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Lazav, Familiar Stranger

OTJ · uncommon · Released 2024-04-19

Tiers

tier-2
tier-2
fringe

Commander Bracket

1Precon2Core3Upgraded4Optimized5cEDH

Archetypes

positive:
controlmidrangegraveyard-mattersmill
negative:

No active conflicts.

Roles

midrange-threatcounter-producergraveyard-mattersclone-target

Risks

once-per-turn-restrictedrequires-graveyard-densityconditional-triggeretb-only

Mechanics

Typal

synergy:

anti:

Structural

triggered-abilityreplacement-effect

Rationale

Lazav is a 1/4 shapeshifter for {1}{U}{B} that grows on crimes and can copy a creature from any graveyard until end of turn, once per turn. It fits naturally in Dimir control/midrange shells that already commit crimes (targeting spells, discard, removal) and rewards opponents' graveyards being full (mill payoff). The copy effect is temporary (end of turn) and creature-card dependent, limiting its explosive ceiling, but the steady +1/+1 counter growth and flexible impersonation make it a solid threat in graveyard-aware Dimir builds.

Learnings (3)

  • Lazav's copy effect only triggers once per turn regardless of how many crimes are committed, making it better as a value-accumulation creature than a spell-chain payoff.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • The crime trigger only copies a creature card from ANY graveyard — including opponents' — so mill and discard strategies actively fill targets for Lazav to copy, synergizing beyond just self-mill.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • Because Lazav becomes a copy 'until end of turn,' it loses any ETB effects from the copied creature since it doesn't enter the battlefield; it only gains the copiable values of that card.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

Popularity

  • EDHREC rank: #12,355