Expect this to be a no-brainer for Magic the Gathering — for a lot of reasons. One, you could probably guess what the top MTG cards are in the Stranger Things Secret Lair that was released in 2021. Two, we all know the final season’s coming very soon! So everyone’s dusting off that Secret Lair and others are hoping to find copies of these legendary cards somewhere in the Upside Down! Why?
Because a commander deck’s a’ callin’! The question, though, is which one should you have as a commander? In general, in terms of power level, a commander’s only as good as the 99 that support it, no matter how powerful the commander is. But what also makes a big difference would be the colors you’re using. So before you go straight for the obvious “strongest” commander in this list of three, remember —
It’s about your preference. And how you play it! That being said, let’s get right into it!
Starting Off With “Will the Wise” of the Stranger Things Secret Lair Set
Orzhov commanders are always fun! Especially when it’s such a cheap cost for one. Will here’s only one white and one black, and thanks to the recent Murders at Karlov Manor, clue tokens get to be the highlight. That’s where Will’s quite strong.
The text says whenever he enters or leaves the battlefield, each opponent may create a clue token. Those who don’t, lose one life. The catch with this, though, is Will’s going to create the same number of clue tokens plus one as any opponents who choose to create one as well. So take your pick — lose life? — or let Will have tons of clues?
Pretty fun if you ask me — that is, if you like messing around with clue tokens. And these days, there’s a plethora of them. Moreover, Will’s rocking it with the “Friends forever” mechanic, which allows you to have a second commander. So Will doesn’t have to be alone in a commander game. Have any other Secret Lair Stranger Things commanders with “Friends forever”? You get to include one of them into your deck.
You’ll also notice Will’s particularly interesting when considering a blink strategy. In fact, he’s really only effective if you do incorporate that. The card doesn’t just say “enters the battlefield”; it says “leaves” as well. Blink him with a Planar Incision, and you get the trigger twice! Play “Another Round” from the recent Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, and you could potentially get Will storming off with at least four triggers!
And Then There’s “Mike, the Dungeon Master”
Now Selesneya can also pack a punch, and Mike’s no exception. As a 2/2 human for a green, white and generic, you’ll notice right away he’s a vehicle for some serious graveyard recursion. At instant speed, tap him and two mana, and any creature card that was sent to your graveyard that turn gets to jump right back into the battlefield tapped.
This is interesting because Mike gets to give green some love! While there’s plenty of green cards for bringing stuff back into your hand, not much is out there for directly bringing cards back to the battlefield.
Consider sac outlets like Ashnod’s Altar, easily going infinite as you pull a Hyrax Tower Scout or Sparring Mummy from the graveyard. Leverage the ETB trigger to untap Mike, and you get to sac the Hyrax again for two colorless mana, use that mana to tap Mike again — rinse, repeat!
You can also do this with the Great Oak Guardian and buff up your creatures to the infinite power! Throw in some Samwise Gamgee for additional redundancy as well (he basically has the same exact ability) as well as a lot of the other baby reanimator cards white’s known for, and you have a commander deck that just won’t quit.
Of course — Mike’s got “Friends forever” as well. So. Yeah.
But “Eleven, the Mage” Brings Us Full Circle
Again, bear in mind — as a single Stranger Things Magic the Gathering card, undoubtedly this one is the “strongest” of the three — for obvious reasons. Yet any commander deck built with the best synergies can probably walk all over Eleven if the 99 in the deck are crap. Right off the bat, though, the colors of red, black and blue populate this bad girl making Billie Eilish so proud.
I mean…. Look at the text on this Stranger Things card: maximum hand size of eleven! Sure, it’s not like having a Triskaidekaphile or a Reliquary Tower on the battlefield — but that’s only flavor text in my opinion. The real mechanic is in Eleven’s draw effect when she attacks. Sure, you lose a life — but the draw after you attack gives you instant value when you get to eleven cards in hand since you’re now able to cast an instant or sorcery for free on your turn.
And that’s any instant or sorcery —
How about an Apex of Power? Free. Enter the Infinite? Free. Explosive Welcome? Yes, please. Hit the Mother Lode? Holy treasure tokens…. Definitely.
And, of course…. the “Friends forever” mechanic.
Of Course, Wildly Enough, the Stranger Things Secret Lair Had a Ton More
For purposes of this, though, the three you see here may be the most consistent in a commander deck. Bear that in mind. Of course, there’s no rule saying you can’t include any of the others, pushing your deck beyond the horizon of awesomness! Like Chief Jim Hopper, Max, the Daredevil, Lucas, the Sharpshooter, Dustin, Gadget Genius…. Or if you want to go dark and dismal with your Stranger Things Magic gameplay…. Mind flayer, the Shadow.
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