The Commander
: Pavel Maliki gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Guide
Gameplan
Pavel Maliki is a Rakdos firebreathing beater: pump him with for unbounded power and connect for commander damage or huge swings. The deck plays aggressively, ramping into Pavel, loading him with evasion and protection, and pouring mana into his +1/+0 ability to kill in a swing or two. Treat games as a damage race backed by removal and recursion to keep your one threat online.
Strengths
- Scalable, repeatable damage output that ignores power-based effects via firebreathing
- Cheap activation cost makes him a strong mana sink in long games
- Rakdos has elite removal, rituals, and recursion to protect and recast him
- Only needs one good hit window thanks to commander damage
Weaknesses
- Single-threat strategy folds to a well-timed exile or bounce
- Needs evasion and trample to actually convert pump into damage
- No native protection or evasion in the rules text—vanilla without support
- Color identity lacks blue counters/card draw consistency
- Activated ability is mana-hungry and can leave you tapped out
Key Cards
- Rancor — Adds trample and recurring power so firebreathing actually gets through and back from the graveyard.
- Whispersilk Cloak — Grants unblockable plus shroud, turning Pavel into a near-unstoppable commander-damage clock.
- Fervor — Haste lets Pavel attack the turn he hits play after being killed and recast.
- Berserk — Doubles his already-pumped power for explosive one-shot kills.
- Sword of Feast and Famine — Evasion, protection, and untapping lands to refuel the firebreathing pump.
- Jeska's Will — Burst of red mana fuels a lethal pump turn while refilling your hand.
- Sneak Attack — Cheats out backup threats and abuses haste for surprise lethal swings.
Upgrade Path
Lean hard into evasion and protection—Whispersilk Cloak, the Swords, Lightning Greaves—so Pavel reliably connects and survives removal. Add mana acceleration and rituals (Dockside Extortionist, Jeska's Will, Mana Geyser) to fuel both his cast and pump in one turn, plus damage doublers like Berserk and Fireshrieker for instant kills. Round out with top-tier Rakdos removal and recursion (Feldon, Phyrexian Reclamation) to ensure you always have a threat and an open lane.
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
- ▸21 commander damage from a pumped, evasive Pavel
- ▸One-shot kills via Berserk or doublers plus a big firebreathing activation
- ▸Grinding opponents out with burn while Pavel pressures the board
- ▸Extra-combat and unblockable swings stacking lethal damage
Archetypes
- Voltron — His firebreathing scales to lethal commander damage when stacked with auras and equipment.
- Aggro — BR gives him aggressive support, rituals, and reach to close games fast.
- Spellslinger/Burn — Rakdos burn can finish what Pavel's combat damage starts and clear blockers.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BR), by popularity.
