This article is for the birds. You know what? In this case, I'm OK with that admittance. While the idiom "for the birds" means something worthless, useless, or trivial (stemming from World War II slang referencing birds eating horse manure), in this case the expression matches in the literal sense!

I will be focusing on some of the most unique and interesting Birds in the history of Magic.

Notice how I didn't say most powerful or most synergistic for Commander. The reality is, if you want to read about the best Birds in Commander you can check out this EDH REC article by Chris Guest. Then, if you want a more objective ranking, you can visit EDH REC and simply sort the Birds category by most played. This will highlight the population's ranking for the Birds with highest utility in the format.

Instead, I'm looking for Birds that truly stand out - creatures that have more creative abilities (that are still powerful, mind you). These are birds where, if you're looking for a Bird that does something specific, you may only have one or two options. These are what I'll be highlighting for my personalized Top 10 Birds with powerful and unique abilities.

10. Commander Eesha

This is one of the older cards on my list. Thanks to power creep, creatures printed in the 2020s (on average) are flashier and more exciting than those printed in the 1990s and early 2000s. That said, I wanted to give an admiring shout-out to one of my favorite Birds from Judgement.

Commander Eesha has the distinct honor of being the only bird with that coveted "protection from creatures" text. In fact, only two other creatures come with this powerful ability - Beloved Chaplain and Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts.

What exactly does that mean? Basically, Commander Eesha cannot be damaged, blocked, or targeted by any creature source. Thus, it's effectively unblockable and doesn't receive combat damage when it blocks. I can see why Wizards has shied away from printing such a powerful ability on a card!

9. Slickshot Show-Off

Now I'm letting that recency bias kick in. If you were to ask me which bird creature has been the most aggressive over the history of the game, it'd be hard for me to ignore all those games where my opponents did 12 trampling damage to me out of nowhere with Slickshot Show-Off and Monstrous Rage.

To be honest, I knew this creature flew and had a cowboy hat, but I never stopped and considered its creature type! Sure enough, it's a bird (and a very powerful one). Having haste and plot means that you can pay two mana up front for this creature while keeping it safe from your opponent's removal for a turn.

The following turn, you can cast it without paying its mana cost and go crazy with your pump spells, triggering its +2/+0 ability, making this one heck of a beatdown bird!

8. Mockingbird

Clones have been a dime a dozen in Magic ever since Alpha introduced the original concept. This in and of itself isn't unique. What's special about Mockingbird is the fact that it's a bird that Clones and it has flying!

While copying a powerful, expensive creature means a major mana investment with Mockingbird, the creature scales nicely with the game and gives you that added advantage of flying over your opponent's version of the creature.

I love the bird bard's versatility and playful nature, and find it is a unique effect to leverage in Commander. Plus, the flavor text is hilarious. "Laughing at you? No no, I'm laughing as you!"

7. Aven Mindcensor

I remember when this Future Sight uncommon was worth a good few bucks because it saw Legacy play. "Nice fetch land, bro." Nowadays, I don't think Aven Mindcensor sees as much competitive play as it used to, but it still holds a distinct ability that hoses opponents' deck searches.

While this bird creature doesn't see much tournament play these days, it's still an entertaining surprise to spring on opponents looking to tutor up a card in Commander. For that reason, I've kept it on my Top 10 list.

6. Swans of Bryn Argoll

Let's face the truth. Entire deck archetypes and combos aren't usually catalyzed by a single bird creature card. Swans of Bryn Argoll is one exception I'd like to acknowledge. While this may not be a Tier 1 strategy, Swans of Bryn Argoll have inspired players to craft combo-centric Modern decks leveraging it alongside Seismic Assault.

If you ever wanted to play a deck with over 40 lands in it, this could be the strategy for you! The strategy is to stick a Swans of Bryn Argoll and Seismic Assault on the battlefield, then begin pitching lands to do two damage to Swans (drawing you two more cards). Eventually, you can start pitching them to damage your opponent once you've drawn enough cards.

Outside of this combo, Swans of Bryn Argoll's ability to avoid damage is truly unique and deserves a spot on my Top 10 list. I could see it as an interesting political element to a multiplayer Commander game as well. "Attack me with your 5/5 and I promise to block, allowing you to draw 5 cards..."

5. Birds of Paradise

It would be a travesty to leave this OG bird creature off any Top 10 list. Not only has this creature stood the test of time, but it also has some fairly unique characteristics worth shouting out.

First off, it's a Mono-Green bird, and there aren't many of those (most are Blue, White, or multicolored).

Next, for just one mana it nets you a 0/1 flying creature that also taps for mana of any color. Naturally, there have been numerous creatures printed since that can tap for any color of mana, but none as efficient as Birds of Paradise. The next closest creature in ability would probably be Gilded Goose, but it requires food tokens to sacrifice to generate that mana.

Birds of Paradise is deserving of its spot on this list and I'm standing by it.

4. Ledger Shredder

You don't find very many Streets of New Capenna cards on many Top 10 lists, but Ledger Shredder definitely stands out as an all-star from the maligned set. At just two mana, this bird creature hits the battlefield early on in games, when players are attempting to develop their boards.

Any player looking to cast more than one spell on a turn must decide if it's worth allowing Ledger Shredder to connive when playing that second spell. It's easy to overlook, but this helps you smooth out your draws and possibly grow Ledger Shredder's power and toughness throughout the game.

By the way, you can also double spell and trigger the connive ability again. Gone unchecked, this creature can help you see numerous additional cards while becoming a formidable attacker and blocker for very little initial investment. No other creatures are as efficient at doing this than Ledger Shredder.

3. Wan Shi Tong, Librarian

Wan Shi Tong, Librarian is a control player's dream creature. It has flash, meaning you can hold up all your countermagic until the last second. It has flying, evading opposing blockers. It has vigilance, allowing Wan Shi Tong to play both offense and defense. It draws you cards and scales with the game (the more mana you have, the more cards it can draw and the larger the creature is).

On top of all this, Wan Shi Tong punishes your opponent for searching their library - not in the same way as Aven Mindcensor, but by rewarding you with an extra +1/+1 counter and a card. I'm not sure where Standard will net out in the coming weeks, but Wan Shi Tong, Librarian will surely have its place in some tournament scene or another.

I also like it for Commander, as again your opponents are likely to be searching their libraries multiple times throughout the game. Wan Shi Tong, Librarian does many things really well, and no other bird creature can match its abilities pound for pound.

2. Maha, Its Feathers Night

Maha, Its Feathers Night has been making waves in Commander lately thanks to the return of -1/-1 counter strategies reintroduced in Lorwyn Eclipsed. Suddenly, every player is on the hunt for this Elemental Bird creature.

Can you blame them for wanting a copy?! It's a five-mana 6/5 flyer that is difficult to remove without having to expend two cards and renders fragile all your opponents' creatures. Maha also enables numerous combos thanks to that final line of text.

The fact that they printed such a powerful creature in the 2020s doesn't surprise me one bit. The fact that this powerful creature is a bird makes it one of the most formidable and uniquely powerful of such creatures in the history of Magic. I don't suspect you'll see another bird printed with this kind of ability for many years, if ever.

1. Nadu, Winged Wisdom

The first nine birds I discussed in this article are all powerful in their own right. Only one bird creature, however, was literally banned for being too powerful and effective. That bird creature is Nadu, Winged Wisdom, making it the obvious choice for topping this Top 10 list.

Nadu, Winged Wisdom is one of those cards you read, read again, and immediately think to yourself, "What were they thinking?!" What in this text box made Wizards of the Coast feel comfortable printing the card? Did they forget equipment like Lightning Greaves existed?

Why do the lands enter the battlefield untapped? Why do you need to draw the nonland cards? Why does the ability trigger twice a turn rather than once? Why does the ability trigger twice per creature each turn rather than twice in total?!

It almost feels like Wizards of the Coast unintentionally made this card too powerful by incorrectly templating its rules, forcing them to respond with a necessary banning. No other birds - in fact, no other creatures - in Magic grant such an ability to all your creatures in this repetitive way.

And Nadu is a 3/4 flying creature for just three mana! Add that all together and you have the recipe for one broken Magic card.

Wrapping It Up

There you have it! Each of the birds on this list are both powerful and unique. While arguments can certainly be made to include other powerful Bird Commanders, I like my list for showcasing an array of abilities in an eclectic way. Birds have done many different things in Magic over the years, and I enjoyed showcasing a variety of their abilities throughout the game's history.

The best part is, as long as Magic keeps being printed, there will be new bird creatures created. This is such an evergreen creature type that we see them practically nonstop in Standard.

Indeed, there are already 100s of birds in Magic to-date (roughly 400 in fact), with more coming out every year. Mark Rosewater placed Birds as a one on the Beeble Scale (will definitely see again, most likely in the next set), explicitly acknowledging their ubiquity. As a huge bird fan, I hope it stays that way.