Arabella, Abandoned Doll is the most built Boros commander, with 20,916 decks on EDHREC, just ahead of Ragost, Deft Gastronaut (19,741) and Lightning, Army of One (15,774). Boros is red and white: aggressive creatures, Equipment and going wide. It also has a deep bench of crossover legends, from Final Fantasy’s Cloud and Sephiroth to Thorin, Iroh and Amy Rose. Here are the top 12 ranked by decks, with today’s prices, the best crossover picks and budget commanders.
My take: Arabella is the best first Boros deck. It costs $0.71, it’s only two mana, and a board full of small creatures turns every attack into a big drain. If you want a Final Fantasy deck instead, Lightning ($8.42) doubles all the damage a player takes after she hits them.
Updated November 15, 2026. Deck counts: EDHREC’s Boros commanders page, November 14. Prices: TCGplayer market price of each card’s cheapest regular printing, via Scryfall, November 14. Partner pairs are left out, so every pick is a single commander.
Table of Contents
The 12 best Boros commanders
| Commander | Decks | Price |
|---|---|---|
| #1 Arabella, Abandoned Doll Small creatures drain | 20,916 | $0.71 |
| #2 Ragost, Deft Gastronaut Artifacts become Food | 19,741 | $0.39 |
| #3 Lightning, Army of One Double damage | 15,774 | $8.42 |
| #4 Winota, Joiner of Forces Free attacking Humans | 14,810 | $4.08 |
| #5 Feather, the Redeemed Rebuy your spells | 13,436 | $1.03 |
| #6 Lorehold, the Historian Cheap miracle spells | 11,575 | $1.18 |
| #7 Quintorius, History Chaser Graveyard Spirits | 11,054 | $1.00 |
| #8 The Jolly Balloon Man Copy your creatures | 10,557 | $0.75 |
| #9 Thorin, King of Durin’s Folk Dwarves and Treasure | 8,980 | $3.53 |
| #10 Mabel, Heir to Cragflame Mice | 7,377 | $0.31 |
| #11 Nahiri, Forged in Fury Equipment | 6,863 | $8.09 |
| #12 Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser Goad and draw | 6,416 | $1.90 |
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20,916 decks · $0.71
19,741 decks · $0.39
15,774 decks · $8.42
14,810 decks · $4.08
13,436 decks · $1.03
11,575 decks · $1.18
11,054 decks · $1.00
10,557 decks · $0.75
8,980 decks · $3.53
7,377 decks · $0.31
6,863 decks · $8.09
6,416 decks · $1.90
Tap any card to see it on TCGplayer. EDHREC also lists the partner pair Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist and Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh with 8,616 decks.
Why the top 3 lead
Arabella, Abandoned Doll (#1, $0.71) is a 2-mana artifact creature. Whenever it attacks, it deals X damage to each opponent and you gain X life, where X is the number of creatures you control with power 2 or less. Tokens and small creatures turn it into a drain engine.
Ragost, Deft Gastronaut (#2, $0.39) makes every artifact you control a Food. It can sacrifice a Food to deal 3 damage to each opponent, and it untaps at the end of any turn in which you gained life, so it can fire again on other players’ turns.
Lightning, Army of One (#3, $8.42) from the Final Fantasy set has first strike, trample and lifelink. When she deals combat damage to a player, any damage dealt to that player or their permanents is doubled until your next turn.
Next come three classics and a new face. Winota, Joiner of Forces (#4, $4.08) puts a Human from the top six cards of your library onto the battlefield attacking whenever one of your non-Humans attacks. Feather, the Redeemed (#5, $1.03) returns every instant or sorcery you cast on your own creatures to your hand. Lorehold, the Historian (#6, $1.18), a flying Elder Dragon from Secrets of Strixhaven, gives the instants and sorceries in your hand miracle for 2 and lets you discard a card to draw a card on each opponent’s upkeep.
The rest of the top 12:
- Quintorius, History Chaser (#7, 11,054 decks, $1.00): a planeswalker that can be your commander: it makes a 3/2 Spirit whenever cards leave your graveyard, loots, and gives your Spirits double strike.
- The Jolly Balloon Man (#8, 10,557 decks, $0.75): once a turn it copies one of your creatures as a 1/1 flying, hasty Balloon, so every enter-the-battlefield ability you have triggers again.
- Thorin, King of Durin’s Folk (#9, 8,980 decks, $3.53): from The Hobbit Eternal: every Dwarf that enters makes a Treasure, and your other Dwarves get +1/+0 for each artifact token you control.
- Mabel, Heir to Cragflame (#10, 7,377 decks, $0.31): a Mouse lord that pumps your other Mice and makes its own Equipment, Cragflame, which gives vigilance, trample and haste.
- Nahiri, Forged in Fury (#11, 6,863 decks, $8.09): gets cheaper for each Equipment you control, and whenever an equipped creature attacks, you exile the top card to play, with Equipment cast for free.
- Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser (#12, 6,416 decks, $1.90): goads a suspected creature every attack, and you and your opponent both draw whenever their creatures hit another opponent.
Final Fantasy Boros commanders
The Final Fantasy set gave Boros more legends than any other crossover. Lightning is already #3, and these four are popular too:
$20.40
$0.40
$0.98
$0.20
- Cloud, Planet’s Champion (#34, 3,304 decks, $20.40): during your turn, an equipped Cloud has double strike and indestructible, and equipping him costs 2 less. The priciest commander on this page.
- Sephiroth, Fallen Hero (#27, 3,878 decks, $0.40): gives your modified creatures base 7/5 when he attacks, and comes back from the graveyard by sacrificing one.
- Joshua, Phoenix’s Dominant (#31, 3,496 decks, $0.98): rummages two cards when he enters, then transforms into Phoenix, Warden of Fire.
- Zidane, Tantalus Thief (#30, 3,510 decks, $0.20): steals an opponent’s creature for a turn when he enters, and makes a Treasure whenever an opponent takes one of your permanents.
Mog, Moogle Warrior ($0.21) is another cheap Final Fantasy option, built around discarding and drawing.
Boros commanders from other worlds
Thorin (#9) leads the non-Final Fantasy crossovers. These four come from Avatar, Sonic, Fallout and Dungeons & Dragons:
$0.32
$1.42
$0.26
$1.51
- Iroh, Tea Master (#24, 4,228 decks, $0.32): from Avatar: The Last Airbender: gives opponents your permanents each combat and grows an Ally token for every gift.
- Amy Rose (#32, 3,327 decks, $1.42): from Sonic the Hedgehog (a Secret Lair card): grabs an Equipment when she attacks and pumps another attacker by her power.
- Three Dog, Galaxy News DJ (#33, 3,305 decks, $0.26): from Fallout: when you attack, you can sacrifice an Aura on it to copy that Aura onto every other attacker.
- Bruenor Battlehammer (#22, 4,335 decks, $1.51): from Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms: +2/+0 for each Equipment on your creatures, and your first equip each turn is free.
Budget Boros commanders under $1
4 of the top 12 already cost under a dollar: Arabella, Ragost, The Jolly Balloon Man and Mabel. These six popular picks are under $1 too:
$0.21
$0.80
$0.32
$0.74
$0.37
$0.91
- Bre of Clan Stoutarm ($0.21, #13 with 6,203 decks): gives a creature flying and lifelink, and if you gained life this turn, flips cards at your end step for a free spell.
- General Ferrous Rokiric ($0.80, #14 with 5,965 decks): makes a 4/4 Golem whenever you cast a multicolored spell, and has hexproof from monocolored.
- Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot ($0.32, #18 with 5,510 decks): a burn commander that draws when your damage exactly kills a creature and adds X to your next damage.
- Brion Stoutarm ($0.74, #25 with 3,929 decks): a lifelinker that sacrifices creatures to throw their power at a player.
- Firesong and Sunspeaker ($0.37, #21 with 4,432 decks): gives your red instants and sorceries lifelink, and white spells that gain you life also deal 3 damage.
- Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival ($0.91, #38 with 3,001 decks): makes a flying Thopter whenever you play a card from exile.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Boros commander?
By number of decks, Arabella, Abandoned Doll is the most popular Boros commander, with 20,916 decks on EDHREC as of November 14, 2026. Ragost, Deft Gastronaut and Lightning, Army of One are second and third.
What is the best budget Boros commander?
Arabella ($0.71) and Ragost ($0.39) are the two most popular Boros commanders and both cost under a dollar. Mabel, Heir to Cragflame ($0.31) is the cheapest in the top 12.
What colors are Boros?
Boros is red and white. The name comes from the Boros Legion guild on Ravnica, an army of soldiers and angels.
What is the best Final Fantasy commander in Boros?
Lightning, Army of One, with 15,774 decks. Cloud, Planet’s Champion and Sephiroth, Fallen Hero are the next most popular.
More color guides: best Simic commanders, best Golgari commanders, best Gruul commanders, best mono-red commanders, and the best commander for every color combination.
Boros commanders
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