RakdosLegendary Creature — Vampire RogueZagras, Thief of Heartbeats
Mana value6Rank#9,753
The Commander
This spell costs 
less to cast for each creature in your party.
Flying, deathtouch, haste
Other creatures you control have deathtouch.
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a planeswalker, destroy that planeswalker.
Guide
Gameplan
Flood the board with creatures that all gain deathtouch from Zagras, turning every blocker and attacker into a lethal trade machine while you push damage. Cheat Zagras out early via party reduction, then leverage deathtouch with pingers, fight effects, and trample/menace beaters to dismantle defenses and grind out the table.
Strengths
- Gives your whole team deathtouch, making attacks and blocks extremely punishing and pillow-fort-like defensively
- Cheap, recastable haste body with evasion (flying) that pressures life totals immediately
- Cost reduction lets you deploy him on turn 3-4 in a creature-heavy build
- Deathtouch synergizes brutally with pingers, fight spells, and trample for free removal
Weaknesses
- No card advantage engine of its own; can run out of gas in grindy games
- Board wipes are devastating since the strategy is creature-density dependent
- Deathtouch is symmetrical in combat—savvy opponents just won't attack/block into you
- Vulnerable to flying-fliers and evasion since deathtouch doesn't stop unblocked damage
Key Cards
- Walking Ballista — With deathtouch from Zagras, each counter pings off any creature regardless of toughness.
- Viashino Pyromancer — Cheap party body that helps deploy Zagras faster and chips life.
- Basilisk Collar — Redundant deathtouch plus lifelink on a pinger turns any ping into removal and life gain.
- Rohgahh, Kher Keep Overlord — Generates a wide board of deathtouch attackers to overwhelm defenses.
- Hex Parasite — Cheap evasive party creature that pairs with the planeswalker-destruction clause and pings.
- Goblin Bombardment — Sacrifice deathtouch creatures or just turn them into removal-on-demand with pingers.
Upgrade Path
Add efficient deathtouch payoffs like Quietus Spike and Gorgon Flail, and pingers such as Heartless Hidetsugu or Spikeshot Goblin to convert deathtouch into repeatable removal. Improve mana with rituals, low-curve party creatures, and fast rocks to consistently land Zagras turn 3, and include recursion (Feldon, Phyrexian Reclamation) and protection from board wipes to fight grind. For higher power, lean into infinite damage shells like Walking Ballista plus Heartstone/Mikaeus or sacrifice-aristocrat loops.
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
- ▸Connecting with an evasive deathtouch board that opponents can't profitably block
- ▸Walking Ballista or pingers methodically removing all blockers, then swinging in
- ▸Pillow-forting behind deathtouch while a few evasive threats grind life totals down
- ▸Planeswalker assassination via the combat-damage trigger to crack open control decks
Archetypes
- Aggro / Deathtouch Beatdown — Every creature trades up or deals lethal in combat, making aggressive swings safe and punishing.
- Pinger / Removal Toolbox — Deathtouch turns damage-based pingers like Walking Ballista into universal creature removal.
- Party / Rogues Tribal — Party-based cost reduction rewards running Clerics, Rogues, Warriors, and Wizards.
- Aristocrats — Deathtouch creatures as sacrifice fodder plus fight/ping effects generate value and reach.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BR), by popularity.
