Impactful 4 Drops for Commander - White

The Commander format is a format that is constantly changing with more powerful cards being printed. Powerful cards help to speed along the pace of a Commander game. A spell that has a converted mana cost of 4 or more, is much more impactful than a spell that is cheaper to cast. That begs the question then, what is the most impactful spell I can play by turn four or earlier with ramp? This is a very important question to ask, especially in White, since that has the worst rep when it comes to the color pie as a whole. Let's dig into some impactful 4 drops that we can play in White!

Lae'zel's Acrobatics

Lae'zel's Acrobatics is one of the best cards that blinks our entire board. Yorion, Sky Nomad or Brago, King Eternal are the go to Commanders if you are looking to do some blink shenanigans. Lae'zel's Acrobatics is one of the most impactful spells you can play in a deck playing a similar strategy. Since this card allows you to blink your board more than once with a single spell, it can be more impactful in a single turn than Brago, while Brago will acrew value over the course of the game. Lae'zel's Acrobatics gives you immediate value, possibly twice, in blink strategies.

Hokori, Dust Drinker

Sometimes the most impactful spell is the one that slows everyone down. If you are playing a control strategy or a strategy where you are attempting to assemble a combo, slowing down your opponents could be a way to victory. Hokori, Dust Drinker is your best bet at slowing down the entire table by turn four. Only untapping one land a turn will bring the game to a screeching halt. Hopefully, you have a way of using this to your advantage. Sacrificing Hokori to an effect on your opponent's end step is my favorite way of using this card since you will untap everything on your own turn.

Luminous Broodmoth

Speaking of sacrificing, Luminous Broodmoth is a great four mana card for that strategy. Every time one of your creatures without flying dies, you return it to play... with flying! Not only does it just bring your creatures back, it brings them back more powerful than when they left. This card is great board wipe protection as well. If your opponent wipes the board while you have Luminous Broodmoth in play, you will return all your creatures to the battlefield with flying. You could also use this to your advantage if you cast a board wipe! Luminous Broodmoth will always impact the game as soon as you play it.

Halvar, God of Battle // Sword of the Realms

Voltron strategies love having double strike and having lots of equipment. Halvar, God of Battle fills both of these roles at once. Halvar gives all equipped and enchanted creatures double strike. Nothing speeds a game along faster than having your huge Commander hit your opponent in the face twice. Halvar might not be impactful, however, if you do not have any equipment on your Commander. Luckily, Halvar gives you an equipment on his other side. Sword of the Realms gives the equipped creature a small buff and vigilance, as well as protecting it from harm. This 4-drop creature is impactful as early as turn two, if you decide to cast it from the other side.

Trouble in Pairs

Trouble in Pairs is an amazing card advantage engine that punishes our opponents for attempting to get ahead in the game. It has you draw a card if your opponent: draws their second card, casts their second spell, or attacks you with two or more creatures. Believe it or not, in Commander, your opponents are dying to do all of those things constantly. Now, you are gaining benefits whenever they play the game. This card also shuts down extra turn spells as a bonus. Having a consistent way to draw cards by turn four, especially in White, is a surefire way to stay ahead of your opponents and stay on top of the game.

Smothering Tithe

If you are familiar with Commander at all, you should know the card Smothering Tithe. Every time your opponent draws a card you get to ask the question, "Are you going to pay 2 for that?" Each time your opponent answers this question with a "No." you get to create a treasure token. If you cast Smothering Tithe on turn four, you will have three extra mana in treasures by turn five! Gaining all of this extra mana each rotation around the table is one of the most impactful spells in White, it just happens to be four mana. If you don't have a copy of Smothering Tithe as a Commander player, I highly recommend owning at least one copy.

Akroma's Will

The most impactful spell you can play is one that ends the game. Even though most of the time you won't cast this on turn four, Akroma's Will is a four mana spell you can use that will help you end the game. Giving all of your creatures just about every keyword under the sun is the best way to win with decks that specialize in going wide with creatures or creature tokens. Akroma's Will is my pick for the most impactful four mana cards when it comes to White in Commander. Winning the game in one turn is pretty impactful.

I hope this list is helpful when trying to find cards to slot into the four mana curve in your Commander deck. Four mana cards can be explosive, so make sure to include plenty of them when brewing your next Commander deck!

See you on the battlefield!

-Nigel