Following the hype of both Commander Legends and Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Wizards decided to put the two together for Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate. Originally intended as a crossover release with the Baldur's Gate 3 video game and the D&D movie that released in 2023, delays in both caused this to set to come out on its own.

Without the cross promotion, players weren't able to make the connection to the set's characters and as such, reception was mixed out of the gate. Many Magic players had hoped for more powerful reprints like the first Commander Legends set, only to find very few here. Reception warmed once players fell in love with Baldur's Gate 3 and many realized just how cool the cards were throughout the set, making it a modern cult classic. There's a ton of mythics to discuss with a set of this magnitude and I'm going to rank every one of them!

I should note before getting into this list, though, that I'm not talking about the Commander reprints here. Last time with the first Commander Legends set, I covered the two precon face cards and left off the reprints as well as the special foil-etched legend reprints. Given the size of this set and the higher amount of commanders in the precons, I'm opting to ignore the decks entirely this time around, even if they're technically considered part of the set proper here. Instead, we're going to focus entirely on the cards you can find in boosters.

Now then, onto the list!

• 22. Elminster
• 21. Volo, Itinerant Scholar
• 20. Elminster's Simulacrum
• 19. Pact Weapon
• 18. Majestic Genesis
• 17. Storm King's Thunder
• 16. Blood Money
• 15. Font of Magic
• 14. Legion Loyalty
• 13. Balor
• 12. Vexing Puzzlebox
• 11. Tasha, the Witch Queen

10. Ancient Bronze Dragon

All right, we're kicking it off with the obligatory disclaimer that I'm sure you've likely assumed already: this list is going to heavily focus on the ancient dragons. All five provide monstrously huge effects so flashy, it's practically impossible for them to not show up among the best mythics of the set. Ancient Bronze Dragon kicks things off with a bit of an underwhelming showing: a meager distribution of +1/+1 counters. Make no mistake, this is still strong and can win games, but compared to the others in this set, it's easily the least exciting effect.

9. Bramble Sovereign

Prior to its reprinting here, Bramble Sovereign was quite pricey, hovering around the $20 mark for some time. Commander players love getting value on top of value and getting to clone creatures over and over for minimal mana investment was highly sought after. This printing crashed the price of the card, making it more accessible than ever for players who want to double up on their nonsense.

8. Ancient Gold Dragon

The second Ancient Dragon on the list, this one provides another somewhat basic effect that feels somewhat flashier than Ancient Bronze Dragon's +1/+1 counters. Ancient Gold Dragon makes tons of 1/1 fliers, which is extremely powerful and a game changer for token lovers everywhere. At the end of the day, though, it's just another glorified token generator, which sets it on the bottom half of these powerful dragons.

7. Nautiloid Ship

The Nautiloid Ship represents the mindflayers, known for taking control of living beings. As such, this card is a flavor home run, but how it plays is even better. Exiling graveyards is huge in a format like Commander where the graveyard is often seen as a second hand. Not only that, but then you get to put a creature from among the exiled cards into play for free when you land a hit with the vehicle. Well worth the investment in any game you play it in.

6. Karlach, Fury of Avernus

Players fell quickly in love with Karlach thanks to her powerful showing in Baldur's Gate 3, but even in the span of time before that game's release, there was already a ton to love about her. Getting extra combat phases is always a huge deal in Commander games and Karlach guarantees you an extra one each turn. Not only that, but she doesn't even have to attack herself, meaning that every turn you can go in with one specific crew that can tear through opponents' defenses with ease.

5. Battle Angels of Tyr

Battle Angels of Tyr may not give you quite the same degree of value as the Ancient Dragons, but it does give you a consistent stream of value all the same. The fact that it has myriad as well means that it adds up fast. If you meet all three of the card's conditions after dealing combat damage, you can get 3 cards, 3 treasure tokens, and 9 life, which is quite a lot of varying value from just one card.

4. Ancient Brass Dragon

Oh yeah, now we're talking. Getting to reanimate creatures is not the most special effect, but getting to reanimate multiple creatures at once? That's incredible. The fact that you can also choose from multiple graveyards at the same time makes it even better. Ancient Brass Dragon takes a beloved aspect of Black in Magic and cranks it to 11 and it's a blast to play as a result.

3. Ancient Silver Dragon

You know what's even better than doing mass reanimation? Drawing a bunch of cards, of course! And we're not talking your average draw 3 or even draw 7. Oh no, with Ancient Silver Dragon it's not uncommon to draw over 10 cards in one swing. You can even draw a full 20 in one go if you're really lucky - that's one fifth of a Commander deck! Ancient Silver Dragon can decide games with just a single hit, making it one of the most fearsome mythics in the set.

2. Ancient Copper Dragon

So, what could be more exciting than drawing an obscene amount of cards? Making an obscene amount of treasures, of course! Ancient Copper Dragon lets you get unbelievably ahead on mana compared to your opponents and has fantastic synergy with all manner of artifact decks. It's not hard to combo this with Hellkite Tyrant and win the game with ease. The card holds one of the highest prices of the set, and for good reason, to the point that players are rejoicing the upcoming reprint in Magic: the Gathering - Final Fantasy.

1. Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes

Ancient Copper Dragon may win the set in terms of sheer spectacle, but for my money the top mythic of the set is Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes. Whereas Ancient Copper Dragon is mostly just a Commander staple, Minsc & Boo is also great in Commander but goes far beyond that. It's a powerhouse in Legacy as well, becoming a huge player out of the gate. Not only that, but it remains one of the best things you can be doing in a Vintage Cube setting - a testament to the card's power and a fitting card given the popularity of these characters.

Paige Smith

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