WhiteLegendary Creature — Human KnightSyr Alin, the Lion's Claw
Mana value5Rank#14,703
The Commander
First strike (This creature deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.)
Whenever Syr Alin attacks, other creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Guide
Gameplan
Syr Alin is a mono-white go-wide aggro/anthem commander: flood the board with creatures, then swing with Syr Alin to pump your whole team and overwhelm. Early turns deploy cheap creatures and token-makers, mid-game cast Syr Alin and additional anthems, then alpha strike for lethal across multiple opponents.
Strengths
- Free repeatable team pump every combat that stacks with other anthems
- Mono-white access to the best go-wide token engines and board recovery
- First strike makes Syr Alin a respectable attacker and blocker on its own
- Low color requirements mean fast, consistent mana and easy upgrades
Weaknesses
- Mono-white lacks card draw and ramp, leading to running out of gas
- Vulnerable to board wipes that erase your whole army in one card
- The pump only triggers when Syr Alin attacks, so removal or a single blocker can blank your turn
- No built-in evasion, so wide boards get stonewalled by chump blockers or fog effects
Key Cards
- Skullclamp — Mono-white's premier card-draw engine, turning expendable tokens into a steady stream of cards.
- Smothering Tithe — Generates the ramp white otherwise lacks, fueling explosive token production and anthem spells.
- Intangible Virtue — Stacks with Syr Alin's pump to make a token army hit absurdly hard.
- Heliod, Sun-Crowned — Adds lifegain payoffs and counters, and pairs well with go-wide and Walking Ballista combos.
- Cathars' Crusade — Each creature you cast permanently grows your board, snowballing alongside Syr Alin's anthem.
- Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite — A massive double-anthem that simultaneously cripples opposing creatures and pushes lethal swings.
Upgrade Path
Add the best mono-white ramp and card advantage (Smothering Tithe, Skullclamp, Welcoming Vampire, Mentor of the Meek) so you don't stall after a wipe. Include resilience and recursion like Heroic Intervention's white cousins, Flawless Maneuver, and Sun Titan, plus efficient token doublers (Anointed Procession) and an Approach of the Second Sun or Walking Ballista line as a non-combat backup. Tighten the curve and add evasion enablers like Coat of Arms and overrun effects (Triumph of the Hordes) to punch through clogged boards.
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
- ▸Alpha strike with a pumped, wide creature board for commander-damage-scale combat lethal
- ▸Anthem stacking (Cathars' Crusade, Intangible Virtue, Elesh Norn) for overwhelming combat damage
- ▸Walking Ballista plus Heliod, Sun-Crowned for an infinite damage combo finish
Archetypes
- Tokens — Syr Alin's attack-trigger anthem rewards a wide board, making token generators the core engine.
- Aggro / Go-Wide — The +1/+1 to all attackers turns a swarm of small creatures into a lethal alpha strike.
- Aristocrats — With Skullclamp and sacrifice payoffs, expendable tokens convert into card draw and drain damage.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (W), by popularity.
