GruulLegendary Creature — Human Warrior VillainKraven, Proud Predator
Mana value3Rank#18,327
The Commander
Top of the Food Chain — Kraven's power is equal to the greatest mana value among permanents you control.
Guide
Gameplan
Cast Kraven early, then ramp into expensive permanents so his power balloons to match your biggest mana value—a single 8+ MV permanent makes him an 8-power vigilant beater. From there you suit him up with trample, double strike, and evasion to crack opponents down via commander damage while your big bombs also pressure the board.
Strengths
- Vigilance lets him attack and still defend, great for a Voltron threat
- Power scales for free—no auras or counters needed, just expensive permanents you'd play anyway
- Cheap 3-mana body in fast-ramping GR colors
- Rewards the big-mana plan Gruul already wants to do
Weaknesses
- Power is zero/tiny without a high-MV permanent in play, so a slow start leaves him useless
- No built-in evasion or protection—removal and chump blockers stall him
- Heavy reliance on the command zone makes commander tax and exile removal painful
- Static buff offers no card advantage or board presence on its own
Key Cards
- Xenagos, God of Revels — Doubles Kraven's already-huge power and grants haste for explosive commander-damage swings.
- Rancor — Recurring trample on a buffed Kraven turns his big power into real damage that gets through.
- Embercleave — Cheap to cast off a wide turn, it adds double strike and trample to close games instantly.
- Nyxbloom Ancient — A 7-MV permanent that both sets Kraven's power high and triples mana for more bombs.
- Berserk — Doubling an already enormous Kraven often deals lethal commander damage in one hit.
- Cultivate — Cheap, reliable ramp accelerates you toward the expensive permanents that power Kraven.
Upgrade Path
Add cheap, repeatable trample and evasion (Rancor, Bloodforged Battle-Axe, Loxodon Warhammer) plus power-doublers (Xenagos, Berserk, Fireshrieker) to make Kraven lethal in two hits. Lean into mana acceleration and a few splashy high-MV permanents so his power stays large, and include protection like Heroic Intervention and Snakeskin Veil to shield your investment from removal.
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 buffed-up Kraven with trample/double strike
- ▸Beating down with oversized Gruul creatures and bombs alongside Kraven
- ▸One-shot kills via power-doublers like Xenagos or Berserk on Kraven
Archetypes
- Voltron — Kraven becomes a massive evasive threat that wins through commander damage when given trample and double strike.
- Big Mana / Ramp — His power tracks your highest mana value, so ramping into expensive bombs simultaneously sizes him up.
- Stompy Aggro — GR can curve out fast threats while Kraven serves as a recurring, scaling beater.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GR), by popularity.
