle
Few single cards scream “alternate win condition” quite like Helix Pinnacle. For a single green mana, Helix Pinnacle is an enchantment with shroud. At any time, Helix Pinnacle’s controller may pay any amount of many to put that many tower counters on Helix Pinnacle. At the beginning of its controller’s upkeep, if Helix Pinnacle has 100 or more tower counters on it, that player wins the game.
Helix Pinnacle exemplifies alternate win conditions. As soon as it hits the battlefield, its controller will often no longer seek to deal damage, rather seeking to create as much mana as possible to put into the Pinnacle. When paired with any sort of infinite-mana generating combo, few win conditions compare to Helix Pinnacle.
3 Laboratory Maniac
A staple of the Commander format, one cannot have a conversation about alternate win conditions without bringing up the infamous Laboratory Maniac. A 2/2 for three mana, Laboratory Maniac breaks the traditional rules of Magic. As we’d mentioned previously when discussing Mill, when players attempt to draw a card from an empty library, they normally lose the game. Laboratory Maniac reverses this rule, causing its controller to win the game rather than lose under such circumstances.
The Commander format is brimming with countless means of drawing excessive amounts of cards and even milling one’s self, allowing Laboratory Maniac to be used to win games for numerous decks.
2 Thassa’s Oracle
A mono-blue creature for two mana, Thassa’s Oracle is a win condition with similarities to Laboratory Maniac. Upon entering the battlefield, Thass’as Oracle allows its controller to look at the top X cards of their library where X is equal to is controller’s devotion to blue, putting one of those cards on top of their library while the rest are put on the bottom of that player’s library in random order.
Though this card selection is quite useful, if X in this instance is greater than or equal to the number of cards in its controller’s library, that player wins the game! This means that by drawing tons of cards and establishing an impressive Blue board state, Thassa’s Oracle can allow a player to win a game for just two mana.
1 Infinite Combos
Perhaps the most varied yet common alternative win condition, there are countless ways that players can go infinite in commander through the use of various combos. Through interactions between specific cards, combos can be used to do anything an infinite number of times, from creating an infinite number of tokens, generating infinite mana, draw a player’s entire deck, infinitely mill opponents, and so on and so forth.
Based on the combo that a player is trying to assemble, a game-winning combo may require the use of a few well-known synergistic cards, or multiple unconventional cards whose interactions may catch opponents off guard. Due to the many shapes and sizes that infinite combos can take, they are popular win conditions for a player that may fancy themselves a “Johnny.”
NEXT: Top Token Commanders in Magic: The Gathering
