Kaervek, the Punisher

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Kaervek, the Punisher is a 3cmc 3/3 legendary that triggers on committing a crime — targeting opponents, their permanents, or cards in their graveyards — to exile a black card from your graveyard and cast a free copy at the cost of 2 life. He is signature in black combo/reanimator shells that naturally target opponents (removal, discard, hand disruption), converting interaction into recursive card advantage. The 2-life cost is meaningful but manageable, and he requires a graveyard full of black spells/permanents to be consistently valuable.

• The 'crime' trigger is remarkably easy to satisfy in interactive black decks — any targeted removal, discard spell, or even Thoughtseize aimed at an opponent counts, meaning Kaervek generates value as a natural byproduct of normal gameplay.

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• The copy is cast, not just put onto the battlefield, so sorcery/instant copies trigger prowess, storm count, and other cast-triggers; permanent spell copies become tokens per the rules reminder.

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• Because Kaervek copies the exiled card rather than returning it, he sidesteps graveyard-hate pieces like Rest in Peace that prevent reanimation — the exile happens as part of the ability resolution before the copy is created.

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• EDHREC rank: #6,070