BlackLegendary Creature — Human SoldierSima Yi, Wei Field Marshal
Mana value6Rank#27,380
The Commander
Sima Yi's power is equal to the number of Swamps you control.
Guide
Gameplan
Sima Yi is a mono-black Voltron-ish beater whose power scales with your Swamp count, but realistically he's a value commander for a heavy-Swamp midrange deck. You ramp into Swamps, leverage that land count with payoffs like Cabal Coffers and Nykthos, then grind opponents out with black removal, recursion, and big threats. Win by either suiting up Sima Yi with evasion/protection or by going over the top with massive mono-black mana.
Strengths
- Trivially huge body in a dedicated Swamp deck with virtually no setup
- Mono-black gives access to elite spot/edict removal, tutors, and recursion
- Synergizes naturally with Swamp-matters payoffs (Cabal Coffers, Nykthos, Lake of the Dead)
- Cheap to recast relative to the board impact and his ceiling as a finisher
Weaknesses
- Has no evasion or built-in protection, so Voltron damage is easily chump-blocked or removed
- Mono-color means no access to counterspells, blink, or efficient card advantage engines outside black's price
- Heavily punished by board wipes and removal-light grind that outpaces single-creature beatdown
- Non-basic-heavy manabases dilute his power; he wants real Swamps, not fixing lands
Key Cards
- Cabal Coffers — Turns your high Swamp count into explosive mana to power tutors, removal, and X-spells.
- Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx — Another Swamp-count payoff that floods you with black mana for big plays.
- Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth — Makes every land a Swamp, juicing both Sima Yi's power and your Coffers/Nykthos output.
- Crypt Ghast — Doubles Swamp mana and grants extort, fueling explosive turns alongside Coffers.
- Whispersilk Cloak — Gives Sima Yi unblockable and shroud so his huge power actually connects safely.
- Lake of the Dead — A Swamp that converts into a burst of mana, advancing both ramp and his power.
Upgrade Path
Lean fully into Swamp count: add Cabal Coffers, Nykthos, Urborg, Crypt Ghast, and Magus of the Coffers, then convert that mana into Torment of Hailfire, Exsanguinate, or a Helldweller-style payoff for a reliable kill. Improve consistency with black tutors (Demonic/Vampiric Tutor, Grim Tutor) and protect your engine with Whispersilk Cloak, Lightning Greaves, and counters-to-removal like Deflecting Swat alternatives. Trim utility nonbasics that don't count as Swamps so your manabase and commander stay maximally online.
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
- ▸Connect with an evasive, pumped Sima Yi for commander-damage kills
- ▸Cast a huge X-spell or Torment of Hailfire fueled by Cabal Coffers mana
- ▸Drain the table with extort/aristocrat effects and life-loss payoffs
- ▸Reanimate or ramp into oversized black finishers to overwhelm the board
Archetypes
- Voltron — His power equals your Swamp count, so equipment and evasion can turn him into a one-shot threat.
- Mono-Black Devotion/Ramp — Swamp-matters payoffs like Coffers and Nykthos reward the same lands that grow him.
- Control — Black's removal suite and recursion let you grind the board while Sima Yi looms as a clock.
- Reanimator — Big black mana and graveyard recursion let you cheat out fatties to close alongside him.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (B), by popularity.
