Four-color cards are fairly rare in Magic: The Gathering, being a category mostly neglected due to how difficult they are to balance and make distinct from mono-color cards. Even rarer, though, are four-color commanders, who allow you to build decks excluding only one of the five available colors.

Related: Magic: The Gathering – The Best Commanders From March Of The Machine

If you'd rather duck the rules-based nature of white cards, there are a number of four-color commanders of red, black, green, and blue that can lead your army. While most in this category use the partner keyword to achieve their color composition, they are nonetheless powerful and enable a myriad of interesting strategies.

7 Kraum, Ludevic's Opus // Ikra Shidiqi, The Usurper

Kraum, Ludevic's Opus and Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper from MTG

The grouping of Kraum, Ludevic's Opus and Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper is a great pick for the player wanting a balanced deck, offering both defensive and offensive options during a game; Kraum allows you to draw when an opponent uses two spell cards in a turn, and Ikra Shidiqi gives you health whenever you deal damage to your foes.

Since these effects don't lean too hard into any one specialization, decks built with them can swivel to decide which approach is best. If your opponent does too much when trying to push offensively, you gain card advantage and hold far more options than before. After they're done, you can use your new cards to counter-push and heal back the health lost.

6 Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist // Ikra Shidiqi, The Usurper

Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist and Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper from MTG

Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist and Ikra Shidiqi, The Usurper work in parallel to give you an advantage, with both of their effects activating whenever you do damage to an opponent. Ludevic's ability allows each player to draw during their end step if someone other than the card owner was damaged during their turn; in contrast, Ikra Shidiqi gives you life whenever you intentionally damage your foes.

Related: Magic: The Gathering – The Best Artifacts In March Of The Machine

Though Ludevic's ability might slightly backfire in group settings, it can never be activated by damage done to you – this means that attacking you is less valuable than attacking another player, giving you more time to set up for a game-winning play. Pairing it with Ikra doesn't really fundamentally change the commander playstyle, instead giving you a bonus for playing well.

5 Kydele, Chosen Of Kruphix // Vial Smasher The Fierce

Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix and Vial Smasher the Fierce from MTG

Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix and Vial Smasher the Fierce may look like an odd pair, but they actually synergize quite well if you're set on playing passively. First, Kydele will give you a colorless mana for every card you draw; then, once you activate the first spell of your turn, Vial Smasher will deal guaranteed damage to your opponent.

Since Vial Smasher does damage according to the mana cost of the spell that activates it, you'll want to play high-cost cards as often as possible. Though large mana costs are often intimidating, Kydele can provide sufficient mana as long as you have the means of regularly drawing.

4 Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist // Reyhan, Last Of The Abzan

Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist and Reyhan, Last of the Abzan from MTG

Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist and Reyhan, Last of the Abzan is a pairing that doesn't seem to mesh well at first glance, but it can dish out huge damage if you focus on building up +1/+1 counters. Ludevic's ability lets each player draw a card during their endstep if a player (aside from its owner) takes damage, allowing you to shuffle through your deck while helping Reyhan get creatures with +1/+1 counters on the field.

Once you get a decent number of +1/+1 counters, Reyhan's ability to recycle them from destroyed monsters can go into overdrive. By using effects that destroy cards to send your own creatures to the graveyard, you can effectively buff a card until it's unstoppable. In the best-case scenario, you'll be able to move all your counters onto Reyhan and deal game-ending damage.

3 Thrasios, Triton Hero // Vial Smasher The Fierce

Thrasios, Triton Hero and Vial Smasher the Fierce from MTG

Thrasios, Triton Hero and Vial Smasher The Fierce have fantastic synergy, as the former allows you to obtain large pools of mana to feed the latter's effect. Thrasios doesn't inherently create mana like Kydele, instead making it easier to get land cards on the field.

Related: Magic: The Gathering - The Best Lands From Secret Lair

The Triton Hero first lets you scry a card, and then makes you reveal the top of your deck; you may play the revealed card instantly if it's a land, but all other card types go straight into your hand. Though the four mana cost prevents the effect from being overturned, it still manages to line up a broad collection of land cards in a short time. Once you have enough lands, you can spend the mana they produce on high-cost spells to activate Vial Smasher's ability.

2 Silas Renn, Seeker Adept // Tana, The Bloodsower

Silas Renn, Seeker Adept and Tana, the Bloodsower from MTG

Silas Renn, Seeker Adept and Tana, the Bloodsower work incredibly well as partners in aggressive decks, utilizing on-hit effects to build a monstrous amount of momentum. Both cards activate when they deal direct life damage to an enemy player, with Silas allowing you to play an artifact from your graveyard and Tana creating a creature token for every point of damage dealt.

When played correctly, you can maintain the effects of your most valuable artifacts while amassing a near-unstoppable army. Since commander damage is individual for partners, it bears noting that you still need to focus on attacking with a specific commander once you've secured the advantage.

1 Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder

Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder from MTG

Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder is the only not-white four-color commander to exist as a single card, meaning that it doesn't have the lower power and toughness of partner commanders. Its effect activates after it deals damage to another player, giving spells you cast the powerful cascade keyword for the remainder of the turn.

This lets you snowball your way to victory, with a solid shot from Yidris doubling your overall card output. Since the cascade keyword lets you move down your deck until you find a valid card, you will always get the opportunity to use your free second spell.

Next: Magic: The Gathering – The Best Not-Red Four-Color Commanders, Ranked