White is the color of protection and order, though it has several tools for destruction at its disposal. You often know white for having protection against colors and creatures, along with its penchant for destroying enchantments and artifacts. While mono-white decks aren’t the most common in competitive play, there’s a good home for them in Commander.
Related: The 10 best Mono-Black commanders in Magic: the Gathering
Mono-white decks have a variety of strategies available to them and the cards to support those strategies. Backed by the right Commanders, they are a force to be reckoned with. Here are some of the best mono-white Commanders that you can build a deck around, which should help you stand against your friends.
10) Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
While you wouldn’t expect white decks to produce lots of creatures, they have the potential to do so. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, takes advantage of token generation to boost her power. Against multiple Commander opponents, you can quickly build an army of Human tokens that help Adeline crush whatever is in her way.
9) Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Eight-and-a-Half Tails looks underwhelming at first, and will be underwhelming if you don’t grasp the protection mechanic. Giving your creatures protection from white and then making opposing cards white allows you to bypass them completely. This makes combat trivial or spells ineffective against you. You will need the mana to pull this tactic off repeatedly, but the benefits quickly manifest themselves.
8) Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Unlike other Commanders, Thalia doesn’t have anything remarkable that stands out. What Thalia does have is a quick casting time and the ability to make non-creature spells more difficult to cast. Even though you eventually get enough mana to play all of your cards in Commander, making cards harder to cast will interfere with strategies. Thalia buys you time, something that is invaluable no matter what format you play.
7) Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle
Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle, allows you to create some powerful graveyard combos. A historic spell is any card with the Artifact, Legendary, or Saga typing. With the proper planning, you can repeatedly bring cards out from your graveyard back onto the battlefield. There are many artifact cards, along with legendary creatures that won’t be taking the Commander spot, giving the graveyard resurrection a lot of utility.
6) Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Elesh Norn’s ability starts the moment it enters the battlefield. The +2/+2 boost for your own creatures and -2/-2 weakening for other players may not seem significant at first. But in the long run, it’s a challenge that other players have to overcome, or combat won’t end in their favor. That means dedicating more resources toward your creatures and away from the powerful strategies they were planning.
5) Darien, King of Kjedor
Darien, King of Kjedor, will help you create a small army in a few turns. Commanders have 40 health at the start, which allows you to take more punishment than usual. You can deliberately take damage and get some quick Soldier tokens on the board. White mana has the penchant for enhancing creatures overall, and you can easily get a card that enhances Soldier creatures to turn weak 1/1 cards into a powerful army.
4) Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist
Auras and Equipment are powerful cards that can turn the weakest creatures into the greatest threats. But they usually stay on one creature, and they don’t often get unequipped. Ardenn’s ability allows you to transfer as many Auras and Equipment cards as you want to any permanent or player of your choice. This can quickly turn bad combat situations around in your favor. Ardenn can also partner with other Commanders, giving you an additional Commander to boost the effects.
3) Avacyn, Angel of Hope
Avacyn, Angel of Hope, is a dangerous card once it enters the battlefield. It’s hard to get rid of, and it makes other permanents you control indestructible. Outside of sacrificing or exiling cards, it will be difficult to remove your permanents (though Avacyn will be a big threat). If it wasn’t for the fact that Avacyn has a high mana cost, it would be a difficult Commander to stop.
2) Heliod, Sun-Crowned
If you want to build a deck around the lifelink mechanic, Heliod, Sun-Crowned is the card for you. It’s challenging to get rid of, thanks to its indestructible quality. Any creature with lifelink (or is given lifelink) can quickly become a powerhouse by gaining +1/+1 counters. Heliod can also give creatures lifelink, which allows them to turn any creature into a threat with a few turns.
1) God-Eternal Oketra
For mono-white decks that focus on pushing out lots of creatures, God-Eternal Oketra will quickly make you unstoppable. Any creature spell you cast will give you a 4/4 Zombie Warrior with vigilance, which is nothing to laugh at. With many low-cost white creatures, you can quickly flood the board with tokens and overwhelm players.
