JundLegendary Artifact Creature — ScarecrowThe Reaper, King No More
Mana value6Rank#6,561
The Commander
When The Reaper enters, put a -1/-1 counter on each of up to two target creatures.
Whenever a creature an opponent controls with a -1/-1 counter on it dies, you may put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Do this only once each turn.
Guide
Gameplan
You weaken opponents' creatures with -1/-1 counters, then steal them when they die under your control. Spread -1/-1 counters across the board to kill creatures and bring the best ones to your side, grinding out value while removing threats. Close games by snowballing a stolen army or converting all those counters into wraths and aristocrat payoffs.
Strengths
- Repeatable creature theft turns opponents' best bombs into your assets
- -1/-1 counters double as flexible removal that dodges indestructible
- Jund colors give access to elite removal, ramp, and recursion
- Synergizes with sacrifice and aristocrats since stolen creatures fuel value
Weaknesses
- Only one steal per turn caps the snowball speed
- Relies on opponents' creatures dying with counters, so token-light or counter-immune boards blank it
- The Reaper is 6 mana and theft hinges on the commander surviving
- Vulnerable to graveyard-light or flicker-based metas that recur their own creatures first
Key Cards
- Black Sun's Zenith — Scalable wrath that plasters -1/-1 counters across every board, setting up mass theft as creatures die.
- Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons — Generates snakes and floods the board with -1/-1 counters to enable kills and steals.
- Nest of Scarabs — Turns every -1/-1 counter placement into insect tokens for extra value and pressure.
- Grim Hireling — Stolen and dying creatures funnel into treasure, ramping you toward big plays.
- Cauldron of Souls — Soulshift-style counters or reuse engines pair with -1/-1 themes; lets you reset boards into theft windows.
- Dictate of Erebos — Forces opponents to sacrifice, killing more creatures so The Reaper can steal them.
Upgrade Path
Add proliferate and mass -1/-1 sources like Black Sun's Zenith, Toxic Deluge, and Carnifex Demon to convert wraths into theft engines. Layer in aristocrat payoffs (Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat) and free sacrifice outlets so stolen and dying creatures always generate value. Tighten the mana with fast ramp (Sol Ring, signets) and recursion (Meren, Eternal Witness) to keep The Reaper online after removal.
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
- ▸Beat down with a stolen army of opponents' best creatures
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Blood Artist effects as counter-laden creatures die
- ▸Grind opponents out of threats through repeated theft and removal
- ▸Combo kills using -1/-1 counter loops with persist or sacrifice engines
Archetypes
- -1/-1 Counters — The Reaper's trigger and ETB build directly around proliferating wither/-1/-1 effects to kill and steal.
- Theft/Control — Turning every death into a stolen creature lets you dismantle and dominate opposing boards.
- Aristocrats — Sacrifice outlets and death payoffs combo with constantly dying counter-laden creatures.
- Tokens — Effects like Nest of Scarabs and Hapatra turn counter placement into a swarm army.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BGR), by popularity.
