The Commander
If damage would be dealt to Dralnu, sacrifice that many permanents instead.
: Target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. (You may cast that card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Guide
Gameplan
Dralnu is a UB spellslinger/control commander who turns your graveyard into a second hand. You stockpile instants and sorceries, then tap Dralnu each turn to re-cast a key spell from the yard at its original cost, grinding out card advantage and answers while you assemble a combo or grind opponents into the dirt.
Strengths
- Repeatable graveyard recursion gives massive long-game card advantage in two strong colors.
- Free flashback at original mana value means cheap spells (Demonic Tutor, Reanimate, draw) recur almost for free.
- UB has the best counters, removal, tutors, and recursion in the format.
- Enables explosive turns by replaying card draw and ritual-fueled spells.
Weaknesses
- The damage-redirection ability is a liability: any damage forces you to sacrifice that many permanents, so combat and burn can wreck your board.
- Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Bojuka Bog) shuts off your entire engine.
- Dralnu is fragile—dies to most removal and being a 'sacrifice instead' creature, even small effects can blow up your permanents.
- No native ramp or protection; relies heavily on the command zone target painted on it.
- Tapping limits you to one flashback per turn without untap effects.
Key Cards
- Demonic Tutor — Flashing it back each turn lets you fetch any answer or combo piece repeatedly.
- Reanimate — Cheap reanimation you can recur to keep returning bombs from any graveyard.
- Dramatic Reversal — Untaps Dralnu (and mana rocks) to enable multiple flashbacks and combo loops.
- Isochron Scepter — Imprinting Dramatic Reversal with infinite mana from rocks enables a classic untap loop with Dralnu.
- Snapcaster Mage — Doubles down on the spell-recursion theme and provides flexible flash interaction.
- Cyclonic Rift — A recurrable overload bomb is brutal when you can flash it back from the yard.
- Whispersilk Cloak — Shroud protects Dralnu from targeted removal so the engine keeps running.
- Mystic Remora — Cheap, repeatable card advantage that pairs with Dralnu's grind plan.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Dark Ritual) and untap enablers (Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter) to convert Dralnu into a true combo engine. Tighten the spell suite toward the best UB tutors, counters, and a compact X-spell or infinite-mana payoff, and prioritize protection like Whispersilk Cloak or Lightning Greaves since Dralnu is fragile. Trim narrow spells so every flashback target meaningfully advances card advantage or the 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
- ▸Infinite mana via Dralnu untap loops feeding a draw or burn spell to deck/kill the table.
- ▸Grind opponents out with recurred Cyclonic Rift and removal, then close with a finisher creature.
- ▸Reanimate a big threat repeatedly for incremental beatdown.
- ▸Recur a damage/drain spell like Exsanguinate or Torment of Hailfire for a lethal X-spell.
Archetypes
- Spellslinger — Dralnu rebuys instants and sorceries every turn, rewarding a high spell count.
- Control — UB counters and removal plus repeatable flashback let you answer everything and out-resource the table.
- Combo — Untap loops with Dralnu plus rituals or Isochron Scepter assemble infinite mana and spell loops.
- Reanimator — Recurring Reanimate and Animate Dead returns big threats from graveyards on repeat.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BU), by popularity.
