GrixisLegendary Creature — Vampire PirateDon Andres, the Renegade
Mana value4Rank#5,322
The Commander
Each creature you control but don't own gets +2/+2, has menace and deathtouch, and is a Pirate in addition to its other types.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell you don't own, create two tapped Treasure tokens.
Guide
Gameplan
Don Andres is a Grixis theft commander: steal your opponents' creatures and noncreature spells, then turn them against their owners with a built-in +2/+2, menace, and deathtouch anthem. You ramp early, deploy steal effects to dismantle boards, and cast borrowed spells off Treasures to snowball into an overwhelming, evasive Pirate army.
Strengths
- Stolen creatures become menace + deathtouch threats that trade up and punish blocking, making combat brutally efficient
- Treasure generation from casting opponents' noncreature spells (via Pilfer/cascade-style effects) fuels explosive ramp and fixing
- Grixis gives access to the best removal, theft, and card advantage in the format
- Two-for-one value: you remove their threat AND gain a buffed attacker simultaneously
Weaknesses
- Heavily reliant on opponents having good targets; weak openers if the board is empty
- Stolen permanents leave when Don Andres or the steal source dies, making the strategy fragile to board wipes and removal
- Three colors means a demanding mana base and high opening-hand variance
- No inherent protection or evasion for the commander himself; he's a removal magnet
- Diminishes against fast combo decks that ignore the board
Key Cards
- Agent of Treachery — Steals any permanent and turns a creature into a deathtouch-menace beater that buffs your board.
- Bribery — Pull the best creature from an opponent's library and immediately enhance it with Don Andres's anthem.
- Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer — Turn your token army into copies of a stolen bomb, all gaining the buffs since you control but don't own them.
- Mob Rule — Mass-steals creatures for an alpha strike, every one of them gaining menace and deathtouch.
- Insurrection — Take everyone's creatures for a turn—Don Andres makes the entire stolen board lethal and unblockable through menace+deathtouch.
- Blatant Thievery — Steal a permanent from each opponent and trigger Treasure off this big noncreature spell if borrowed via copy effects.
- Cyclonic Rift — Premier asymmetrical board reset to protect your stolen advantage and push for a closing swing.
Upgrade Path
Add more cheap, repeatable steal effects (Hofri-style or Helm of Possession, Vedalken Plotter, Word of Command effects) and ways to cast opponents' spells to maximize the Treasure trigger, like Knowledge Pool or Spelltwine. Improve the mana base with fast rocks (Mana Vault, Mana Crypt) and dual lands, and include sacrifice outlets so stolen creatures generate value before reverting. Top end with Insurrection-style mass theft plus a payoff like Craterhoof Behemoth or a Fling outlet to convert the borrowed army into a kill.
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
- ▸Alpha strike with stolen creatures buffed by menace and deathtouch via mass-Threaten effects like Insurrection or Mob Rule
- ▸Grind out incremental advantage by stealing key threats and beating down with evasive Pirates
- ▸Sacrifice stolen creatures to a Fling or drain outlet before they return to owners
- ▸Combo finishes using stolen mana ramp and Treasures to power out a game-ending spell
Archetypes
- Theft/Threaten — His anthem rewards permanently and temporarily controlling opponents' creatures with massive combat buffs.
- Spellslinger Value — Casting opponents' noncreature spells generates two Treasures each, fueling a Grixis spell-heavy engine.
- Aristocrats — Sacrifice stolen creatures for value before they return to owners, using fling and drain effects.
- Control — Grixis removal and counterspells keep the board clear while you assemble your buffed stolen army.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BRU), by popularity.
