RedLegendary Artifact Creature — Elemental SoldierGeneral Traag, Heart of Stone
Mana value5Rank#26,556
The Commander
Trample
When General Traag enters, you may sacrifice another artifact. When you do, General Traag deals 4 damage to target creature.
Guide
Gameplan
General Traag is a mono-red artifacts deck that wants to flood the board with cheap artifacts and tokens, then convert them into removal and damage. Early turns ramp with mana rocks and build an artifact base; midgame you cast and recur Traag to repeatedly snipe creatures, then close with a wide artifact army, big trample swings, or an artifact-sacrifice combo.
Strengths
- Repeatable 4-damage removal stapled to a commander that synergizes with any artifact sac fodder
- Trample makes Traag a real threat that pushes damage through chump blockers
- Mono-red keeps the mana base cheap and consistent while leaning on strong artifact ramp
- ETB synergy rewards blink, recursion, and reanimation for value engines
Weaknesses
- Mono-red lacks card draw and struggles to grind in long games without artifact engines
- Heavy reliance on artifacts makes the deck vulnerable to mass artifact removal like Vandalblast or Bane of Progress
- Single ETB removal hits only one creature for 4 — weak against go-wide token strategies
- No built-in protection; Traag dies to spot removal and resets your value loop
Key Cards
- Goblin Welder — Loops artifacts in and out to trigger Traag's sacrifice and recur your best pieces.
- Krark-Clan Ironworks — Turns spare artifacts into mana, fueling Traag recasts and explosive turns.
- Disciple of the Vault — Each artifact you sacrifice to Traag drains opponents, turning removal into a wincon.
- Daretti, Scrap Savant — Provides repeatable artifact recursion and protection to keep the engine humming.
- Feldon of the Third Path — Reanimates Traag-type artifact creatures from the graveyard for repeated ETBs.
- Trading Post — Generates sacrificeable artifact tokens (goats) on demand to feed Traag's ability.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana and rocks (Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Mana Vault) to deploy Traag and engines ahead of curve, then build toward a sacrifice loop with Krark-Clan Ironworks, Goblin Welder, and a drain payoff like Disciple of the Vault. Improve resilience with recursion (Daretti, Feldon, Goblin Engineer) and card advantage from artifacts like Wheel of Misfortune or treasure-makers, and tighten the removal suite with Vandalblast and Chaos Warp to answer hate.
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
- ▸Wide artifact and token army backed by Traag's trample swings
- ▸Disciple of the Vault / Mayhem Devil drain triggered by repeated artifact sacrifices
- ▸Combo loops with Krark-Clan Ironworks plus recursion to drain or burn the table
- ▸Repeatable ETB removal that clears blockers while artifact creatures finish the game
Archetypes
- Artifacts (Sacrifice) — Traag converts artifact fodder directly into removal, anchoring an artifact-heavy shell.
- Blink/Recursion — Repeatedly flickering or recasting Traag reuses its 4-damage ETB as a removal engine.
- Aristocrats — Sacrificing artifacts pairs with payoffs like Disciple of the Vault and Mayhem Devil for incremental drain.
- Combo — Sac loops with Ironworks, Welder, and a damage payoff can build toward repeatable triggers and kills.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (R), by popularity.
