IzzetLegendary Creature — Tyranid HumanGhyrson Starn, Kelermorph
Mana value3Rank#3,412
The Commander
Ward 
(Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays .)
Three Autostubs — Whenever another source you control deals exactly 1 damage to a permanent or player, Ghyrson Starn deals 2 damage to that permanent or player.
Guide
Gameplan
Deal pings of exactly 1 damage from many sources and let Ghyrson convert each into an extra 2 damage, snowballing into board wipes and burst burn. You set up engines that hit everything for 1 (or fire many single pings), turning incidental damage into lethal multi-target swings.
Strengths
- Turns cheap pingers and 1-damage effects into 3-damage hits, often clearing whole boards
- Punishes go-wide token strategies hard with sweepers that ping for exactly 1
- Can pivot between burning out players and controlling creatures
- Ward 2 makes Ghyrson resilient to spot removal
Weaknesses
- The 'exactly 1' clause is fragile—damage doublers, anthems, or buffs can break combos
- Heavily reliant on the commander being on the battlefield to function
- Effects that deal 2+ damage don't trigger Ghyrson at all
- Vulnerable to board wipes and graveyard hate against its engine pieces
Key Cards
- Pyrohemia — Repeatable 1-damage-to-everything ping becomes 3 to all creatures and players, a one-sided sweeper and win condition.
- Pestilence — Same as Pyrohemia in a different color slot—each activation pings for 1 then Ghyrson adds 2.
- Electrickery — Overloaded, it pings every opponent's creature for 1, letting Ghyrson finish them off for 3 each.
- Guttersnipe — Its 2 damage doesn't trigger Ghyrson, but cards that ping for 1 per spell scale enormously.
- Spikeshot Goblin — A repeatable 1-damage pinger that becomes a 3-damage cannon you can aim anywhere.
- Fireblast — Free burn and a reminder to seek 1-damage sources; pair with Pyrostatic Pillar-style pingers.
- Impact Tremors — Each creature entering deals 1 to each opponent, and Ghyrson tacks on 2 per player per trigger.
Upgrade Path
Lean into repeatable, untargeted 1-damage sources (Pyrohemia, Pestilence, Electrickery) since they pair best with Ghyrson and dodge his fragility. Add tutors like Gamble and Merchant Scroll plus protection like Lightning Greaves to keep him online, and find a clean infinite-ping combo (e.g., a free pinger with cost reduction) to close fast. Cut narrow single-target burn for engines that scale across all opponents.
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
- ▸Overloaded sweepers like Electrickery or Pyrohemia dealing 3 to all opponents' creatures and faces
- ▸Repeatable pingers (Spikeshot Goblin, Cuombajj Witches) hitting all three opponents for 3 each turn
- ▸Impact Tremors / aristocrat ping triggers stacking into lethal across the table
- ▸Combo loops generating infinite 1-damage triggers for an arbitrarily large finish
Archetypes
- Spellslinger Burn — Cheap pingers and burn spells dealing 1 each translate into doubled, multi-target burst damage.
- Pinger Control — Repeatable 1-damage tappers and sweepers let Ghyrson police creatures and grind out boards.
- Combo — Infinite ping loops or repeatable 1-damage triggers go lethal with Ghyrson's extra 2 attached.
Combos
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph + Boros Reckoner
→ Infinite damage
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph + Spitemare
→ Infinite damage
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph + Protection of the Hekma + Sakashima of a Thousand Faces + Zedruu the Greathearted
→ Infinite damage to one opponent
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph + Gisela, Blade of Goldnight + Sakashima of a Thousand Faces + Harmless Offering
→ Infinite damage to one opponent
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph + Protection of the Hekma + Sakashima of a Thousand Faces + Harmless Offering
→ Infinite damage to one opponent
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (RU), by popularity.
