The Commander
Flying
At the beginning of your end step, you may sacrifice another creature. When you do, Ziatora deals damage equal to that creature's power to any target and you create three Treasure tokens.
Guide
Gameplan
Ramp into Ziatora, then build a board of big or expendable creatures. Each end step you sacrifice one to fling its power at a player or threat and bank three Treasures, fueling explosive ramp, reanimation, and finishers. You win by recurring fatties to sacrifice repeatedly while the Treasure flood snowballs into game-ending plays.
Strengths
- Built-in removal and direct damage every turn that can go to the face
- Three Treasures per activation gives massive ramp and fixing in three colors
- Synergizes with both go-wide tokens and go-tall big-power creatures
- Reanimation and recursion let you sacrifice the same threats over and over
- Jund colors offer the best sacrifice, recursion, and ramp toolbox in the format
Weaknesses
- Ability is once per turn on your end step, so it's slow without doublers
- Heavily reliant on the commander; repeated removal stalls the engine
- Treasure can be hated out by artifact removal or Collector Ouphe effects
- Needs a steady supply of fodder or big creatures to be effective
- Telegraphs threats, inviting board wipes that strand your sacrifice fuel
Key Cards
- Pitiless Plunderer — Turns every creature death into extra Treasure, supercharging Ziatora's value and combo lines.
- Mayhem Devil — Pings opponents whenever you sacrifice creatures or Treasures, adding incremental reach and aristocrats damage.
- Goldspan Dragon — A high-power flier to fling that doubles your Treasure value while it's on board.
- Ghave, Guru of Spores — Generates endless token fodder to sacrifice every turn for Ziatora's damage and Treasures.
- Korvold, Fae-Cursed King — Draws cards off every sacrifice and grows huge, pairing perfectly with the Treasure and fodder engine.
- Mirkwood Bats — Converts Treasure tokens and creature deaths into life loss, enabling go-wide drain wins.
- Pattern of Rebirth — Tutors a massive threat onto the battlefield each time you sacrifice a creature.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana and ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Birds of Paradise) plus power doublers and recursion to chain sacrifices faster. Lean into combo finishers—Pitiless Plunderer with cheap sac outlets and Mayhem Devil, or reanimation loops—to close before turn ten. Tighten removal and graveyard recursion (Meren, Phyrexian Reclamation) so a single board wipe doesn't stop your engine.
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
- ▸Repeatedly flinging high-power creatures at opponents' faces for lethal damage
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Mirkwood Bats effects
- ▸Sacrifice/Treasure combos like Pitiless Plunderer loops for infinite damage or value
- ▸Casting overwhelming reanimated threats and beating down with evasion
Archetypes
- Aristocrats — Ziatora rewards sacrificing creatures with damage and Treasure, slotting into death-trigger payoffs and drains.
- Reanimator — Treasures ramp into reanimation spells so you can keep flinging and recurring giant creatures.
- Tokens — Go-wide token makers provide endless cheap fodder to feed the end-step sacrifice.
- Big Mana Stompy — Treasure ramp lets you cast huge threats early, then convert their power into burn.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BGR), by popularity.
