SelesnyaLegendary Creature — Elephant WarriorHamza, Guardian of Arashin
Mana value6Rank#3,293
The Commander
This spell costs 
less to cast for each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it.
Creature spells you cast cost less to cast for each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it.
Guide
Gameplan
Hamza turns a wide board of countered creatures into a massive cost-reduction engine, letting you dump multiple fat creatures per turn. Early on you deploy cheap counter-generators, then snowball into overwhelming the table with discounted bombs and go-wide aggression. You win by flooding the board faster than opponents can answer, then closing with trample, anthems, or a big finisher.
Strengths
- Explosive midgame mana advantage that lets you cast several creatures in one turn
- GW counters synergy is deep and well-supported with proliferate and anthem effects
- Resilient go-wide boards that grind through removal
- Self-reduces, so casting Hamza himself is rarely a problem
Weaknesses
- Board wipes are devastating since the strategy is creature-dependent
- Cost reduction only applies to creature spells, leaving you weak to artifact/enchantment-based hate
- No built-in card advantage engine in the command zone
- Relies on having counters down first, so a slow start leaves Hamza expensive
Key Cards
- Hardened Scales — Amplifies every counter you place, accelerating your reduction count and board size.
- Branching Evolution — Doubles counters, quickly maximizing both stats and Hamza's discount.
- Conclave Mentor — Cheap counter enabler that also gains life and seeds the cost reduction early.
- Cathars' Crusade — Snowballs counters onto your whole board every time a creature enters, escalating discounts.
- Inspiring Call — Protects your countered creatures from a wipe while refilling your hand.
- Doubling Season — Doubles counters and tokens, turbo-charging the entire engine.
Upgrade Path
Add fast counter enablers and doublers (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Doubling Season) so Hamza comes down cheap and stays online. Include protection like Heroic Intervention and Inspiring Call to beat board wipes, plus an overrun finisher such as Craterhoof Behemoth or Pathbreaker Ibex. Round out with ramp and card draw (Beast Whisperer, Guardian Project, Esika's Chariot) to keep the engine fed and convert your board 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
- ▸Go-wide combat with anthems and trample overrun effects like Overwhelming Stampede or Craterhoof Behemoth
- ▸Casting an army of discounted fatties to dominate the board and grind out wins
- ▸Counter-doublers plus proliferate creating enormous individual threats
Archetypes
- +1/+1 Counters — His cost reduction literally counts creatures with +1/+1 counters, rewarding heavy counter synergy.
- Tokens — Wide token boards become discounted threats once anthems or counters touch them.
- Aggro/Stompy — Cheap fatties let you flood threats and trample over opponents quickly.
- Midrange Value — Discounted creatures let you out-resource the table while building a counter engine.
Combos
- Ancestral Statue + Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
→ Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite storm count
- Scrap Trawler + Myr Retriever + Ashnod's Altar + Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
→ Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite colorless mana
- Scrap Trawler + Myr Retriever + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
→ Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite colorless mana
- Appa, Steadfast Guardian + Aang, Airbending Master + Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
→ Infinite LTB, Infinite ETB, Infinite storm count
- Appa, Steadfast Guardian + Aang, Swift Savior // Aang and La, Ocean's Fury + Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
→ Infinite LTB, Infinite ETB, Infinite storm count
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GW), by popularity.
