Is Ondu Cleric good in Commander?

Ondu Cleric

Creature — Kor Cleric Ally

Whenever this creature or another Ally you control enters, you may gain life equal to the number of Allies you control.

CMC: 2
Mana cost
Color identity: W
Rarity: common
Set: Zendikar
Price: $0.37
EDHREC rank: #8055

Ondu Cleric drains life equal to the number of Allies you control every time another Ally enters the battlefield — in the right deck, that's a win condition stapled to a two-drop. The cost is real: outside dedicated Ally strategies helmed by commanders like Katara, the Fearless, Ondu Cleric is a 1/2 with no text.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

Katara, the Fearless

52.5% of decks · synergy 0.51

Katara, the Fearless is the premier Ally commander, and Ondu Cleric is one of her most consistent closers — every cascade trigger that lands another Ally translates directly into life drain, often killing tables without ever attacking.

Sokka, Tenacious Tactician

38.2% of decks · synergy 0.37

Sokka, Tenacious Tactician generates enough token bodies and enters-the-battlefield triggers that Ondu Cleric's drain adds up fast, turning a go-wide board state into a steady clock.

Iroh, Tea Master

33.5% of decks · synergy 0.33

Iroh, Tea Master cares about creatures entering under your control and rewards incremental advantage, which means Ondu Cleric converts each new body into life swing rather than sitting as a vanilla blocker.

Sokka and Suki

20.0% of decks · synergy 0.19

Sokka and Suki push Ally synergies at a slightly lower power level, but Ondu Cleric still functions as a passive drain engine whenever the pair are churning out creatures.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

Format	Verdict
commander	legal
legacy	legal
modern	legal
pioneer	not legal
standard	not legal
vintage	legal
pauper	legal
oathbreaker	legal

In Commander, Ondu Cleric is a role player in a narrow niche — you run it in Ally tribal, full stop, and there it genuinely pulls weight as a life-drain engine that scales with board size. In Pauper, Ally Rally builds can abuse its triggered ability alongside flicker effects and Ally lords, and it sees occasional play there for exactly that reason. Legacy and Vintage are legal on paper, but a 1/2 for two with a tribal condition doesn't compete in those formats. Ondu Cleric lives and dies by whether the table is an Ally deck.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

1 decks

Halvar, God of Battle // Sword of the Realms