I need more land and to swap out some cards for ones on the sideboard list - open to ideas.
Intro
In this iteration of Kresh, the Blood Braided, also known as "Kresh the Loved-Hated", "The Charasmatic Butcher" or "Kresh the Polygamous", Kresh is a ravishing romantic and merciless martyr who seduces and sacrifices (even himself) in the name of love and war. He's often misunderstood as insensitive or selfish, but he's just on a mission.
I've played this a good handfull of times and generally speaking, he throws down hard and fast... board-state willing.
What's His Deal?
Kresh is the first commander I ever built around and about 75% of this deck is that original build. It's about turning Kresh into a beefcake (surprise), with a little bit of battlefield control mixed in. The strategy is to not just feed him my own creatures but my opponent's as well. He's so charismatic that he not only seduces them onto our team, but inspires them into willingly sacrificing themselves to the cause.
I've got many fresh ideas for Kresh that take him beyond just filling the deck to the brim with monster creatures and straight-up removals. This is my least original concept, but I haven't seen anything quite like it yet.
The Pragmatic Playa
Kresh—not because he's heartless but because he's on a mission—will woo them, use them, then turn them into martyrs for the cause. I find this to be an effective way to control the board and clear the way for Kresh, all while making him bigger and getting the deck's pilot some added value along the way.
The last three get bonus marks for being creatures we can sac.
Mass Mutiny
is a card I own that's on the maybe list, but I'm not sure what to remove for it or if I really need it.
Once Kresh woo's then uses their creatures, we don't want them going back and so have great ways to get added value - by turning them into martyrs for the cause.
Make 'em Martyrs
These being cheap is key so we can combine them with the mutiny effects. Luckly, most sac engines provide good benefits for cheap because the downside is losing a creature. That's not such a downside if it's our opponents creature.
Carrion Feeder
rapid fire farming of +1/+1's for feeding the big man
Bloodfire Infusion
use their big creature to cook up all other creatures as a big meal for Kresh
As you can see, if a mutiny opportunity is on hand, it's very likely a sac engine is within reach as well.
Note: all these can also be effectively used on our own creatures. I even used a
Life's Legacy
on Kresh after knocking out one opponent with commander damage, drew 24 cards and hand picked what I needed for a next turn win.
2nd Note: The instant speed sacs are great to have for your own creatures if someone tries to take them out.
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
and
Korozda Guildmage
are the greatest value if an attempt is made on a big Kresh.
Feeding Fresh Kresh
Kresh will do alot for us. He's got the the work ethic and the looks to do the job at hand. Being that charming all the time makes one hungry though, so this is what I've devised for feeding him:
Archfiend of Depravity
can not just feed Kresh plenty with a developed board state but, he draws out the removals taking attention away from Kresh
Death's Presence
besides the obvious, this also works to save all the power if Kresh is removed passing his strength to another one of our creatures. Fantastic when combo'd with multiple "Flings" in a turn.
Plaguecrafter
as if Fleshbag and Executioner weren't great enough, Wizards went and made Plaguecrafter?
Monstrous Onslaught
I think the only way to do this is respond with an instant sac of a creature so Kresh doesn't die? Correct me if I'm wrong. Otherwise, this might be a tradeout for
Birthing Pod
or an Altar.
Plague Wind
makes room for a massive Kresh to remove someone from the game
Spitebellows
essentially a 3 cmc sorcery that reads "give Kresh six +1/+1 counters and destroy another creature"
Vona's Hunger
is a super efficent way to decimate your opponents boards and gigantify Kresh. It's cmc makes for a good combo turn.
You've been Kreshed
Weekend Fling
The thing is, in this deck Kresh can become big fast (IF it's a creature heavy game). After playing him and a few other setup pieces one turn, you can grow him quick and pull some nasty surprise maneuvers to finish one or more opponents off in the next go 'round. I have much anecdotal evidence of this, but especially this ONE time which makes for a great example...
...So, back when I was running
Diabolic Revelation
, I actually performed a successful multi-card tutor to pull off the following sequence:
Chandra's Ignition
the ultimate as it kills most opponents at the table while also wiping the board for a gigantified Kresh to charge through and stomp whoever's left
But What About Life Gain? Decks
Someone's at 432 life? No problem. Commander damage is real with Kresh, especially if you have:
Mage Slayer
our main man's sword! How can something be so flavourful yet disgusting all at the same time?
Rogue's Passage
which can knock that surprised player off their high (lifelinked) horse
Other Value
Kin-Tree Invocation
can often be a 2 cost 20/20, 45/45, or even 60/60 creature token.. "I'm sorry, what?", you ask. Now imagine
Death's Presence
is in play and you have one of the
Fling
effects in hand. Kill someone with the token, triple the Kresh. "Oof"
Mimic Vat
... what's the biggest creature we fed to Kresh? Tap 3, the vat, and make another to sac. This is what's called "sustainable food production", so Kresh doesn't go hungry. Remember, he's a growing boy and we want to support that.
Strionic Resonator
would be be great for those big creature deaths, either doubling the growth on Kresh, or giving that growth to another creature.
Birthing Pod
and
Pattern of Rebirth
could be a great addition to speed things up. Using our opponents creatures to cheat out our own? Priceless.
My first build of this deck used
Pattern of Rebirth
to pull out
Rune-Scarred Demon
which would get me another key card. Now that this deck has matured with the "You've Been Kreshed" list of cheap options, this could be a great package to bring back. A nearly free 6/6 flyer and the spell that we need that turn. Decent.
Elvish Piper
could be another good cheat for the pricey creatures, especially at the right time. Imagine throwing out a
Butcher of Malakir
during a one-sided board wipe, or an
Archfiend of Depravity
before the end of a turn where someone let loose an army.
Ashnod's Altar
and
Phyrexian Altar
could be great in combination with the mutiny cards. If I added these I'd probably then add
Mass Mutiny
as we could then sac theirs to fuel more spells that turn.
I like the idea of
Devour Flesh
when someone goes to remove a big Kresh, so we can stay in the game long enough to make him great again.
Assault Suit
could just be a fun addition for everyone... And it gives Kresh 3 more opportunities to distribute commander damage. But he could also get attacked into a deathtouch snake or something, and that's less fun.
Mana Geyser
often puts me turns ahead if it doesn't enable me to win the game then and there. I took it out, but am trying to figure out how to get it back in.
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