Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin
LTR · rare · Released 2023-06-23
Power
Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell). The score (-8 to 19) is a rank signal derived from tier + kind + atoms; browse by it on the cards page.
Derived from the 7 atoms below.
on rate
minor value alone
fits anywhere
scales up
one mode
broadly useful
easily answered
Commander Bracket
Archetypes
Roles
Risks
Mechanics
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Typal
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Structural
Rationale
6cmc 5/3 flying legendary wraith that forces the defending player to sacrifice their weakest creature on every attack — a repeatable edict stapled to an evasive clock. Solid in midrange and control as a persistent threat that strips small utility creatures; fits aristocrats shells by fueling graveyard synergies via forced sacrifices. Tokens-go-wide is a mild negative because the edict always takes the smallest creature (often a token), which lets token decks sacrifice chaff freely, protecting real threats. The trigger is opponent-controlled in the sense that they pick the "least power" creature among ties, and the card does nothing until it attacks.
Learnings (3)
The edict trigger sacrifices the creature with the LEAST power — not the defending player's choice. In token-heavy boards the opponent feeds it a 0/1 or 1/1 token, so its disruption is far weaker against go-wide strategies than it appears.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
Because the sacrifice happens on attack (not on damage), blockers are chosen before the edict resolves; the defending player cannot block and then sacrifice the blocker to dodge combat damage — they sacrifice before blockers are declared? No: triggers on attack, so it resolves at the beginning of combat on your turn. The forced sacrifice occurs before blockers, so the defending player loses a creature AND must still block if they wish.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
At 5/3 flying for 6 mana Witch-king is on-rate but not above it; in Commander he competes with higher-ceiling 6-drops, keeping him tier-2 rather than tier-1.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
Popularity
- EDHREC rank: #7,407