BorosLegendary Creature — God WarriorKratos, Stoic Father
Mana value4Rank#16,644PartnerYes
The Commander
Whenever you attack with one or more Gods and whenever a God dies, you get an experience counter.
At the beginning of your end step, put a number of +1/+1 counters on target creature equal to the number of experience counters you have.
Partner—Father & son (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Guide
Gameplan
Kratos builds experience counters by attacking with Gods and by having Gods die, then dumps a pile of +1/+1 counters onto a creature each end step. You aim to assemble a critical mass of God creatures (and indestructible/resilient threats) to bank counters fast, then convert a single beater into a one-shot kill or go wide with counter synergies. He pairs with his son Atreus for a focused Gods-matter midrange engine in Boros.
Strengths
- Snowballing experience counters provide a permanent, hexproof-on-the-command-zone advantage that grows every turn.
- Boros aggro gets a built-in finisher that can create a 10/10+ trampler out of nowhere.
- Gods are naturally resilient (many are indestructible or hard to remove), keeping your attack triggers online.
- Pairs with Atreus, God of Mischief for a tight two-color partner shell and added card advantage.
- Synergizes with sacrifice and aristocrats effects since dying Gods also generate experience.
Weaknesses
- Experience counters are slow to ramp early; the deck can stumble before the engine comes online.
- Heavy reliance on a single target creature for counters makes you vulnerable to spot removal and a two-for-one blowout.
- Red/white lacks strong card draw and ramp compared to other color pairs.
- God tribal is shallow—you'll run plenty of non-God filler that dilutes the attack trigger.
- Board wipes reset your offense even though experience counters persist, leaving you with no payoff target.
Key Cards
- Iroas, God of Victory — An indestructible God that makes your attackers nearly unblockable and protects them, fueling reliable attack triggers.
- Purphoros, God of the Forge — Indestructible God whose ping turns your counter-fueled board and tokens into reach-based damage.
- Heliod, Sun-Crowned — Cheap indestructible God that doubles your counter output and enables lifegain-counter combos.
- Rite of Replication — Kicked copies of a God or counter target create explosive experience and board states.
- Rogue's Passage — Pushes your massive counter-loaded beater through for a one-shot kill.
- Atreus, God of Mischief — His natural partner gives card advantage and another God body to attack with.
Upgrade Path
Trim weak non-God creatures for more indestructible Gods and proliferate effects like Inexorable Tide or Evolution Sage to multiply your end-step payoff. Add protection (Swiftfoot Boots, Heroic Intervention) and evasion enablers so your counter target survives and connects. For higher power, lean into a Heliod/Walking Ballista or counter-doubler combo and add fast mana like Sol Ring, Smothering Tithe, and efficient Boros ramp to deploy your engine ahead of curve.
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
- ▸Loading a single evasive creature with experience-fueled +1/+1 counters for a lethal swing.
- ▸Going wide with God tokens and counter buffs for an alpha strike under Iroas.
- ▸Purphoros or other damage-dealers converting your enlarged board into direct damage.
- ▸Grinding incremental beats as Gods attack each turn while the counter total snowballs out of control.
Archetypes
- Gods Tribal Midrange — His triggers reward fielding multiple indestructible Gods that attack and survive removal.
- +1/+1 Counters — The end-step ability mass-produces counters that pair with proliferate and counter payoffs.
- Voltron — Dumping all experience counters onto one evasive creature creates a commander-damage-style kill.
- Aristocrats — Sacrificing Gods triggers experience gain on death, blending tokens and recursion.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (RW), by popularity.
