BlackLegendary Creature — Vampire WarlockNazar, the Velvet Fang
Mana value4Rank#16,553
The Commander
Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)
Whenever you gain life, put a feeding counter on Nazar.
Whenever Nazar attacks, you may remove three feeding counters from it. If you do, you draw three cards and you lose 3 life.
Guide
Gameplan
Build a mono-black lifegain engine that loads feeding counters onto Nazar, then attack to convert three counters into drawing three cards (paying 3 life, which feeds itself back). You grind incremental life triggers, refill your hand off attacks, and bury opponents in card advantage before closing with evasive beats or a black finisher.
Strengths
- Repeatable, color-light card advantage in mono-black that doesn't require sacrificing the board
- Menace makes Nazar hard to block, keeping the draw engine online
- Lifegain plus the 3-life cost creates a self-sustaining loop with no real downside
- Mono-black gives access to the best tutors and removal to assemble pieces consistently
Weaknesses
- Slow to come online if you can't generate enough lifegain triggers each turn
- Heavily commander-dependent—removal on Nazar stalls the whole plan
- Lacks a built-in win condition; needs separate payoff cards
- Vulnerable to lifegain hate (Tainted Remedy, Erebos) and graveyard/draw hate
- Mono-black struggles against artifact/enchantment threats and big fliers
Key Cards
- Soul Warden — Cheap repeatable lifegain that puts a feeding counter on Nazar every time a creature enters.
- Blood Artist — Turns every death into incremental life triggers that load counters while draining the table.
- Zulaport Cutthroat — Stacks with other drain effects to fuel counters and double as a win condition.
- Whip of Erebos — Grants lifelink to your whole team, turning combat into a steady stream of feeding counters.
- Cliffhaven Vampire — Pings each opponent on lifegain, converting your engine into direct damage.
- Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose — Mirrors your lifegain as life loss for an opponent, providing a clean kill.
- Bolas's Citadel — Plays off the top of your library using life, and the draws from Nazar keep the fuel flowing.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Dark Ritual, Sol Ring) and tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor) to assemble the Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond combo or Vito loops reliably. Improve the lifegain density with cheap, repeatable triggers (Soul Warden, Suture Priest, Bloodthirsty Aerialist) so feeding counters accrue every turn, and add protection like Swiftfoot Boots and Imp's Mischief to keep Nazar attacking.
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
- ▸Lifegain-triggered drain via Vito, Cliffhaven Vampire, or Sanguine Bond/Exquisite Blood loop
- ▸Aristocrats sacrifice payoffs (Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat) draining the table
- ▸Out-card the table and overwhelm with evasive black beaters once you've buried everyone in resources
- ▸Bolas's Citadel-fueled storm or big finisher off accumulated card advantage
Archetypes
- Lifegain / Drain — Nazar rewards stacking lifegain triggers and pairs naturally with aristocrat drain payoffs.
- Aristocrats — Sacrifice loops with Blood Artist effects generate constant lifegain and feeding counters.
- Value Midrange — The attack-to-draw ability makes Nazar a card-advantage engine that grinds out long games.
- Mono-Black Control — Black's removal and hand attack protect Nazar while the draw engine outlasts opponents.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (B), by popularity.
