For all the fun it is to play, Magic: The Gathering is a very intricate game, with a complex set of rules that can take years to fully understand. In the Commander format, decks are meticulously crafted with the intent to be able to replicate the same effects over and over again. Consistent performance of a deck is the key to being able to win. That is, of course, unless you're playing a Chaos deck.
This is not to say that they don't have a strategy; it's just that the strategy is to consistently create a random, ever-changing board state. In some cases, Chaos decks want to disrupt your opponents' strategies. In other cases, they leave things up to chance with abilities that offer a great risk or damaging reward. Bringing some controlled chaos to the table is a great way to shake things up at game night.
10 Yusri, Fortune's Flame
In case the artwork didn't give it away, Yusri, Fortune's Flame is all about flipping coins. On one hand, you can generate a huge amount of card draw. But you're just as likely to flub your coin toss calls and take damage. But that's the fun with this deck; the payoff can be huge. It's a good idea to include some equipment like Whispersilk Cloak to make Yusri unblockable, allowing him to attack uninterrupted each turn.
If you're lucky, you may win five coin tosses in a row and get to cast spells from your hand for free! To increase your slim chances of this happening, include Krark's Thumb, which lets you flip two coins and choose between the two results whenever you would flip a coin.
9 Yidris, Maelstrom Wanderer
Cascade is an ability that inherently brings an element of chaos to the game. You could cast a six-mana creature and cascade into a one-mana instant or score and get a huge creature. Costing four different types of mana, Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder will take some special attention to the mana sources included in this deck.
When Yidris deals combat damage to a player, it grants all spells you cast from your hand that turn cascade. With access to blue and black, there are plenty of ways to slip past your opponent's defenses to get that damage in. You'll be casting the majority of your spells in your second main phase, but it can become quite an explosive main phase with Yidris's ability — especially in tandem with enchantments like Passionate Archeologist.
8 Zedruu The Greathearted
Zedruu the Greathearted is basically just an evil Santa, gifting your opponents the worst possible permanents you can. As an example, if you play Illusions of Grandeur, you gain 20 life. Then, you give it to an opponent with Zedruu's ability. If they fail to pay for cumulative upkeep when they're in control of it, they lose 20 life.
There are also cards like Steel Golem that make you unable to play creatures or Nine Lives which can just make you lose the game if you take too much damage. Furthermore, at the beginning of your upkeep, you gain X life and draw X cards based on how many of your permanents your opponents control. Zedruu is a very unique and highly chaotic commander to play with.
7 Maelstrom Wanderer
Another cascade commander, Maelstrom Wanderer is probably one of the scariest creatures to see enter the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. It cascades twice and any Commander player knows that the Temur colouring is home to some terrifying creatures. On top of that, Maelstrom Wanderer gives all creatures haste, meaning any number of huge Dinosaurs and Dragons can attack once they hit the battlefield.
Blue also offers plenty of ways to return Maelstrom Wanderer to your hand, offering not only protection from removal, but the ability to cast it again and again while avoiding commander tax.
6 Rakdos, The Showstopper
Where there are Demons, there will be chaos, and Rakdos, the Showstopper enters the battlefield in a chaotic inferno that threatens to wipe out any and everything that's not evil. Seeing as this deck will feature Devils, Imps and Demons, there are plenty of chaotic tactics involved with creatures like Sin Prodder and Wildfire Devils.
However, as fitting for a name like Rakdos, the Showstopper, the finale happens when he enters the battlefield and you flip a coin for each non-demon, imp, or devil creature. For every flip that comes up tails, that creature is destroyed. This type of build will mess with your opponents whether or not Rakdos is active, but he is the final piece to help win the game in this chaotic deck.
5 Zurzoth, Chaos Rider
Zurzoth, Chaos Rider is really fun to build as a Devil deck. This deck focuses on two things: getting a lot of Devil creatures into play and randomizing your opponents' hands. Devil creatures, while not usually powerful by themselves, slowly chip away at your opponents' life totals, one damage at a time. Use cards like Burn Down the House to create enough tokens to attack every opponent each turn.
It's okay if they don't survive; you're only attacking to trigger Zurzoth's first ability to add in some chaos, slowly randomizing every player's hand and generating even more tokens. Furthermore, although your Devil tokens only deal one damage upon dying, cards like Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, and Impact Tremors will help increase your damage output.
4 Krark The Thumbless And Sakashima Of A Thousand Faces
Krark's flavour text says all you need to know about this deck. This build focuses on copying instant and sorcery spells using Krark the Thumbless's ability. Whenever you cast a spell you flip a coin and either get to copy that spell or return it to your hand depending on the result. Partnering Krark with Sakashima means this ability triggers twice, potentially rewarding you with two copies of a single spell.
Red spells like Comet Storm will deal out huge amounts of damage whereas blue instants like Snap will be low-cost ways to control the board. Be sure to include cards with storm in this deck, like Empty the Warrens and Grapeshot, for potentially game-ending effects.
3 Okaun, Eye Of Chaos And Zndrsplt, Eye Of Wisdom
From the Battlebond set, these gladiatorial partners want you to flip coins till your thumb can't flip anymore. At the beginning of combat, each of these commanders gets you to flip a coin until you lose a flip. For Zndrsplt, each successful coin toss lets you draw a card, and for Okaun, each successful toss doubles their power.
These abilities trigger with any successful coin toss, meaning they work in tandem when both on the battlefield. Include cards like Fiery Gambit and Stitch in Time to flip as many coins as you can, increasing the potency of their abilities.
2 Ruhan Of The Fomori
One of the hard parts about playing a Voltron deck can be choosing who to attack. Commander damage can stack up very quickly and it can easily feel like you're picking on the player with the weakest defenses. Ruhan of the Fomori takes that out of the equation and leaves your target up to chance.
All you need to do is focus on loading up Ruhan with auras and equipments and let fate guide his gigantic hammer. Jeskai is full of powerful auras, like Steel of the Godhead, which will make Ruhan unblockable, much to the dismay of your opponents.
1 Norin The Wary
At face value, Norin the Wary seems like a pretty useless card. But this is Commander so there are always ways to make things work. Norin's value will come from enter the battlefield effects, using cards like Warstorm Surge and Witty Roastmaster. These will reliably trigger every turn, as Norin runs away from the battlefield every time a spell is cast, only to return to your control at the end of each turn.
Use Confusion in the Ranks to trade Norin the Wary for your opponents' creatures. When another spell is cast, Norin will flicker out and return to your control, allowing you to repeat his chaotic shenanigans all over again.