Squad Commander
Creature — Kor Warrior
When this creature enters, create a 1/1 white Kor Warrior creature token for each creature in your party. (Your party consists of up to one each of Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, and Wizard.)
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you have a full party, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain indestructible until end of turn.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Zendikar Rising
- Price
- $0.30
- EDHREC rank
- #9397
Squad Commander hits the board as an indestructible Warrior that makes every other creature you control indestructible until end of turn — the cost is losing Squad Commander itself. In party-matters builds helmed by Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero, that trade is trivial because the Warrior type alone fills a party slot before it ever swings.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero
Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero runs Squad Commander in over 85% of its builds because a 4/3 indestructible Warrior that fulfills the Warrior party slot and doubles as a board-wide protection piece is exactly what a party-count engine needs to push through combat.
Nalia de'Arnise
Nalia de'Arnise prizes creatures with deathtouch and enters-the-battlefield triggers, but the real draw is Squad Commander's ability to blank a sweeper on the turn it matters most, protecting the wide board Nalia demands.
The Destined Warrior
The Destined Warrior builds go wide on Warriors and need combat tricks that survive at instant speed — Squad Commander's activated protection locks a full battlefield through a wrath or blocks the incoming alpha strike.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Squad Commander is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it's a Commander card through and through. In 60-card formats the four-mana 4/3 baseline is underpowered and the one-shot protection ability rarely justifies the slot when you can run actual protection spells at one or two mana. Commander is where the math changes: a single activation can save eight creatures from a Wrath of God, which is the kind of tempo swing that wins games. In Oathbreaker it's similarly playable in any party-matters or Warrior-tribal shell, though the smaller board states make the ability hit less hard.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.30 bulk tier
At $0.30, Squad Commander is bulk — a no-brainer pickup for any party or Warrior-tribal build on any budget. Bulk rares with an 85%+ inclusion rate in their most popular commander tend to stay cheap precisely because they get opened and traded away freely, so don't expect the price to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero
- Nalia de'Arnise
- The Destined Warrior
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.