The Commander
At the beginning of each player's end step, if no permanents left the battlefield this turn, that player loses X life, where X is Sarevok's power.
Choose a Background (You can have a Background as a second commander.)
Guide
Gameplan
Sarevok punishes inaction: each turn nobody sacrifices, destroys, or loses a permanent, every player drains for Sarevok's power, so you want a big, hard-to-interact-with Sarevok while you grind the board. Pair him with a Background that scales his power (or supports aggression), play few-trigger turns where the board stays static, and pile on counters to turn the end-step drain into a clock that kills the whole table at once.
Strengths
- Free, repeatable table-wide drain that doesn't require attacking or combat
- Background slot gives huge deckbuilding flexibility and a built-in second commander
- Mono-black access to tutors, reanimation, and powerful card advantage
- Scales hard with +1/+1 counters and power-pumping effects into a real clock
Weaknesses
- The 'no permanents left the battlefield' clause is easily disabled by token decks, fetchlands, and any sacrifice/removal effect
- Sarevok at base 3 power is a fragile must-kill threat that draws removal
- Mono-black has poor enchantment/artifact removal and no card-draw-to-graveyard recursion of blue
- Drain hits you too if you can't keep your own permanents intact
Key Cards
- Cabal Coffers — Explosive mono-black ramp to power out Sarevok and counter/pump payoffs ahead of schedule.
- The Ozolith — Banks Sarevok's +1/+1 counters when he dies and reloads them, protecting your accumulated power.
- Conjurer's Closet — Blink or recur counter-granting creatures to keep stacking power on Sarevok between turns.
- Whispersilk Cloak — Unblockable plus shroud keeps Sarevok safe and growing without combat risk.
- Ashnod's Altar — A cautionary inclusion—sac outlets actually shut off your own drain, so the deck wants to minimize them.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Dark Ritual, Sol Ring, Cabal Coffers, Nykthos) and protection like Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots so Sarevok survives and scales fast. Layer in counter-doublers and pump (Doubling Season, Hardened Scales, anthem counters) plus The Ozolith to bank power, and round out with redundant drain payoffs (Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire) so you win even when the trigger gets disrupted. Pick a Background that raises Sarevok's power or grants evasion—aggressive picks turn the end-step drain into a true clock.
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
- ▸End-step drain from a heavily pumped Sarevok killing all opponents simultaneously
- ▸Stacking additional life-loss/symmetric damage payoffs alongside the trigger
- ▸Voltron commander damage when the table can't afford to block
- ▸Classic mono-black drain finishers like Exsanguinate or Torment of Hailfire
Archetypes
- Counters / Voltron — Loading Sarevok with +1/+1 counters directly raises the end-step drain into lethal range.
- Control / Stax — Keeping the board static and denying opponents' actions maximizes the turns the drain actually fires.
- Aristocrats (anti-synergy aware) — Black drain payoffs complement the life loss, though true sac-heavy builds undercut the trigger.
- Group Slug — Stacking symmetrical-but-favorable life loss effects with Sarevok grinds the table down passively.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (B), by popularity.
