The Commander
Deathtouch
Other Assassins you control get +1/+1.
Whenever a player loses the game, if they were attacked this turn by an Assassin you controlled, you win the game.
Guide
Gameplan
Ramses turns any opponent's loss into your win, so long as that player was attacked by one of your Assassins that turn. Flood the board with Assassins, give them evasion or deathtouch so they connect, swing at every opponent each combat, then finish a single player by any means—combat damage, an alt-loss effect, or removal that drains them—to immediately win the entire game. Until then you play Dimir disruption (counters, removal, card advantage) to protect Ramses and stall.
Strengths
- The win trigger fires off ANY player loss—you don't need lethal damage, just to have attacked them with an Assassin that turn.
- Color identity gives access to counterspells, spot removal, and the best tutors and card advantage in the format.
- Ramses' deathtouch plus the +1/+1 anthem make even token Assassins lethal blockers and attackers.
- Highly flexible 'win the game' condition that sidesteps damage races and combos with mill, poison, or burn finishers.
Weaknesses
- The Assassin creature pool is genuinely shallow, so you lean on token-makers and changelings to field a real tribe.
- The whole plan funnels through Ramses and your attackers—heavy removal or fog effects shut you down.
- No native ramp; a four-mana legend can be slow to assemble a board plus a finisher.
- Pillowfort and 'can't attack me' effects directly neutralize the win condition since you must declare an attack.
Key Cards
- Etrata, the Silencer — A Vampire Assassin whose unblockable combat damage exiles creatures and can itself end games, and she swings under Ramses' anthem.
- Massacre Girl, Known Killer — A Human Assassin that grants deathtouch to your team and draws cards off their deaths, supercharging the tribe.
- Rogue's Passage — Makes an Assassin unblockable to guarantee the attack connects, setting up the Ramses win.
- Coat of Arms — Turns a wide Assassin board into an overwhelming swarm that attacks all opponents lethally.
- Whispersilk Cloak — Unblockable plus shroud keeps a chosen Assassin connecting and protected from removal.
- Maskwood Nexus — Makes every creature you control an Assassin, so any token or beater enables the win trigger.
- Door of Destinies — Snowballs the Assassin board and stacks with Ramses' anthem for fast, lethal swings.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana and tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mana Crypt) to assemble Ramses plus an evasion or finisher quickly, and lean on Maskwood Nexus and changelings to deepen the thin Assassin pool. Improve the protection suite with counterspells and Lightning Greaves, and include reliable 'a player loses' payoffs alongside unblockable enablers like Rogue's Passage to make the win deterministic once you connect.
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
- ▸Attack a player with an Assassin, then make them lose by any means to trigger Ramses and win outright.
- ▸Swing wide with anthem-buffed deathtouch Assassins for direct lethal combat damage.
- ▸Use Etrata or unblockable enablers to repeatedly chip a defended player down while attacking with an Assassin.
- ▸Pair an attack with a damage/drain or alt-loss effect (e.g., a burn finisher) so one death wins the game.
Archetypes
- Assassin Tribal — Ramses anthems other Assassins and the win condition explicitly rewards attacking with them.
- Dimir Control — Blue-black lets you counter, remove, and stall while you set up the guaranteed win attack.
- Tokens — Token-makers and changelings cheaply field enough Assassin bodies to attack every opponent.
- Combo — Pair an Assassin attack with any alt-loss or drain effect to instantly win the whole game.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BU), by popularity.
