In Magic: The Gathering, legendary creatures are cards that represent various named characters from the game’s story. While a player can only control a single copy of each respective legendary creature at a time, they are incredibly popular due to their prominence within the Commander format.
However, while there are a plethora of legendary creatures whose overblown power levels are widely known, there are several underappreciated legendary creatures that many players don’t give enough attention to. So today, we’re going to examine the legendary creatures of Magic: The Gathering and shed a light on some of the most underrated cards the game has to offer.
10 Nath Of The Gilt-Leaf
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf is a solid legendary Golgari elf for five mana that works quite well in a variety of deck types. Forcing an opponent to discard a card at random during the beginning of its owner’s turn, Nath creates a 1/1 elf whenever an opponent discards a card.
Not only does this provide elf-tribal decks with a new way of producing elves, but it also provides discard-focused decks with additional value when opponents discard their cards.
9 Muzzio, Visionary Architect
Artifact decks are quite popular within several formats, having access to many powerful cards and synergies. Despite this, the mono-blue Muzzio, Visionary Architect doesn’t see too much play. A blue human artificer for three mana, Muzzio has access to a stellar activated ability for the cost of four mana.
Upon being activated, Muzzio’s controller can look at a number of cards on top of their library equal to the highest mana value of an artifact they control. They can then put any artifact card they find this way directly into play! This allows players to dig through their deck, assemble combo pieces, and play key cards without paying their mana costs!
8 God-Eternal Bontu
A mono-black zombie god for five mana, God-Eternal Bontu is an absolute powerhouse in aristocrat decks. Upon entering the battlefield, Bontu’s controller can sacrifice any number of creatures, drawing that many cards.
As if this fuel wasn’t enough, if you sacrifice Bontu itself, it is put on top of your library third from the top, allowing you to benefit from its ability later within a game.
7 Anafenza, The Foremost
A legendary Abzan creature for three mana, Anafenza the Foremost may not seem like much. But, it can put in a substantial amount of work over the course of a Commander game. Entering a game early due to its low cost, Anafenza can put a +1/+1 counter on another tapped creature whenever it attacks.
However, the main appeal of Anafenza is that whenever a creature card would be put into an opponents’ graveyard from anywhere, it is exiled instead. This can absolutely shut down the wide array of graveyards synergies that are prevalent within the Commander format.
6 Reaper King
A five-color artifact creature, Reaper King is an absolutely devastating Legendary Scarecrow that states that, whenever another Scarecrow enters the battlefield under its owner’s control, they can destroy any target permanently.
While scarecrows have historically not been a powerful creature type in Magic’s history, as cards with changeling are treated as every creature type, they can be employed in deadly fashion to deal with any permanents a player may cast.
5 Fain, The Broker
A new card that was included within the Prismari Commander deck as part of Commander 2021, Fain, the Broker is a flexible black card for three mana that can manipulate its controller’s resources.
With several activated abilities that can each be activated at instant speed, Fain can Sacrifice creatures to put two +1/+1 counters on a creature, remove a counter from a creature to produce a treasure token, or sacrifice an artifact to produce a 2/1 inkling creature token with flying. While none of these effects are game-winning, each can be useful in the right circumstance, providing a player with an abundance of options.
4 Keiga, The Tide Star
Keiga, the Tide Star is a legendary 5/5 blue dragon for six mana that, upon dying, allows its controller to gain control of any target creature. When paired with sacrifice outlets and recursion, Keiga can be used to swipe several key cards from one’s opponents.
Additionally, while cards like Control Magic can have their effects negated by destroying the source of the effect, once Keiga causes a player to gain control of a creature, this exchange lasts until that creature leaves play!
3 Jenara, Asura Of War
Straightforward at first glance, Jenara, Asura of War is a 3/3 Bant angel with flying for three mana. With only one activated ability, for two mana, Jenara can put a +1/+1 counter on itself.
As this ability does not require Jenara to tap, it is an incredible mana sink that can be game-ending with substantial or even infinite amounts of mana. As Jenara decks have access to green, this is not a difficult feat to achieve.
2 Reki, The History Of Kamigawa
Though Captain Sisay is often a player’s default choice for the leader of a legendary-focused commander deck, Reki, the History of Kamigawa is an excellent, albeit underrated, option.
A green creature for three mana, Reki simply states that whenever its controller plays a legendary spell, they can draw a card. This allows Reki to continuously fuel one’s hand as they cast anything from impactful creatures to Planeswalkers.
1 Seton, Krosan Protector
For three green mana, Seton, Krosan Protector is easily one of the most often overlooked legendary creatures in Magic. A 2/2 for three mana, Seton allows you to tap any druid you control to be tapped to produce one green mana.
As Seton’s ability is what is tapping these druids, druids may be tapped for mana the turn that they are cast, regardless of if they have summoning sickness. This allows a Seton deck to produce absurd amounts of mana at a blisteringly fast pace by simply playing druids.