I love Group Hug. Unfortunately, it's an archetype that most players misunderstand.

It is a real strategy and it isn't the same as Chaos. If a Group Hug deck doesn't have a win con, it isn't Group Hug; it's Chaos. Group Hug needs to have a win con so you're not just sitting there throwing resources across the table.

Something I need to clarify about Group Hug Commanders is that they need to have the effective capacity to help opponents. Commanders that hurt all players evenly lean more into Group Slug rather than Hug.

With that said, I am going to rank the strongest Group Hug Commanders you can run in your decks, and how Group Hug has a legitimate strategy to win.

Comparing Group Hug Commanders

There is a somewhat fine line between Group Hug and Slug, but they are very different. If a Commander doesn't have the capacity to help, they can't be considered for a Group Hug strategy.

Additionally, to be good a Group Hug commander, they must also be able to punish, too. To be an effective Group Hug Commander, they need to be able to sweep in to win up some of the resources it gave out.

I will be measuring these Commanders' ability to balance these things effectively enough to guarantee wins often enough to be competitive.

Honorable Mention: Gluntch, the Bestower

At first blush, this seems like the quintessential Hug archetype. I typically play Gluntch, The Bestower in the 99 rather than as a Commander for Group Hug though. It is in perfectly in the Hug colors Green and White, its just not good enough to lead.

It has access to Rites of Flourishing and Selvala, Explorer Returned which are big Hug cards, but the problem is that it struggles with winning. How do you win with little ol' Gluntch?

You can stop and control the board state. You can draw cards. You can make advantage, but there is no way to win.

You can't deck them with access to Blue. You can't burn them or steal creatures with access to Red. There is no infinite combo that I'm familiar with either. The most I'd seen is loading Gluntch up with +1/+1 counters synergy and going for a lethal swing.

At that point, it's a different deck. It's a counters deck, not really a Hug deck. It only made the list because it is the quintessential Group Hug card and insisted on being mentioned, and you can't say no to a Legendary Jellyfish.

It's more of an Honorable Mention than a spot 10.

9. Braids, Conjurer Adept

This gal is pretty unique on this list because she is more punish than hug.

Braids, Conjurer Adept is unilateral. She clearly gives a free permanent out of Land, Artifact, or Creature each upkeep, but she has to bend herself backwards in Mono-Blue not to just exploit this.

There isn't a ton of Huggin' going on in this deck. It Hugs as an off shoot. Like a lot of cards you'll see here, it's mainly the color restriction. There isn't a lot there to hug aside from draw and Braids' effect for opponents.

There are a bunch of ways of doubling this up for yourself and stopping it for opponents which feels less Huggy. I wasn't sure I was going to include her because it felt like a deck that coincidentally helps rather than does so by design.

It didn't even have many cards to build around for the Group Hug meta, but it felt worth mentioning, because she technically can do it.

8. Breena, the Demagogue

Breena's Group Hug offer is card advantage to players who attack players other than you that don't have the lowest life totals. This is a very good Group Hug strategy. It is subtle in the way group Hug needs to be.

Breena, the Demagogue encourages players to avoid you, which gives you time to set up and get card advantage and interaction. It also gets other player's life totals lower for you.

What Group Hug tries to do is use good will and positive resources to opponents to help you more than everyone else. And not being attacked is so good here. Being able to get Breena bigger and bigger for a Commander lethal win con is encouraged.

Breena struggles to Hug effectively with her colors though. She can provide a Duelist's Heritage and Board wipe in a Huggy way with something like Promise of Loyalty, but things like Shadrix Silverquil, Nils, Discipline Enforcer, and Orzhov Advokist aren't subtle at all.

I think most players will sniff out the duplicity of the Breena player too easily and will try to remove her like any other Aggro deck.

7. Sokrates, Athenian Teacher

This Commander is very interesting.

Sokrates, Athenian Teacher fogs damage and draws you and another player half as many cards -- which is very Huggy. Being able to prevent damage and get card advantage is the sort of thing you can convince players to avoid -- as a deterrent -- or mutual gain with you.

I also run this card in the 99 more often than as a Commander because he struggles with ramping. With no access to Green, we must rely on mana rocks to get there.

The wincons for this deck: The Council of Four, Psychosis Crawler, and Body of Knowledge are 5 mana, so the wincons are slow against the needs to ramp.

I think this deck comes lower because it struggles with a lot of the covertness of Hugging. Drawing a lot of cards is a red flag for most players. Like Breena's +1/+1 counters, drawing five cards is going to make players distrust your Hug.

6. Xyris, the Writhing Storm

This deck wants opponents to draw cards to win, but similar to Heliod, the Radiant Dawn // Heliod, the Warped Eclipse - which didn't make this list - that does not necessarily make a Group Hug deck.

The distinction I'm going to make here is a nuanced one. Just because a card benefits another player doesn't mean the strategy of the deck is for the player to benefit. I think Xyris, the Writhing Storm teeters on this edge.

It can be built to have Group Hug cards aside from itself like Tempt with Discovery or Kami of the Crescent Moon, but it might just run Impact Tremors and Windfall.

The distinction is that the card draw in the first is designed to help the opponent play and the other is designed to win the game. Group Hug is trying to win but other players must be helped first or it's just like any other archetype.

This deck could ramp, draw, and win, but often I find the desire is to build it less Group Hug and more as a draw subtheme of a token generation theme disguised as Group Hug. With that in mind, it is lower on the list.

5. Rocco, Street Chef

I think Rocco is an interesting choice for this list because in its color combinations it's so lovely for Group Hug. It has the Group Hug colors of Green and White - Collective Voyage and Master of Ceremonies - and the color of punishment: Red.

I don't see a ton of people playing Rocco, Street Chef as Group Hug though. It does give card advantage to other players though, which feels like Group Hug. It benefits from that, and also makes the Commander big in a sort of covert way which makes it avoid conflict for a while.

It can Hug decently and deal damage when it's ready. I just think it struggles to give evasion to Rocco for damage. It also struggles to utilize control elements. With Group Hug things you've given your opponents can get out of control.

Control is often needed to keep the Hug under control It's the only reason this isn't higher on the list.

4. Phelddagrif

This one is a classic.

Phelddagrif is in the perfect colors for Group Hug. It has the Green for group ramp, Blue for control and group draw, and White for control and removal. The Commander has evasion and Hug for opponents.

It is often built with Group Hug in mind, and the only reason it's not higher on the list is simply because I find that the deck isn't aggressive enough with the ability to close out games. It doesn't have enough winning power if it doesn't stray away from Group Hug elements.

3. Kenrith, The Returned King

This deck gives access to all colors, which is rare for Group Hug. With what I've said so far, this should be number one, right? I feel like looking at Kenrith, The Returned King more closely, the advantage isn't that free.

It requires 5 mana to play Kenrith and then additional mana to hug yourself or other players. And even then, it doesn't get you a Land, and it costs you 4 mana for a single card. I'm quibbling this high up the list.

It has access to all the good control cards and hug cards in the 99, but alone on a body, the Commander isn't that phenomenal. Kenrith as a Commander itself isn't a wincon or strong enough of a Hugger.

2. Ms. Bumbleflower

I need to be so clear about this deck. Not all Bumbleflower decks are Group Hug decks.

I've made it pretty clear in the past that this bunny is best as a Voltron Commander, but I've changed my mind a little in terms of Group Hug.

It is very capable of being a Group Hug Commander, but it needs to be built that way. Running all +1/+1 counters synergies and cantrips to trigger Ms. Bumbleflower on other players turn to make her huge and killing with Commander damage is not Group Hug.

Incidentally giving out card draw is not a Group Hug deck. With her, you have all the colors it needs and access to cards that are Group Huggy though. She also hands cards out a lot which is very Huggy.

A deck like this is very capable, if built correctly, to win in a bunch of ways in Hug archetype even without access to Red because of how Aggro the deck can be.

As long as Group Hug is the intention, and the build around, it's excellent in this way.

1. Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis

This is my favorite Group Hug deck. It exemplifies Group Hug. It printed a lot of the Group Hug staples in the Precon and notably can run nearly the cards on this list, excluding Kenrith and Breena.

What makes this the best is that Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis provide the Hug in the form of card advantage or ramp depending on what the player needs from the Command Zone. It also gives the Group Hug player the potential of both drawing cards or ramping towards a needed spell.

It has access to all the Group Hug colors and color of damage. You can run Insurrection, Gahiji, Honored One, and Treacherous Terrain for late game wins that punish going wide strategies, attacking opponents, and putting out a ton of lands. It also allows for punishment for draws like Razorkin Needlehead.

Conclusion

If you want to know how to play Group Hug, it starts with intention. Help early, build trust, and keep the table moving, but always have a plan to win. The resources you give out should put you ahead, not just keep everyone else in the game.

Group Hug works when you stay in control, pick your moment, and turn all that goodwill into a clean finish.

This is my super list of Group Hug Commanders! What's yours? Let me know. I'm @strixhavendropout on everything!