Top Five Best Zombie Commanders

Zombies have a storied pedigree in fantasy literature and gaming. They're cheap cannon fodder that can be either a level one encounter one-on-one or a ravening horde that can challenge higher level characters. They can reflect the atomized anomie instilled in us by capitalism, the primal directives that govern or shape us, or cultural xenophobia, from the Bush administration to Brexit.

As of April 2026, we have exactly 600 Commander-legal Zombies to choose from, one of the most populous non-Human Creature types in Magic's history. For comparison, there are 644 Commander-legal Elves, 502 Commander-legal Goblins, and 4,128 Commander-legal Humans.

58 of these 600 are Legendary Zombies who could serve at the head of a Commander deck. They range in color identity from Grixis () to Golgari () to Esper () to mono-Blue, so essentially any color preference can play with dead things.

Best Zombie Commanders in MTG in 2026

Some Zombies are more powerful than others, of course, and some are only incidentally Zombies, like Kotis, the Fangkeeper, who is an excellent and powerful Commander, but doesn't suggest a Zombie-themed deck. The most important - and the best - Zombie Commanders are those that evoke the actual feeling of an undead army.

• 7. Ratadrabik of Urborg
• 6. The Ghoul, Gunslinger
• 5. Glissa, the Traitor
• 4. Varina, Lich Queen
• 3. Gisa and Geralf
• 2. Hashaton, Scarab's Fist
• 1. Temmet, Naktamun's Will

Each of these Commanders focuses either on summoning an undead horde or using the graveyard as a resource, both strategies that are especially potent in Commander. Here's the best way to use each:

7. Ratadrabik of Urborg

There are 680 Legendary Creatures that are legal to include in a Ratadrabik of Urborg deck, from Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim to Mondrak, Glory Dominus to Kokusho, the Evening Star. Crucially, many of these, including Kambal, Profiteering Mayor, Gandalf the White, and Drivnod, Carnage Dominus directly power up Ratadrabik.

Ratadrabik was designed to grant your Orzhov () Legendary Creatures another shot at life, but he more often enables combos. For example, something as simple as Boromir, Warden of the Tower goes infinite with Ratadrabik, as you can sacrifice Boromir to his ability, creating a 2/2 non-Legendary Boromir, tempting that Boromir, and then repeating this cycle until you have drained out the table with any Blood Artist effect.

6. The Ghoul, Gunslinger

Fresh from Amazon's Fallout show, The Ghoul, Gunslinger may first read as a self-mill card for Zombie and Mutant typal decks, but there's a more sinister deck possible.

The Ghoul goes infinite with Gravecrawler and any sacrifice outlet. Simply have all three components in play, sacrifice the Gravecrawler to any sacrifice effect to make a Treasure from The Ghoul, then recast Gravecrawler. Any Blood Artist effect (Funeral Room // Awakening Hall, Bastion of Remembrance, etc.) will then go infinite.

If you want to go in another direction, and many players in lower brackets do, The Ghoul is a superb Zombie Commander to mill yourself and find recursive undead like Krovikan Horror, Bloodghast, Ichorid, etc. We've come a long way from Khabal Ghoul to Feral Ghoul, but both get huge in a Ghoul deck, so give them a shot or six.

5. Glissa, the Traitor

Once feared in early Commander, this iteration of Glissa, the Traitor allows you to loop Executioner's Capsule. In 2026, she'll let you loop Anchovy & Banana Pizza, if you sacrifice the Food in response to your opponent's Creature dying. You can also recur Nihil Spellbomb or Mishra's Bauble for card advantage every time an opponent's Creature dies.

Glissa is less frequently seen as a Zombie typal Commander, but she works well in this role. Between Wight of the Reliquary, Underrealm Lich, Polukranos, Unchained, and Glissa Sunslayer, there are some decent Green-Black Zombies that supplement the mono-Black "lords" like Undead Warchief and Lost Monarch of Ifnir.

4. Varina, Lich Queen

Varina, Lich Queen is cheap enough to come down early and lets you dip into the best three colors for Zombie shenanigans. You have access to Anointed Procession, Necromancer's Covenant, Wayward Servant, Diregraf Captain, The Scarab God, and thirty years of Black Zombies to choose from.

More than most Zombie Commanders, Varina allows you to go fully aggressive, as she fuels her own engine. You'll be discarding cards to her attack trigger and then exiling those same cards to create 2/2 Zombies.

The duo of Corpse Knight and Wayward Servant powers up the deck significantly, as does the underprinted but absurdly potent Bone Miser. Any of the "whenever a card leaves your graveyard" enablers, from Teval's Judgment to Syr Konrad, the Grim to On Wings of Gold, are crucial to Varina.

3. Gisa and Geralf

The Cecani siblings let you cast a Zombie each turn from your graveyard with no other qualifiers. No finality counters, no Escape-esque exile requirements, only the usual mana cost for a dead Zombie. They even let you mill four cards upon entering so that you're likely to get a hit.

As a solid 4/4 for, Gisa and Geralf are large enough to rumble and cheap enough to recast if they bite the dust. The Dimir () color identity also lets you run the best beneficial self-mill and Surveil tools in the game, from Overlord of the Balemurk to Ripples of Undeath to Search for Azcanta.

As a source of card advantage and threats, Gisa and Geralf are powerful enough to hang with higher brackets but not fearsome enough to make you a target when you reveal them as your Commander, unlike Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver. Wilhelt often gets the nod for actually being a Zombie, unlike the still-living twins, but if you're looking to power down while still playing Zombies, Gisa and Geralf are there for you.

2. Hashaton, Scarab's Fist

The last two Zombie Commanders have been gift-wrapped and packaged for us (which, coincidentally, is no doubt what Liliana believes about a corpse interred in a shroud and a casket). Both Hashaton, Scarab's Fist and Temmet came in Aetherdrift's Commander decks, and both immediately supplanted the previous Esper () Zombie Commanders.

Hashaton is currently one of the top-played Commanders, as there are enough tricks in the Esper color identity (and more coming) that intersect with a Zombie theme to be truly powerful. Whether you're making brutal enters the battlefield loops off of Tortured Existence or doubling up on threats with Likeness Looter, Hashaton is a top pick.

Personally, I find the "discard Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, make a token of it for " line of play somewhat predictable, but Hashaton can also double as a Zombie typal Commander. Gleaming Overseer lets your 4/4 Zombie tokens into honest problems, while Cryptbreaker lets you draw and discard to fuel your Hashaton.

1. Temmet, Naktamun's Will

Hashaton may be more of a reanimator Commander, but Temmet, Naktamun's Will clocks in as one of the all-time-best Zombie typal Commanders. Pack in cheap Zombies, from Cryptbreaker to Wayward Servant, pepper it with "lords" from Cemetery Reaper to Death Baron, and supplement with anthem effects from Shared Triumph to Renewed Solidarity.

The Esper triad loves to cycle through cards, and Temmet rewards this impulse by making Zombies gigantic. Forgotten Creation, Rhet-Tomb Mystic, and Graveborn Muse all let you go lethal quickly, and the usual Esper control cards make sure you can stop your opponents from counteracting your fun.

In Conclusion, I Came to Bury the Dead and to Praise Them

We're lucky to have a preponderance of leaders for our rotten recruits that allow us to go full combo (The Ghoul, Gunslinger or Ratadrabik of Urborg), full aggro (Varina, Lich Queen or Temmet, Naktamun's Will), or somewhere in between (Glissa, the Traitor or Gisa and Geralf).

We tackled mostly multicolored options, as that gives you a broader base to draw from for a Creature type that spans all five colors, but there are mono-colored Commanders that can lead a Zombie deck or at least belong in the 99.

Easy Legendary picks for any Zombie deck include Hancock, Ghoulish Mayor, Balthor the Defiled, God-Eternal Oketra, Jason Bright, Glowing Prophet, and Tormod, the Desecrator.

No matter what Zombie Commander you go with, there are some universal Zombie-specific cards that you should have your eye sockets on, including Grave Defiler, Rooftop Storm, Zul Ashur, Lich Lord, Lord of the Undead, Lost Monarch of Ifnir, Unholy Grotto, Necroduality, Undead Warchief, and Zombie Apocalypse.

In addition to the usual undead suspects, you should plan to supplement your typal deck with classic enablers like Cavern of Souls, Roaming Throne, Vanquisher's Banner, and Chronicle of Victory.

No matter who is at the head of your corps of corpses or what colors you include, you're able to go into battle with your zombie army with all the tools you need to overwhelm your opponent.