The 17 Best Abzan Creatures in Magic Ranked

Last updated on January 2, 2026

Siege Rhino | Illustration by Volkan Baga

Abzan () is a wedge dedicated to creatures, from their ability to carry +1/+1 counters to their toughness, and many things between. You can’t be surprised that such a creature-focused wedge has awesome monsters to threaten your opponents with.

Many of Abzan’s creatures are legendary and designed for Commander, but regular Cubers and Constructed players can find strong, often disruptive threats among them.

Let’s figure out which Abzan creatures are the best!

What Are Abzan Creatures in MTG?

Anafenza, the Foremost | Illustration by James Ryman

Abzan () creatures have a white, black, and green color identity, often because of their mana cost, but sometimes because of activated abilities or because they transform into permanents of a different color.

This wedge is grindy and cares about creatures, generally by suiting them up with lots of +1/+1 counters to make them into formidable threats. But there are plenty of other synergies, like sacrifice, toughness-matters, and enchantments. In general, expect to see plenty of counters thrown around.

#17. Armament Dragon

A big flying creature that distributes +1/+1 counters turns games on their head, assuming you aren’t exploiting broken cards that win the game before you can afford 6 mana. That makes it well-suited to grindy formats like Peasant Cube or as top end for a super casual EDH deck.

#16. Doran, the Siege Tower

Doran, the Siege Tower has historical value to Abzan creatures, even if power creep has left it behind. This is the original toughness-matters commander, a simple stat-stick that gives you a reason to run Giant Ox and treefolk. Though better options exist, it’s a great choice for a throwback commander.

#15. Karador, Ghost Chieftain

Karador, Ghost Chieftain is a commander in the vein of Doran, the Siege Tower: It was once meaningful, but now it’s stuck in a nursing home thanks to power creep. Simply compare its once per turn restriction to Muldrotha, the Gravetide. Still, if you want to play it, its high creature requirement makes it a great choice to companion Umori, the Collector.

#14. Ivorytusk Fortress

Effects that let you untap creatures on your opponent’s turn are especially useful in Commander since you get three extra untap steps. While many players’ minds may go to defense, it’s worth considering what happens when you get to untap mana dorks and cast extra spells, or reactivate strong abilities like those of Mikaeus, the Lunarch and Ulamog's Dreadsire.

#13. Betor, Kin to All

Betor, Kin to All is a nice support piece for toughness-matters decks. Since Betor comes in with a whopping 7 toughness, you only need one or two more creatures to start to draw cards, though the higher tiers are much harder to enable.

Betor will never be more than a support piece because this archetype relies heavily on Assault Formation effects that allow defenders to attack and to deal damage based on their toughness. The lack of either text makes it a poor choice for a commander or build around.

#12. Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan

Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan combines Abzan’s love of counters with its sacrifice synergies. Since you don’t need to sacrifice creatures, you can make ample use of cards like Chromatic Star and Heaped Harvest that reward you when they die. It offers outlets to so many different synergies that it can find a home in many archetypes.

#11. Thalia and The Gitrog Monster

Thalia and The Gitrog Monster combines Magic’s best lands card with a tax collector for the most annoying bundle of value you’ve ever seen. The steady stream of cards and sacrifice triggers give you plenty of resources while your opponents stumble around with tapped lands and creatures. First strike and deathtouch mean you can attack with this commander freely for its trigger; few players will have five 4/4s to throw in front of it.

#10. Anafenza, the Foremost

Anafenza, the Foremost makes an excellent midrange threat. It’s well above the expected stats for a 3-mana creature (sorry, Centaur Courser), and its mild stax ability disrupts decks while you beat face. Since it makes other creatures stronger, Anafenza provides a criminal amount of pressure for its cost, especially when you cast it on turn 2 off a mana dork.

#9. Betor, Ancestor’s Voice

Betor, Ancestor's Voice gives lifegain decks the payoff they need by distributing counters. Or you can pay life to reanimate creatures, or some combination thereof. It’s a tricky balance to get right, but it’s far more interesting than most lifegain payoffs that only want to make the number go up.

#8. Yathan Roadwatcher

Yathan Roadwatcher builds a big board with its strong enters trigger. It doesn't quite work with flicker creatures like Flickerwisp since it requires casting to trigger, but simply putting a threat like Sentinel of the Nameless City or Skirmish Rhino into play gives you a nasty, aggressive edge.

#7. Kethis, the Hidden Hand

Kethis, the Hidden Hand offers a powerful combo engine that exploits the graveyard—which has always been fair, right? Kethis combos in Modern often go for self-mill so you can win with Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, but that’s just one way to break this engine.

#6. Ghave, Guru of Spores

One of the most infamous Abzan commanders, Ghave, Guru of Spores is that rare commander where the deckbuilding challenge is to build a deck that doesn’t go infinite. Activated abilities with no restrictions that cost only a single generic mana are a combo player’s dream. Example loops involve Ashnod's Altar to sacrifice the saprolings Ghave creates to pour more mana into creating saprolings to sacrifice, with something like Good-Fortune Unicorn to add counters.

#5. Siege Rhino

Siege Rhino might be the most infamous Abzan creature due to its tyrannical reign over Standard 10 years ago. The combination of a massive body, trample, and life loss made it aggressive, but the lifegain stabilized you enough to turn the corner… unless, of course, your opponent had their own Siege Rhino. Nothing blocks a Siege Rhino like Siege Rhino.

#4. Severance Priest

Severance Priest attacks the hand, providing midrange decks a reasonable threat. Hand disruption is among the strongest forms of interaction in Magic since you can stop cards from ever being a problem. Adding that value to a creature that can attack and pressure your opponent while they’re off-kilter makes it hard for them to regain their balance, and thus easy for you to win.

#3. Felothar the Steadfast

Felothar the Steadfast is single-handedly responsible for killing Doran, the Siege Tower as a commander. One mana gets you a more complete version of the Assault Formation text since defenders can attack, plus a strong activated ability that lets you churn through your deck and provide the resources to break through a stalled board. How could you ever turn to Doran for a reason other than nostalgia after this?

#2. Anikthea, Hand of Erebos

Anikthea, Hand of Erebos turns an eye to the graveyard and enchantress synergies in a perfect marriage of black and Selesnya () values. It enables so many synergies; perhaps you lean into sagas, which put themselves in the graveyard; perhaps you try a reanimation deck with Summon: Bahamut and Legion Loyalty; or you can play a traditional, snowfort strategy. The variety and unique payoff make it an exceptional and popular Abzan commander.

#1. The Necrobloom

The Necrobloom is Field of the Dead stapled to a creature, except it’s also much better because it makes tokens before the seven-land threshold, and you never miss a land drop since all your lands have dredge 2. It might be the most generic commander possible, which means the interest that the deck generates must come from how you exploit it.

Wrap Up

Ivorytusk Fortress | Illustration by Jasper Sandner

Abzan often feels like Selesnya with sacrifice effects due to its heavy love of going wide, disrupting opponents, and stacking +1/+1 counters on your creatures. It’s the perfect color combination for anybody looking to display their love of creatures, whether you go tall or wide.

What’s your favorite Abzan creature? Do you want to visit another plane that focuses on the wedge? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!