The Commander
: Destroy target creature of your choice, then destroy target creature of an opponent's choice. Activate only during your turn, before attackers are declared.
Guide
Gameplan
Diaochan is a repeatable removal engine: each of your turns, tap her to destroy one creature you choose and one creature an opponent chooses (usually yours). Build a board of expendable or recursive creatures so you always have fodder to feed her, picking off opponents' threats while you grind toward a mono-red beatdown or burn finish. She thrives in slower pods where one-sided creature removal every turn snowballs board advantage.
Strengths
- Repeatable creature removal in mono-red, which historically lacks it
- Indestructible commanders or tough creatures dodge the opponent-chosen kill while you still kill theirs
- Pairs perfectly with token generators and recursive creatures to fuel the sacrifice half
- Forces opponents into bad blocks and can clear blockers before your attack step
Weaknesses
- The opponent chooses which of your creatures dies, so they pick your best one unless you protect it
- Requires you to maintain a wide board of fodder or the symmetry hurts you
- Sorcery-speed, pre-combat only — useless on defense or at instant speed
- Mono-red lacks ramp, card draw, and answers to enchantments/artifacts
- Vulnerable to graveyard hate that shuts down your recursion engine
Key Cards
- Darksteel Myr — An indestructible creature you can always feed Diaochan so the opponent's chosen target survives while you kill theirs.
- Krenko, Mob Boss — Floods the board with Goblin tokens that serve as endless, expendable Diaochan fodder.
- Mogg War Marshal — Cheap recurring token fodder that replaces itself, ideal sacrifice material for the engine.
- Goblin Bombardment — Lets you sacrifice the creature opponents pick for value before it dies, and provides a damage outlet/win path.
- Impact Tremors — Turns your constant token reload into incremental burn damage that closes games.
- Skullclamp — Converts your dying fodder into a steady stream of cards, fixing mono-red's card-advantage problem.
Upgrade Path
Add indestructible and protected creatures (Darksteel Myr, Stuffy Doll) plus recursive token engines so the opponent's chosen kill is always meaningless. Improve mono-red's weaknesses with fast mana (Sol Ring, mana rocks), card advantage (Skullclamp, Outpost Siege), and sacrifice outlets that bank value before creatures die. To push higher, lean into a Krenko/Purphoros token-aristocrats package or a stax shell with Blood Moon and creature-light opponents where Diaochan's removal is unanswerable.
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
- ▸Go wide with Goblin tokens and swing after Diaochan clears blockers
- ▸Aristocrats damage via Impact Tremors, Goblin Bombardment, or Blood Artist effects
- ▸Grind out the board with repeatable removal until you out-resource the table
- ▸Commander damage or burn after establishing total board control
Archetypes
- Aristocrats — Diaochan's forced creature death pairs with sacrifice payoffs and recursive tokens for value loops.
- Tokens (Goblins) — Wide, cheap token armies provide endless fodder for her ability while building a board to attack with.
- Control/Removal — Used purely as a one-sided removal engine to keep opponents' boards clean while you stabilize.
- Burn/Beatdown — Clear blockers each turn and finish with aggressive red creatures and direct damage.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (R), by popularity.
