Best Cards for Kenrith, the Returned King in 2025

Kenrith, the Returned King is the Swiss Army knife of Commander. With access to all five colors and five powerful activated abilities, he can fit into virtually any strategy—from casual group hug to competitive combo. His flexibility has kept him at the top of Commander rankings for years, and in 2025 he remains one of the most powerful options for pilots who want options.

Want to test the most expensive cards in this list before buying? Use our proxy printer to playtest your dream build, or create custom cards to design your own royal additions.

1. Dockside Extortionist

Mana Cost:

Type: Creature — Goblin Pirate

The most powerful ramp creature in Commander, Dockside Extortionist generates massive amounts of treasure tokens in any pod. With Kenrith's

ability to reanimate creatures, you can loop Dockside repeatedly to generate infinite mana when combined with flicker effects.

Why it's great:

• Explosive mana generation based on opponents' artifacts/enchantments
• Enables infinite mana loops with Kenrith's recursion
• Gets better in more competitive metas

2. Thassa's Oracle

Mana Cost:

Type: Creature — Merfolk Wizard

The premier win condition in competitive EDH. Once you have infinite mana, Kenrith's

ability lets you draw your entire deck. Drop Thassa's Oracle with an empty library, and you win the game on the spot. Clean, efficient, and nearly impossible to interact with.

Why it's great:

• Instant win condition with empty library
• Only costs
  
  
  to cast
• Works perfectly with Kenrith's draw ability

3. Demonic Consultation

Mana Cost:

Type: Instant

The other half of the Oracle combo. Name a card not in your deck, exile your library, then cast Thassa's Oracle. For just

, you've just won the game. This compact two-card combo is why Kenrith remains a cEDH staple.

Why it's great:

• One mana to exile your entire library
• Combined with Oracle for instant wins
• Can be used as an actual tutor in emergencies

4. Smothering Tithe

Mana Cost:

Type: Enchantment

In a five-color deck with expensive activated abilities, mana is everything. Smothering Tithe generates treasure tokens at an absurd rate in Commander, and opponents almost never pay the

. This fuels all of Kenrith's abilities throughout the game.

Why it's great:

• Massive treasure generation in multiplayer
• Funds Kenrith's expensive activated abilities
• Gets out of control quickly when unanswered

5. Rhystic Study

Mana Cost:

Type: Enchantment

The classic blue enchantment that draws obscene amounts of cards. In a deck that wants to hit land drops and find combo pieces, Rhystic Study provides the fuel you need. Opponents rarely pay consistently, especially in the mid-to-late game.

Why it's great:

• Draws multiple cards per turn cycle
• Taxes opponents' mana development
• Early game value that scales into late game

6. Orcish Bowmasters

Mana Cost:

Type: Creature — Orc Archer

With infinite mana, Kenrith's

ability forces each opponent to draw cards. Orcish Bowmasters turns this into lethal damage, pinging opponents for 1 damage (and growing an Army) for each card drawn. Draw each opponent 40 cards, deal 40 damage. Game over.

Why it's great:

• Infinite mana + Kenrith draw = lethal damage
• Punishes opponents' natural card draw
• Creates an increasingly large Army token

7. Silence

Mana Cost:

Type: Instant

For just

, you can prevent opponents from casting spells for an entire turn. Cast this on your turn before assembling your combo, and opponents can't interact. In a deck racing to infinite mana, this protection is invaluable.

Why it's great:

• Protects your combo turn for one mana
• Can be used proactively or reactively
• Shuts down counterspell-heavy tables

8. Fierce Guardianship

Mana Cost:

Type: Instant

A free counterspell when your commander is on the battlefield. Kenrith will often be out as your mana sink and combo piece, making this effectively cost

. Protecting your win or stopping an opponent's is crucial.

Why it's great:

• Free when Kenrith is on the battlefield
• Excellent protection for your combo turn
• Stops opponents' winning plays

9. Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy

Mana Cost:

Type: Legendary Creature — Human Druid

Kinnan doubles mana from all your nonland mana sources, making Kenrith's abilities twice as accessible. His activated ability can also cheat creatures onto the battlefield, providing an alternate win path when combos are disrupted.

Why it's great:

• Doubles mana rock output
• Makes Kenrith's abilities cost effectively half
• Built-in creature cheating ability

10. Birds of Paradise

Mana Cost:

Type: Creature — Bird

In a five-color deck, color fixing is essential. Birds of Paradise provides any color of mana on turn one, enabling explosive starts and consistent access to Kenrith's varied ability costs. The flying is occasionally relevant for emergency blocking.

Why it's great:

• Turn-one mana fixing for all five colors
• Enables powerful turn-two plays
• Classic, reliable mana dork

---

Building Your Kenrith Deck

When constructing your Kenrith, the Returned King deck, focus on these core elements:

1. Mana acceleration: Fast mana like Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, and Dockside Extortionist power out Kenrith early and fuel his abilities
2. Tutors: Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Worldly Tutor help you find your combo pieces or answers consistently
3. Win conditions: Thassa's Oracle + Demonic Consultation, infinite mana outlets, or Orcish Bowmasters with forced draw

Kenrith's flexibility means you can build him for any power level. For casual play, lean into his political abilities and group-hug elements. For cEDH, focus on compact combos and heavy interaction.

Ready to build? Print proxies of these expensive staples to test before you buy, or check out our gallery for custom five-color themed cards!