RakdosLegendary Creature — Goblin BerserkerVial Smasher the Fierce
Mana value3Rank#5,154PartnerYes
The Commander
Whenever you cast your first spell each turn, choose an opponent at random. Vial Smasher deals damage equal to that spell's mana value to that player or a planeswalker that player controls.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)
Guide
Gameplan
Cast big spells (often free or cost-reduced) to fling Vial Smasher damage at random opponents while building toward a deterministic kill. Pair with a Partner to add a second color or strategic angle, then chain spells and X-spells to burn the table out, or pivot to a combo/storm finish.
Strengths
- Free incidental damage every turn just for playing your deck normally
- Partner flexibility lets you splash a third color and tailor the gameplan
- Rewards high-mana-value spells like X-spells and Eldrazi, which decks want anyway
- Punishes planeswalkers and can pressure a single opponent hard
Weaknesses
- Random target selection makes damage unreliable for closing out a chosen player
- Only triggers on your FIRST spell each turn, capping throughput
- Three toughness dies to most removal and sweepers easily
- Color identity (BR by itself) lacks card draw and ramp without the partner
Key Cards
- Thassa's Oracle — With partner Thrasios or via tutors, a clean library-empty combo finish that ignores Vial Smasher's randomness.
- Villainous Wealth — A huge-X spell that both crushes an opponent's deck and deals massive Vial Smasher damage on cast.
- Comet Storm — High mana value X burn that doubles as a flexible removal and reach spell while padding the cast trigger.
- Sunbird's Invocation — Casting high-MV spells reveals more cards, snowballing free spells that each can be your first-spell trigger when sequenced across turns.
- Fork / Reverberate effects — Copying expensive spells maximizes board impact, though Vial Smasher only fires on the original first cast.
Upgrade Path
Choose a high-power partner—Thrasios, Triton Hero for Sultai value and combo, Kraum or Tymna for card draw—then add fast mana (Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Jeweled Lotus) and efficient tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor) to assemble a compact win. Lean into a deterministic combo rather than relying on Vial Smasher's random damage, and run interaction (Swan Song, Mystical Tutor, Dockside Extortionist) to protect your turns.
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
- ▸Combo finish (e.g., Thassa's Oracle with library manipulation or infinite mana payoffs)
- ▸Cumulative Vial Smasher damage plus burn spells whittling the table down
- ▸A single oversized X-spell dealing lethal Vial Smasher damage to a random opponent
- ▸Partner-driven engines (Kraum/Tymna card advantage) snowballing into overwhelming threats
Archetypes
- Partner Goodstuff — Pairing Vial Smasher with a strong partner (Thrasios, Kraum, Tymna, Ikra) defines the deck's color and power ceiling.
- Spellslinger / Storm — X-spells and big-mana sorceries fuel both the kill and incremental Vial Smasher pings.
- Combo — BR plus a value partner reaches consistent two-card or library-emptying combos that don't rely on random damage.
- Group Slug / Aristocrats — Vial Smasher's repeatable burn supports a punishing, life-total-eroding gameplan.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BR), by popularity.
