SelesnyaLegendary Creature — Rabbit SoldierByrke, Long Ear of the Law
Mana value6Rank#5,748
The Commander
When Byrke enters, put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two target creatures.
Whenever a creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it attacks, double the number of +1/+1 counters on it.
Guide
Gameplan
Byrke is a +1/+1 counters payoff that snowballs your board to lethal sizes fast. Seed counters early, then attack to double them—turning modest creatures into game-enders within a turn or two. You win by attacking with enormous trampling or evasive threats, or by going wide with counter synergies.
Strengths
- Exponential counter doubling creates absurd power levels by turn 6-7
- GW has the best counter support, ramp, and protection in the format
- Vigilance lets Byrke and counter-creatures attack without dropping defense
- Resilient to spot removal since multiple creatures can carry the doubling threat
Weaknesses
- Doubling does nothing without evasion—blockers and chump blocks stall you
- Relies on creatures sticking; board wipes hit very hard
- Six-mana commander that's slow to come online without ramp
- No card advantage or interaction baked into the commander
Key Cards
- Hardened Scales — Amplifies every counter you place, accelerating the doubling math from the start.
- Branching Evolution — Doubles counters added, compounding insanely with Byrke's attack-trigger doubling.
- Rabbit Battery — Grants haste and a counter so a threat can attack and double immediately.
- Shalai, Voice of Plenty — Protects your creatures and can become a flying finisher carrying doubled counters.
- Inkmoth Nexus — A doubled counter creature with infect/proliferate routes can poison a player out in one swing.
Upgrade Path
Add counter multipliers (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Conclave Mentor) and proliferate effects to maximize the doubling engine. Prioritize evasion and trample (Rancor, Akroma's Memorial) so doubled power converts to damage, plus protection like Heroic Intervention against wipes. For combo finishes, lean into Inkmoth Nexus and infect lines, and tighten the mana base with fast ramp like Sol Ring and Three Visits to deploy Byrke ahead of curve.
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
- ▸Swing with a doubled, evasive creature for lethal commander/general damage
- ▸Go wide with multiple counter-bearing attackers doubling at once
- ▸Infect/poison kills via doubled +1/+1 counters on infect creatures
- ▸Overrun-style finishers (Craterhoof, Overwhelming Stampede) closing the game
Archetypes
- +1/+1 Counters — Byrke's doubling trigger is the ultimate counters payoff, scaling exponentially each combat.
- Voltron — Stack counters and evasion on one creature to double into one-shot commander damage.
- Go-Wide Tokens — Seed counters across a token army and double multiple attackers for overwhelming damage.
- +1/+1 Counter Combo — Infect and proliferate enable fast poison kills off a single doubled attacker.
Combos
- Byrke, Long Ear of the Law + Crystalline Crawler + Aggravated Assault
→ Infinite colored mana, Infinite combat phases, Infinite untap of creatures you control
- Najeela, the Blade-Blossom + Byrke, Long Ear of the Law + Crystalline Crawler
→ Infinite ETB, Infinite colored mana, Infinite lifegain triggers
- Byrke, Long Ear of the Law + Crystalline Crawler + Hellkite Charger
→ Infinite colored mana, Infinite combat phases, Infinite +1/+1 counters on certain creatures
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GW), by popularity.
