Esper, one of the iconic Shards introduced in 2008's Shards of Alara, combines the colors White, Blue, and Black. In Magic: The Gathering, this color combination is often associated with control strategies, leveraging powerful spells, card draw, and resource denial to dominate opponents. In the Commander format, Esper remains a top-tier choice for players who enjoy intricate gameplay, board control, and value engines.

While Esper is famous for control, it offers plenty of versatility, supporting strategies like artifact synergy, reanimator combos, pillowfort tactics, and more. If you've paid the two during your upkeep (you know the drill), let's dive into the five best Esper commanders to build your next Commander deck around.

5. Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

In Commander, starting with 40 life gives you a solid buffer, making aggressive, damage-based strategies less consistent. Enter Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, a Giant Soldier from the Commander 2013 preconstructed decks who thrives in lifegain-focused control decks. Oloro's standout feature? He gains you 2 life every upkeep--whether he's on the battlefield or chilling in the command zone.

Oloro is a 6-mana 4/5 who turns lifegain into a weapon. Whenever you gain life, you can pay {1} to draw a card and drain each opponent for 1 life. His abilities naturally lend themselves to a pillowfort strategy, where you build layers of defenses until your opponents are drained out.

Sphere of Safety, Ghostly Prison, and Propaganda disincentivize attacks aimed at you. Well of Lost Dreams, Alhammarret's Archive, and Dawn of Hope make use of Oloro's abilities rather well too. With all the lifegain, you can also make everyone hurt with Enduring Tenacity and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose. Oloro, Ageless Ascetic may be an oldie - but he still holds up in modern Commander metas.

4. Alela, Artful Provocateur

If you love enchantments, artifacts, and swarming opponents with evasive creatures, Alela, Artful Provocateur is your go-to Esper commander. This 4-mana 2/3 Faerie Warlock is packed with keywords--flying, deathtouch, lifelink--and gives all your flying creatures +1/+0. That's already solid value, but her real power comes from her ability: whenever you cast an artifact or enchantment, create a 1/1 Blue Faerie creature token with flying.

With Alela in your command zone, you get a unique twist on enchantress decks. Instead of focusing solely on card draw, your enchantments and artifacts fuel an ever-growing army of flying tokens.

Inquisitive Glimmer and Mesa Enchantress gives you that classic draw a card trigger. Bident of Thassa and Enduring Curiosity are amazing sources of card draw given your evasive army. Cheap artifacts like Sensei's Divining Top and Skullclamp are includes in her deck. Oh, and chuck in Moonshaker Cavalry there to do your best Craterhoof Behemoth impersonation in Esper!

Alela decks are flexible, letting you pivot between aggressive token strategies and controlling value engines, making her one of the best Esper commanders for both casual and competitive play.

3. Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir

Combining typal (formerly "tribal") synergy with reanimation strategies, Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir leads a formidable Knight-themed Esper deck. A 4/3 for 4 mana, Sidar brings both aggressive and graveyard-focused elements to the table.

His Eminence ability triggers whenever a Knight you control attacks, letting you loot (draw a card, then discard a card) even if Sidar is in the command zone. When he deals combat damage to a player, you can reanimate a Knight directly from your graveyard to the battlefield, creating endless value with aggressive attacks.

Knights are a cool creature type in Magic since a lot of the good ones have low mana costs and buff each other up. Knight Exemplar, Marshal of Zhalfir, and Valiant Knight are good examples of lords as they all give +1/+1 to your army of knights. In this combat-focused strategy, cards like Knights' Charge, Chivalric Alliance, and Adeline, Resplendent Cathar are all-stars. For reanimation targets you can include heavy hitters like Cavalier of Night, Cavalier of Night, and Cavalier of Dawn.

2. Sen Triplets

Remember when I mentioned control at the start of this article? While Esper in Commander offers diverse strategies, Sen Triplets brings us right back to pure, unapologetic control. This 5-mana 3/3 Human Wizard doesn't just slow your opponents down--it takes over their game.

During your upkeep, you choose an opponent and can play lands and cast spells from their hand as if they were your own. That's right--you essentially turn one unlucky opponent into your personal puppet, dictating their resources to your advantage.

Leaning into the thievery theme paints a target around your head but it warms a sadistic control player's heart like no other. Bribery, Blue Sun's Twilight, and Sower of Temptation are great Control Magic options. Of course, no good control player will leave home without Mana Drain, Dovin's Veto, and Fierce Guardianship. Get ready to be the archenemy in most of your games though.

1. Raffine, Scheming Seer

At the top of our list is none other than Raffine, Scheming Seer, an unassuming yet devastating 1/4 Sphinx Demon for just 3 mana. With flying and ward 1, Raffine is deceptively resilient. Whenever Raffine attacks, an attacking creature connives X equal to how many attacking creatures there are. Raffine is strong enough to be top commander in cEDH tables, that should tell you about its power level. But, even in less cutthroat pods, Raffine is a commander that can play in a lot of ways. Reanimator is a good way to play him because of the connive and at the same time, it's rather easy to build him up with the +1/+1 counters for an evasive beater.

A discard theme is a fun build around that lets you use niche cards like Archfiend of Ifnir, Bone Miser, and Feast of Sanity. Pitching all those stuff in the graveyard means you can run Victimize, Unburial Rites, and Dread Return for maximum value. What makes Raffine, Scheming Seer truly special is his ability to support both competitive and casual strategies. Whether you prefer optimized combos or fun, niche synergies, Raffine delivers--making him the ultimate Esper commander.

Beyond Control

Esper offers a rich blend of control, value, and flexibility, making it a top-tier choice for Commander players who enjoy strategic depth. Whether you prefer locking down the board, outdrawing your opponents, or returning your beatsticks back to life, Esper has a commander that fits your style. So, pick your favorite, shuffle up, and prepare to dominate the table--just don't be surprised if your playgroup starts targeting you first.