GrixisLegendary Artifact Creature — CybermanAshad, the Lone Cyberman
Mana value4Rank#12,644
The Commander
The first nonlegendary artifact spell you cast each turn has casualty 2. (As you cast it, you may sacrifice a creature with power 2 or greater. When you do, copy it. A copy of an artifact spell becomes a token.)
Whenever you sacrifice another creature, put a +1/+1 counter on Ashad.
Guide
Gameplan
Ashad turns your artifact spells into two-for-ones by giving the first nonlegendary artifact each turn casualty 2, doubling cheap-to-mid artifacts while growing himself off every sacrifice. You build a board of cheap artifacts and tokens, fuel casualty and aristocrat triggers, and grind value until you overwhelm or combo off. He plays best as a Grixis artifacts/aristocrats hybrid that snowballs incremental advantage into a lethal turn.
Strengths
- Free value: doubling an artifact every turn compounds quickly into board and card advantage
- Self-growing commander that can become a real Voltron threat purely from sac triggers
- Deep color identity (Grixis) gives access to the best artifact tutors, ramp, and removal
- Synergizes with token makers, treasures, and creatures that want to be sacrificed
Weaknesses
- Needs a creature with power 2+ to pay casualty, so creature-light artifact builds stall
- Wants two distinct engines (artifacts + sacrifice) which can lead to inconsistent hands
- Board wipes and artifact sweepers hit you especially hard
- No built-in evasion or protection for Ashad himself
Key Cards
- Ornithopter of Paradise — Cheap artifact creature that ramps and is a happy casualty fodder/copy target.
- Sai, Master Thopterist — Turns your stream of artifact casts and copies into a token army and card draw.
- Marionette Master — Converts your sacrificed artifacts and tokens into a direct damage wincon.
- Mukotai Soulripper — A vehicle/artifact body that eats creatures, triggering Ashad and growing the board.
- Ashnod's Altar — Free sacrifice outlet that ramps, fuels casualty, and pumps Ashad endlessly.
- Pitiless Plunderer — Makes Treasure on each death, fueling casualty payments and explosive artifact turns.
Upgrade Path
Lean into free sacrifice outlets (Ashnod's Altar, Phyrexian Altar) and Treasure/death payoffs (Pitiless Plunderer, Marionette Master) to convert value into wins. Add efficient artifact tutors like Whir of Invention, Fabricate, and Trophy Mage to assemble engines, plus protection like Lightning Greaves. Tighten the curve with strong copy targets (mana rocks, value artifacts) so every casualty payment is a meaningful two-for-one.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Marionette Master or Mayhem Devil style death-trigger drain off mass sacrifices
- ▸Beating down with a giant, counter-laden Ashad alongside a doubled artifact board
- ▸Thopter/token swarms from Sai and copied artifacts overwhelming the table
- ▸Aristocrat loops generating infinite sacrifices and damage with the right enablers
Archetypes
- Artifacts — Casualty doubles your artifact spells, rewarding a dense artifact shell with copies and value.
- Aristocrats — Every sacrifice grows Ashad and triggers death payoffs like Marionette Master and Blood Artist.
- Tokens — Token makers provide endless casualty fodder and bodies to sacrifice for value.
- Combo — Sac outlets plus death/treasure payoffs enable drain loops with copied artifact tokens.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BRU), by popularity.
