The Commander
Double strike
Blitz—
, Discard a card. (If you cast this spell for its blitz cost, it gains haste and "When this creature dies, draw a card." Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.)
You may cast this card from your graveyard using its blitz ability.
Guide
Gameplan
Sabin is a mono-red voltron beater who wants double strike and combat damage triggers stacked on him to one-shot opponents through commander damage. He's resilient because blitz lets you recast him cheaply from the graveyard, so you keep pressuring even through removal. Turn to turn you ramp, suit him up with equipment and combat extenders, and swing for lethal.
Strengths
- Double strike doubles all combat-damage triggers and equipment power, making voltron and damage-stacking very efficient
- Blitz from the graveyard makes him extremely hard to keep off the board permanently
- Mono-red gives access to cheap reliable ramp and powerful equipment/aggro support
- Closes games fast via commander damage (only 21 needed, halved by double strike)
Weaknesses
- Mono-red lacks reliable protection from targeted removal and board wipes outside red
- Blitz forces you to sacrifice him each turn unless cast normally, costing card discards and tempo
- Heavily reliant on connecting in combat—chump blockers and fog effects stall him
- Can be glass-cannon and struggle in grindy multiplayer pods
Key Cards
- Embercleave — Cheap to cast after attacking and grants extra double strike plus a huge power boost for instant lethal.
- Fireshrieker — Redundant double strike insurance plus a cheap equip to keep damage doubled if Sabin loses his own.
- Aggravated Assault — Untaps and grants extra combat steps, letting Sabin connect twice for an easy commander-damage kill.
- Sword of Fire and Ice — Double strike doubles its trigger to deal 4 damage and draw 2, generating massive value each swing.
- Hammer of Nazahn — Free equips and indestructibility make Sabin a safer, faster threat.
- Ilharg, the Raze-Boar — Cheats Sabin in and forces unblocked damage, sidestepping blockers.
Upgrade Path
Add evasion and protection—Whispersilk Cloak, Lightning Greaves, and Shadowspear—to ensure Sabin connects and survives. Lean into extra-combat enablers like Aggravated Assault with Sword of Feast and Famine, and tighten the manabase with fast rocks (Sol Ring, Ragavan, Jeska's Will) and Fireshrieker-style double strike redundancy. Trim weak buffs for Embercleave, Hammer of Nazahn, and recursion like Goblin Welder for equipment resilience.
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—double strike means roughly two unblocked swings end a player
- ▸Extra combat steps plus equipment for a one-turn lethal
- ▸Sword/equipment damage triggers ping multiple opponents to death
Archetypes
- Voltron — Double strike and only 21 commander damage make stacking equipment and buffs on Sabin a fast clock.
- Aggro — Mono-red speed plus blitz recursion lets you apply relentless early pressure.
- Equipment — His doubled equipment power and combat triggers reward loading him with swords and boosts.
- Combat Extra-Steps — Extra-attack effects exploit double strike for explosive single-turn commander-damage kills.
Combos
- Sabin, Master Monk + Skyfire Phoenix + Phyrexian Altar + Urza's Incubator
→ Infinite self-discard triggers, Near-infinite ETB, Infinite draw triggers
- Sabin, Master Monk + Skyfire Phoenix + Phyrexian Altar + Semblance Anvil
→ Infinite self-discard triggers, Near-infinite ETB, Infinite draw triggers
- Sabin, Master Monk + Skyfire Phoenix + Thermopod + Urza's Incubator
→ Infinite self-discard triggers, Near-infinite ETB, Infinite draw triggers
- Sabin, Master Monk + Skyfire Phoenix + Phyrexian Altar + Planar Gate
→ Infinite self-discard triggers, Near-infinite ETB, Infinite draw triggers
- Sabin, Master Monk + Skyfire Phoenix + Thermopod + Planar Gate
→ Infinite self-discard triggers, Near-infinite ETB, Infinite draw triggers
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (R), by popularity.
