Introduction
The culinary arts have officially invaded Magic: The Gathering! With the introduction of the Food mechanic, players have discovered a delightful and strategic element to the game, turning life gain and sacrifice outlets into potent engines for victory. Food tokens, those unassuming little artifacts, offer a simple yet versatile effect: pay two mana and sacrifice them to gain three life. However, the real magic happens when you find the right commander to lead your Food-themed deck. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best food commanders in Magic: The Gathering, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and the delicious deck-building strategies they inspire. Whether you’re a seasoned commander veteran or just starting your journey, preparing a Food deck offers a unique and satisfying experience.
The rise in popularity of food commanders comes down to several factors. The flavorful appeal is undeniable; who doesn’t enjoy the idea of feasting your way to victory? Beyond aesthetics, Food decks offer a unique blend of casual fun and competitive potential. The mechanic itself is inherently interactive, encouraging a steady flow of resources and strategic decision-making. Furthermore, many food commanders synergize well with sacrifice strategies, token generation, and even graveyard shenanigans, creating diverse and engaging gameplay.
This isn’t your average ranking article. Instead, we’ll explore a selection of top-tier Food commanders, showcasing their strengths and weaknesses to help you find the perfect head chef for your next Commander masterpiece. Get ready to cook up some serious wins with these food commanders!
What Makes a Good Food Commander?
Before diving into specific commanders, let’s outline the key ingredients that make a great Food-focused leader. A strong food commander needs to offer more than just flavor; they need to provide strategic advantages.
Synergy
The most crucial element is how well the commander interacts with Food tokens. Do they create Food? Do they benefit from sacrificing Food? A commander that amplifies the value of Food is essential.
Value Generation
Beyond direct Food creation, look for commanders that generate resources when Food tokens are involved. This could be card draw, mana ramp, or even creature buffs. Sustainability is key.
Win Condition
While gaining life is nice, it’s not a win condition in itself. A good food commander should contribute to a cohesive strategy that ultimately leads to victory. This could be through aggressive combat, combo potential, or control elements.
Color Identity
The colors you choose dictate the available support cards. Green provides ramp and creature synergy, black offers sacrifice outlets and graveyard recursion, red brings burn and aggression, blue adds control and card advantage, and white provides lifegain and token support.
Of course, the commander is just one piece of the puzzle. The 99 supporting cards in your deck are equally important. Ensure you include mana ramp to cast your commander and spells consistently, card draw to keep your hand full, and interaction to disrupt your opponents’ plans. A well-rounded Food deck is a delicious mix of synergy, strategy, and resilience.
The Commanders
Here’s a look at some of the best food commanders in the game, ready to lead your culinary conquest:
Korvold Fae-Cursed King
Color Identity: Black, Red, Green (Jund)
Korvold is arguably the most powerful food commander on this list, and for good reason. This Fae-Cursed King thrives on sacrifice. Every time you sacrifice a permanent, including Food tokens, Korvold gets +1/+1 and you draw a card. This turns your Food into both a source of life gain and a powerful engine for growth and card advantage.
Strengths
Korvold is a powerhouse of card draw and aggressive potential. He can quickly become a massive threat on the battlefield, overwhelming opponents with his growing size. He also opens up access to all three colors of Jund, providing a wealth of sacrifice outlets, removal spells, and powerful creatures.
Weaknesses
Korvold’s high mana cost (five mana) makes him vulnerable to early removal. He also requires a steady stream of permanents to sacrifice, which can be a challenge if your board is wiped. Additionally, while powerful, he is susceptible to targeted removal which can set you back considerably.
Deck Building Strategy
Build around sacrificing Food tokens alongside other permanents like Treasure tokens, Clues, and even creatures. Focus on aristocrat effects, which reward you for creatures dying, and consider combo potential with persist creatures (creatures that return to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on them after dying). Korvold’s ability to draw cards with each sacrifice helps you assemble these combos and keep the pressure on your opponents.
Gyome Master Chef
Color Identity: Blue, Red (Izzet)
Gyome brings a distinct flavor to the table, blending Food creation with token synergy and card draw. He creates a Food token at the beginning of each of your upkeeps and whenever another nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control. Additionally, he buffs your creatures while your opponents cannot target you with spells.
Strengths
Gyome’s ability to generate Food consistently provides a steady stream of life gain and sacrifice fodder. His protection effect provides a strategic advantage by preventing opponents from using spells to target you.
Weaknesses
Gyome can be slow to get started, as he relies on creating Food over time. He also lacks direct combat impact, so you’ll need to build around him to create a winning strategy.
Deck Building Strategy
Focus on token swarm tactics. Gyome fuels a token-based engine, allowing you to flood the board with creatures and utilize sacrifice outlets for value. Embrace the Izzet colors to incorporate burn spells and control elements, keeping your opponents at bay while your Food-powered army grows.
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar
Color Identity: Black
Despite the name being a mouthful, Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar is a surprisingly effective food commander, especially on a budget. She enables your Food strategies by allowing you to discard a card and then sacrificing a food to deal three damage to any target. She gets cheaper to cast when you have creatures in the graveyard and gets a buff from the underworld cookbook.
Strengths
She is a very low-cost commander and allows a consistent source of damage output to take out creatures or planeswalkers.
Weaknesses
She requires certain cards in your graveyard to reduce her casting cost, she needs a source of food and requires card discard.
Deck Building Strategy
Focus on graveyard recursion and aristocrats style of play. You can mill to place creatures into the graveyard, then bring them back through recursion to sacrifice them to gain extra value.
Alela Artful Provocateur
Color Identity: White, Blue, Black (Esper)
Alela, while not strictly a “Food commander” in the traditional sense, can leverage Food tokens to fuel her artifact-based strategy. Alela creates a one/one flying faerie creature token whenever you cast an artifact or enchantment. Food tokens are artifacts and can trigger her ability.
Strengths
Alela’s ability to create flying tokens provides a strong offensive presence. The Esper color identity gives you access to a wide range of powerful artifacts, enchantments, removal, and control elements.
Weaknesses
Alela is susceptible to board wipes, which can cripple her token-based strategy. She also relies on artifacts and enchantments, making her vulnerable to artifact removal. Her high mana cost of three can also make her slow to hit the field.
Deck Building Strategy
Focus on a balance of artifacts, enchantments, and Food tokens to maximize Alela’s token generation. Include anthem effects to boost your flying army and protect them from removal. Control the board with counterspells and removal, and overwhelm your opponents with a swarm of flying faeries.
Syr Ginger the Meal Ender
Color Identity: White
Syr Ginger is a very unique commander due to his passive ability and second ability. He cannot be blocked by creatures with power three or less and each Food you sacrifice gives you a +1/+1 counter on him. His second ability allows you to pay six mana, tap him, and exile him to deal damage to each opponent equal to his power and then create that many foods.
Strengths
Syr Ginger provides consistent Food creation while being able to be equipped with any aura and artifact you may want to attach to him for voltron.
Weaknesses
He is susceptible to board wipes and targeted removal before you can get a chance to ultimate with him. He also requires setup to make sure he can grow large enough to deal a sizeable chunk of damage.
Deck Building Strategy
Focus on Aura and equipment to make him very large, add in cards that create more food tokens to constantly add counters to him, and then use the ultimate ability to take out each opponent.
Budget Options and Considerations
Building a powerful food commander deck doesn’t have to break the bank. Several budget-friendly options can still deliver a satisfying and competitive experience.
Cards like “Gingerbrute” can provide you with quick ways to attack, as well as food on the field and cheap creatures with “Savvy Hunter” who creates food tokens when they enter the battlefield. These low-cost cards can form the backbone of a budget-friendly Food strategy, allowing you to control the board and generate value without spending a fortune.
Conclusion
Food decks in Commander offer a uniquely flavorful and strategic experience. From the explosive power of Korvold to the token swarm tactics of Gyome and the budget-friendly options with Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, there’s a food commander to suit every play style and budget. Experiment, explore different combinations, and discover the delicious potential of Food in Magic: The Gathering.
Don’t be afraid to dive deeper into online resources like EDHREC and Moxfield for inspiration and deck-building ideas. The world of food commanders is vast and varied, and the perfect recipe for victory is waiting to be discovered.
So, gather your ingredients, sharpen your knives, and prepare to cook up some serious wins! The Food fight is on!
