Magic: The Gathering x PlayStation Secret Lair’s Best Commander is Crystal Clear

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Later this month, Magic: The Gathering is teaming up with PlayStation for a special Secret Lair release. This collection will include 6 different card sets inspired by well-known PlayStation games. What makes this crossover particularly cool is the number of cards with new abilities, including powerful legendary creature cards that can be used as commanders, all based on iconic characters from popular PlayStation exclusives. Players are already excited about the reveal of these new Magic cards and are starting to brainstorm deck ideas. One card that’s already generating a lot of buzz is the main card from the Ghost of Tsushima set: Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima.

Jin Sakai is a 4-mana commander with a 2/4 power and toughness. While he has a relatively high mana cost compared to the other new commanders in the PlayStation Secret Lair drop, he offers significant benefits. As an attacker, Jin provides card draw whenever he deals combat damage to an opponent. However, he’s even stronger when supporting other creatures in your 99 – creatures that already benefit from simply attacking. By giving a creature double-strike or preventing blockers, Jin Sakai quickly becomes a top choice for many decks, particularly those that use effects like Myriad and Exalted, or a Voltron strategy.

How Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima Stacks Up Against Other PlayStation x MTG Commanders

On October 27, 7 new products inspired by PlayStation will be released, and players can anticipate 10 new commander cards for Magic: The Gathering. The Secret Lair drop actually includes 11 commander-eligible cards, though one is a reprint of Iroas, God of Victory. When comparing Jin to the other new commander cards in the PlayStation collection, it’s likely one of the strongest, especially when viewed alongside them all:

Card Name Converted Mana Cost (CMC) Power/Toughness Card Text
Joel, Resolute Survivor 5 (3 generic, 1 black, 1 green) 4/4 Menace Whenever a creature token dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Joel and draw a card. This ability triggers only once each turn. Partner — Survivors (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Ellie, Brick Master 2 (1 generic, 1 red) 2/1 Distract the Horde — Whenever a player attacks one of your opponents, that attacking player creates a tapped 1/1 black Fungus Zombie creature token named Cordyceps Infected that’s attacking that opponent. Partner — Survivors (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Abby, Merciless Soldier 3 (1 generic, 1 red, 1 green) 4/4 When you cast this spell, create a number of 1/1 black Fungus Zombie creature tokens named Cordyceps Infected equal to the amount of mana spent to cast it. Abby enters under the control of an opponent of your choice. Partner — Survivors (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Ellie, Vengeful Hunter 3 (1 generic, 1 black, 1 red) 3/1 Pay 2 life, Sacrifice another creature: Ellie deals 2 damage to target player and gains indestructible until end of turn. Partner — Survivors (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Nathan Drake, Treasure Hunter 3 (1 blue, 1 black, 1 red) 3/2 First strike You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast spells you don’t own or to activate abilities of permanents you control but don’t own. Whenever Nathan Drake attacks, exile the top card of each player’s library. You may cast a spell from among those cards.
Kratos, God of War 3 (3 red) 2/3 Double strike All creatures have haste. At the beginning of each player’s end step, Kratos deals damage to that player equal to the number of creatures that player controls that didn’t attack this turn.
Kratos, Stoic Father 4 (2 generic, 1 black, 1 red) 4/4 Whenever you attack with one or more Gods and whenever a God dies, you get an experience counter. At the beginning of your end step, put a number of +1/+1 counters on target creature equal to the number of experience counters you have. Partner — Father & son (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Atreus, Impulsive Son 3 (1 generic, 1 blue, 1 red) 2/4 Reach 3, tap: Draw a card for each experience counter you have, then discard a card. Atreus deals 2 damage to each opponent. Partner — Father & son (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Aloy, Savior of Meridian 5 (3 generic, 1 blue, 1 green) 3/5 Vigilance, reach In You, All Things Are Possible — Whenever one or more artifact creatures you control attack, discover X, where X is the greatest power among them. (Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with that mana value or less. Cast it without paying its mana cost or put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima 4 (1 generic, 1 white, 1 blue, 1 black) 2/4 Whenever Jin Sakai deals combat damage to a player, draw a card. Whenever a creature you control attacks a player, if no other creatures are attacking that player, choose one —

  • Standoff — It gains double strike until end of turn.
  • Ghost — It can’t be blocked this turn.

It’s unusual to see a MTG Secret Lair release of this size, or one with so many cards that do completely different things. This has already sparked a lot of discussion among players about which of the new PlayStation commanders would be the most enjoyable to build a deck around. Right away, Jin Sakai became a popular choice, with a reasonable mana cost to play and a lot of useful abilities. He can be a strong commander or a helpful card in the 99 (the other 99 cards in a 100-card deck) for many decks using the Esper color combination.

Jin Sakai’s Value Comes Through in How Versatile It Will Be

The Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima card is strong as a commander, but it really stands out because of how useful it is in many different deck builds. Because it uses the Esper color combination, players can use several strong black mana enchantments to make single attackers even more dangerous – and Jin Sakai’s ability to give them double strike makes that even better. Plus, Jin can help you draw cards, encouraging you to attack often, which adds more aggression to an Esper deck than usual. When you combine that with effects like Exalted (giving +1/+1 to a single attacker) and Myriad (making copies of that attacker to hit all opponents), Jin’s ability to give double strike or prevent opponents from blocking becomes incredibly effective.

However, players can also effectively use Jin as a support card to further boost a creature that’s already been strengthened with equipment and enchantments. This makes him a very useful addition to any Voltron deck – those focused on equipping a single attacker with artifacts and auras to deal significant damage. The Fallout Scrappy Survivors precon featuring Dogmeat serves as a good illustration, despite the different color schemes. Many players are noting Jin’s potential as a powerful “99-card” inclusion in decks led by commanders like Arna Kennerud, Skycaptain, solidifying his position as one of the most adaptable cards in the PlayStation Secret Lair release and likely making him a popular addition to player collections.

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2025-10-05 21:05