Here’s some of the best ways to protect your cards in Commander!
The best protection spells in Commander can help your key cards survive through even the meanest of board wipes or spells. Some colors definitely have better access to these than others (yes, we’re talking about white), but as many people often play more than one color in Commander, it’s not the end of the world.
Today, we’ll discuss the best protection spells in Commander you should play right now. After all, if you’re playing in a group with good decks while being refined over time, then you’re probably facing an army of removal and other damage effects, too. If you’re sick of your permanents (and Commanders) dying on the battlefield, then you’ll want to grab some of these and put them in your next build.
The Best Protection Spells in MTG Commander
Now, because there are so darn many of these styles of spells these days, we’ve split them into different categories. We’re going for different kinds of cards because they tend to fit a mixture of strategies, and that’s really what Commander is all about, right? Well, that and making your friends a bit sad when you ruin their removal spell with a well-timed instant.
The Best Instants to Protect Your Commander in MTG
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Market Price: $43.30
Instants are where it’s at when it comes to protection spells in Magic because they come out of nowhere and are integral if you want to catch other people out and chew through their resources. It’s one of the few things that feels better than getting a good night’s sleep, and that’s a pipe dream for idealists.
#5 Tamiyo’s Safekeeping
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Common
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping is a one-mana green instant from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty that grants a permanent you control hexproof and indestructible for a turn, and you gain two life as a bonus. It’s a nifty little spell that is incredibly good because it doesn’t just target creatures, which makes it incredibly versatile as you can use it to protect a land from a timely Wasteland if needed, especially if you can keep returning the Safekeeping from your graveyard by using cards like Eternal Witness.
#4 Akroma’s Will
Akroma’s Will
Commander: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Rare
Akroma’s Will is a four-mana white instant that offers you the choice of giving all of your creatures flying, vigilance, and double strike until the end of the turn, or do the same but with lifelink, indestructible, and protection from all colors. If you control a Commander on the battlefield, you can choose both, which is an excellent way to either win the game or prevent yourself from losing it due to gaining so much life.
#3 Heroic Intervention
Heroic Intervention
Commander Masters, Rare
Perhaps the most popular of these effects is Heroic Intervention, a two-mana green instant that gives your permanents hexproof and indestructible until the end of the turn. It’s simple yet effective, and it’s essentially a staple for any Commander strategy in green, especially if you want to avoid any problematic spells from your opponents.
#2 Dawn’s Truce
Dawn’s Truce
Bloomburrow, Rare
Dawn’s Truce from Bloomburrow is a two-mana white instant that provides you and permanents you control hexproof until the end of the turn. However, you can also let an opponent draw a card, and you’ll give your permanents indestructible as well. It’s a great way to endear another player to you while also protecting your permanent in the process. They also have to draw a card, which could play into any effects such as Sheoldred, the Apocalypse that are on the battlefield.
#1 Teferi’s Protection
Teferi’s Protection
Double Masters 2022, Rare
Teferi’s Protection is the best protection spell in Commander that’s an instant because it also looks after you, the player. This three-mana white instant makes it so that until your next turn, your life total cannot change, you gain protection from everything, and then all of your permanents phase out. Essentially, you ignore the game for a round where the opponent can’t do anything to touch your board, which is also handy if you want a snack.
The Best Enchantments to Protect Your Commander in MTG
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Enchantments are a fun method of protection because some of them are repeatable, which can be a benefit over instants. There are also a few you can flash in as though they are instants, which is a nice bonus.
#5 Dark Privilege
Dark Privilege
Visions, Common
Dark Privilege is a neat little enchantment aura that costs two-mana and is in black. It grants the enchanted creature +1/+1, but it also lets you sacrifice a creature to regenerate the enchanted creature. You can do this as much as you want, which means it’s an excellent addition to any Sacrifice-themed deck you might be running in Commander.
#4 Fae Flight
Fae Flight
Murders at Karlov Manor, Uncommon
Fae Flight is a two-mana blue enchantment aura with flash. It gives the enchanted creature +1/+0 and flying, which can be incredible if you’re facing down a big board state, but it also grants the creature hexproof for a turn. It’s also a good way to save something from targeted removal while making it that little bit stronger in the long term.
#3 Flickering Ward
Flickering Ward
Tempest, Uncommon
Flickering Ward is one of the coolest auras going in Magic. It’s a one-mana white aura that lets you choose a color as it enters, and grants the enchanted creature protection from that color. However, you can also pay one white-mana to return the card to your hand and then recast it to name a different color. If you can give yourself the ability to cast this at instant speed, and you’ve got enough mana, you can basically protect everything you want to. Also, Flickering Ward works well with effects such as Enchantress’s Presence if you want more ways to draw cards.
#2 Steely Resolve
Steely Resolve
Onslaught, Rare
Steely Resolve is a must-have for any “creatures matters” strategy with green in them. It only costs two mana and grants shroud to every creature of the chosen type. Shroud is an old Magic ability that means a creature can’t be targeted by any spell or abilities, yours or the opponent’s. Funnily enough, this actually works on opposing creatures, so if they’re playing a strategy relying on combat tricks or equipment, you can cause some nonsense with this card.
#1 Asceticism
Asceticism
Scars of Mirrodin, Rare
Asceticism is a five-mana green enchantment that gives all your creatures hexproof. That’s already good, but it also allows you to pay two-mana to regenerate a target creature. It’s just good in basically every situation, and if you’ve got enough mana, you can even protect your creatures from board wipes or lethal combat steps with the regenerate ability.
The Best Creatures to Protect Your Commander in MTG
Creatures are (mostly) what you’re going to be protecting already, and while that can make these feel a bit silly, recursion is alive and well in Commander within a mixture of builds. Heck, most of the picks we have here can be brought back by Sun Titan or a Sevinne’s Reclamation, too.
#5 Mother of Runes
Mother of Runes
Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, Uncommon
Mother of Runes is a one-mana white 1/1 you can tap to give a creature you control protection from a color of your choice. This is great for looking after a specific creature, but it’s also ideal if you need to get a creature through a blockade to deal some damage. If you can copy the effect or untap the card, then it’s even better. But remember, never attack with Mother of Runes — it’s too valuable to be going on the offense!
#4 Spore Frog
Spore Frog
Modern Horizons, Common
Spore Frog is a one-mana green 1/1 you can sacrifice to prevent all combat damage that would be dealt on that turn, meaning you can negate a ton of lethal damage via combat many times. If you’ve ever seen this alongside Meren of Clan Nel Toth, you’ll be fully aware of the sheer might (and annoyance) of this little guy.
#3 Selfless Spirit
Selfless Spirit
Commander: Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Rare
Selfless Spirit is a two-mana white 2/1 creature with flying you can sacrifice to give creatures you control indestructible until the end of the turn. It’s a solid and reliable effect, with the bonus of being a spirit fitting into some kindred archetypes.
#2 Boromir, Warden of the Tower
Boromir, Warden of the Tower
Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, Rare
Boromir, Warden of the Tower is a three-mana white, 3/3 with vigilance that automatically counters any spell an opponent casts if no mana was spent to cast it, which can be a lovely bit of interruption. Also, you can sacrifice Boromir to give all your creatures gain indestructible until the end of the turn, and the Ring tempts you. Boromir comes with all of the value (but do try to keep him away from any Orcish Bowmasters, though).
#1 Guardian of Faith
Guardian of Faith
Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Rare
Guardian of Faith is another three-mana white creature, but this one comes with flash and vigilance. When it enters, you can phase out any target creatures you control. Phasing is better than hexproof and indestructible in most cases because it means you don’t have to worry about any opposing interaction or threats due to the creatures ceasing to exist until your next turn.
The Best Artifacts to Protect Your Commander in MTG
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Artifacts are a staple in most Commander decks to some degree because most of them are colorless and — unlike auras — can stick around even if the creature they’re attached to leaves play. They’re also some of the most efficient in terms of mana value, which is a massive win in Commander.
#5 Mithril Coat
Mithril Coat
Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, Rare
Mithril Coat is a three-mana equipment with flash and indestructible, and when it enters, you can automatically attach the Coat to a legendary creature you control. It then grants the equipped creature indestructible, and if you ever want to move it onto another creature, you can pay three mana to do so. It’s a solid option, especially in a pinch.
#4 Cauldron of Souls
Cauldron of Souls
Commander Anthology Volume II, Rare
Cauldron of Souls is a fascinating one. It’s a five-mana artifact you can tap to give any number of creatures Persist — if they die, they return from the graveyard with a -1/-1 counter. If you can give them a +1/+1 counter after that, it negates the Persist ability. Not only is this repeatable, but you can also target only the creatures you want to keep alive, which is good if you prefer to have some creatures in your graveyard.
#3 Whispersilk Cloak
Whispersilk Cloak
Commander: Duskmourn: House of Horror, Uncommon
Whispersilk Cloak is a three-mana equipment that grants shroud to a creature but also prevents the equipped creature from being blocked. It does cost two to equip, but the combination of abilities makes it incredibly easy to defeat your opponents by using Commander damage or just swinging in with a massive creature.
#2 Swiftfoot Boots
Swiftfoot Boots
Commander: Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Uncommon
Swiftfoot Boots is a two-mana equipment that grants hexproof and haste and costs one to equip. These are excellent abilities, and the mana cost is nice and low, but we can quite literally do better, which you’ve probably realized given that each of these mini-lists gets stronger as it goes on.
#1 Lightning Greaves
Lightning Greaves
Commander: Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Uncommon
Lightning Greaves is a two-mana equipment that gives the equipped creature haste and shroud. Perhaps the most important thing here is that it costs no mana to equip a creature. That makes it absurdly simple to protect your favorite creature — and while that’s generally going to be your Commander — it’s nice to have that flexibility.