Short answer: The most popular Sultai (black-green-blue) commander is Teval, the Balanced Scale, with 4,050 EDHREC decks in the past month and 40,349 all time. The rest of the top five are The Wise Mothman from Fallout, Thranduil, the Elvenking from The Hobbit, Glarb, Calamity’s Augur and Maralen, Fae Ascendant. All five commanders cost under $6, and Thranduil and Maralen are under 50 cents.
Updated October 24, 2026 · Rankings from EDHREC’s Sultai commander page (decks added in the past month) · TCGplayer market prices checked October 24, 2026
Who this is for: Commander players picking a Sultai deck to build, or curious what’s popular in black, green and blue right now. For each commander you get what it does, how the deck plays, and three cards to build around, with the share of that commander’s EDHREC decks that run each one.
What are the best Sultai commanders right now?
| Commander | Decks (past month) | Decks (all time) | Plays like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teval, the Balanced Scale | 4,050 | 40,349 | Graveyard Zombies |
| The Wise Mothman | 3,055 | 34,275 | Mill and counters |
| Thranduil, the Elvenking | 2,827 | 11,123 | Elves in the graveyard |
| Glarb, Calamity’s Augur | 2,183 | 24,643 | Play off the top |
| Maralen, Fae Ascendant | 2,093 | 23,484 | Elves and Faeries |
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We ranked by decks added in the past month because it shows what people are building now. The all-time column shows which commanders have stayed popular. Click any card below to check its price on TCGplayer.
1. Teval, the Balanced Scale
What it does: Flying. Whenever Teval attacks, mill three cards, then you may return a land card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped. Whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard, create a 2/2 Zombie Druid.
How the deck plays: A graveyard deck that turns every card leaving your graveyard into a Zombie. Mill lands, bring them back, and the board fills up on its own. It’s the most-built Sultai commander on EDHREC, this month and all time.
Build around:
- Life from the Loam ($4.96, in 77% of decks): returns three lands from your graveyard, which makes a Zombie, and keeps coming back with dredge
- Hedron Crab ($3.12, in 71% of decks): mills three cards for every land you play
- Colossal Grave-Reaver ($11.31, in 79% of decks): puts creatures you mill straight onto the battlefield; the priciest card here
Popularity and price: 4,050 EDHREC decks in the past month (40,349 total, the most of any Sultai commander). Market price $5.58 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
2. The Wise Mothman
What it does: Flying. Whenever it enters or attacks, each player gets a rad counter. Whenever nonland cards are milled, put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to X target creatures, where X is the number of nonland cards milled.
How the deck plays: Rad counters make every player mill cards each turn and lose life for each nonland card they hit. Every nonland card milled, by anyone, puts +1/+1 counters on your creatures.
Build around:
- Glowing One ($1.43, in 78% of decks): gives four rad counters when it connects, and gains you life for every nonland card milled
- Mutational Advantage ($5.70, in 75% of decks): protects your creatures with counters and proliferates
- Hardened Scales ($1.69, in 75% of decks): an extra +1/+1 counter every time
Popularity and price: 3,055 EDHREC decks in the past month (34,275 total). Market price $1.84 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
3. Thranduil, the Elvenking
What it does: Thranduil has all activated abilities of all Elf cards in your graveyard. Whenever another legendary Elf enters under your control, draw two cards, then discard a card.
How the deck plays: An Elves deck where your graveyard is a toolbox. Every Elf that dies or gets discarded hands Thranduil its abilities. Our Thranduil deck guide covers the full build.
Build around:
- Priest of Titania ($1.51, in 76% of decks): taps for {G} per Elf, and Thranduil can copy it from the graveyard
- Lathril, Blade of the Elves ($1.61, in 75% of decks): makes Elf tokens and can drain 10
- Buried Alive ($2.47, in 69% of decks): puts three Elves straight into your graveyard for Thranduil to use
Popularity and price: 2,827 EDHREC decks in the past month (11,123 total). Market price $0.43 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
4. Glarb, Calamity’s Augur
What it does: Deathtouch. You may look at the top card of your library any time, and you may play lands and cast spells with mana value 4 or more from the top of your library. Tap: surveil 2.
How the deck plays: A top-of-library value engine. Surveil to set up your next card, then play it straight off the top, so you draw for your hand and play from the deck.
Build around:
- Culling Ritual ($0.53, in 47% of decks): wipes every permanent with mana value 2 or less and gives you mana for each, and at four mana you can cast it off the top with Glarb
- The Gitrog Monster ($0.53, in 43% of decks): an extra land drop and a card whenever you surveil a land into the graveyard
- Enhanced Surveillance ($0.29, in 30% of decks): Glarb’s surveil 2 becomes surveil 4
Popularity and price: 2,183 EDHREC decks in the past month (24,643 total). Market price $3.72 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
5. Maralen, Fae Ascendant
What it does: Flying. Whenever Maralen or another Elf or Faerie enters under your control, exile the top two cards of an opponent’s library. Once each turn, you may cast a spell from among those cards for free if its mana value is no more than your Elf and Faerie count.
How the deck plays: Elves and Faeries that steal your opponents’ spells. Every Elf or Faerie you play digs into an opponent’s deck, and a wide board lets you cast their best cards for free.
Build around:
- Llanowar Elves ($0.27, in 77% of decks): a one-mana Elf that ramps and triggers Maralen
- High Fae Trickster ($4.77, in 67% of decks): a Faerie that lets you cast everything at instant speed
- Bitterbloom Bearer ($12.77, in 60% of decks): makes a flying Faerie every upkeep, but it’s pricey
Popularity and price: 2,093 EDHREC decks in the past month (23,484 total). Market price $0.27 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
Why play Sultai?
Sultai is the graveyard color combination. Black brings removal and reanimation, green brings ramp and lands that come back, and blue brings card draw and self-mill. It has very little direct damage, so most Sultai decks win by turning the graveyard into a second hand, like Teval, Thranduil and the classic Muldrotha.
The cheapest way in is Thranduil or Maralen. Both commanders cost under 50 cents, and Thranduil’s three key cards add up to about $5.60.
Honorable mentions
- Muldrotha, the Gravetide (2,053 decks in the past month, 25,601 all time, about $0.68): the classic Sultai commander. Each turn you can play a land and cast one permanent of each type from your graveyard. It’s also in 62% of Teval decks.
- Zaxara, the Exemplary (1,386 decks, about $2.01): taps for two mana of one color, and every spell with {X} in its cost also makes a Hydra token with X +1/+1 counters.
More three-color commander rankings: Jeskai, Bant, Esper, Mardu, Grixis, Abzan, Naya, Temur and Jund. For every other color combination, see the best commander for every color combination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Sultai commander?
Teval, the Balanced Scale is the most-built Sultai commander on EDHREC, both in the past month (4,050 decks) and of all time (40,349).
What colors are Sultai?
Black, green and blue. The name comes from the Sultai Brood, a clan from the plane of Tarkir.
What’s the cheapest Sultai commander to build?
Maralen, Fae Ascendant ($0.27) and Thranduil, the Elvenking ($0.43) are the cheapest commanders in this top five.
Is Thranduil, the Elvenking a good commander?
He’s the third most-built Sultai commander this month. He turns your graveyard into a toolbox by copying the activated abilities of every Elf in it.
Sources: EDHREC Sultai commander rankings (past month and all time) and each commander’s EDHREC page, checked October 24, 2026; card text from Scryfall; TCGplayer market prices checked October 24, 2026. Card images: Wizards of the Coast, via Scryfall.
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