The Commander
Partner with Regna, the Redeemer (When this creature enters, target player may put Regna into their hand from their library, then shuffle.)
, Sacrifice X creatures: Target player draws X cards and gains X life. Put X +1/+1 counters on Krav.
Guide
Gameplan
Krav is a mono-black (or B/W with Regna) aristocrats payoff that turns sacrificed creatures into card draw, life gain, and a growing beater. Flood the board with cheap and token creatures, then activate Krav to draw cards, gain life, and pile +1/+1 counters to swing for lethal commander damage. You grind value off death triggers while building toward a single explosive sacrifice turn.
Strengths
- Built-in card advantage engine that refuels your hand off otherwise spent creatures
- Krav grows huge fast, threatening commander-damage kills and pairing perfectly with aristocrats drain effects
- Lifegain from the activated ability keeps you out of range and fuels life-payment cards
- Partner with Regna gives access to white token-makers and a second body to sacrifice into
Weaknesses
- Activated ability requires creatures on board, so heavy creature removal and board wipes hurt badly
- Krav himself does nothing the turn he enters and needs a sac outlet's fodder to function
- Mono-black struggles with enchantment/artifact removal and noncreature threats
- Telegraphed strategy invites targeted removal and graveyard hate
Key Cards
- Pitiless Plunderer — Generates Treasure each time a creature dies, funding repeated Krav activations and ramp.
- Bastion of Remembrance — Drains every opponent each time you sacrifice a creature to Krav, converting fodder into damage.
- Blood Artist — Turns mass sacrifices into life swings and incremental opponent damage for the win.
- Pawn of Ulamog — Makes Eldrazi Spawn tokens whenever creatures die, feeding Krav with free sac fodder.
- Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder — Floods the board with Thrull tokens that become huge card draw and counters via Krav.
- Skullclamp — Draws two cards off cheap creatures, refilling fodder while Krav banks counters and life.
Upgrade Path
Add efficient sacrifice payoffs (Zulaport Cutthroat, Cruel Celebrant) and free token engines (Bitterblossom, Ophiomancer) to lower the cost of activating Krav. Incorporate a combo line such as Pitiless Plunderer plus a free sac outlet and Blood Artist for infinite drain, plus reanimation like Reanimate and Victimize to recycle fodder. Tighten the mana base with Cabal Coffers, Nykthos, and fast rocks to enable explosive sacrifice turns earlier.
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
- ▸Commander damage from a massively buffed Krav, ideally with evasion or unblockable effects
- ▸Mass aristocrats drain via Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Bastion of Remembrance during a big sacrifice turn
- ▸Drawing into and assembling a sacrifice combo loop for infinite drain
- ▸Out-grinding the table on card advantage and life, then alpha-striking
Archetypes
- Aristocrats — Krav is a sacrifice payoff that converts dying creatures into cards, life, and damage with death-trigger support.
- Tokens — Token generators provide cheap, expendable bodies to sacrifice to Krav's ability en masse.
- Voltron — Stacking +1/+1 counters lets Krav close games quickly through commander damage with evasion or protection.
- Reanimator — Recur big sacrificed creatures from the yard to keep refueling the engine and pressure opponents.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (B), by popularity.
