Krav, the Unredeemed MTG Card
2018-06-08 - Number 4s
2018-06-08 - Number 4
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Creature — Demon |
| Abilities | Partner,Partner with |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Krav excels in decks rich in creatures, providing a consistent card advantage to maintain player momentum.
- Instant speed activation of Krav’s ability permits tactical plays, enhancing flexibility and disrupting opponents.
- Although powerful, Krav’s mana cost and necessity for creature sacrifice can impose restrictions on deck design.
Text of card
Partner with Regna, the Redeemer (When this creature enters the battlefield, target player may put Regna into their hand from their library, then shuffle.) , Sacrifice X creatures: Target player draws X cards and gains X life. Put X +1/+1 counters on Krav, the Unredeemed.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Krav the Unredeemed offers a powerful draw engine, especially in decks that generate a lot of tokens or creatures. By sacrificing creatures, you get to draw one card for each, ensuring you never run out of options and have the upper hand in long-drawn-out games.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or tokens, Krav can be seen as a form of indirect resource acceleration. By converting expendable creatures into new cards, you’re accelerating your access to better resources and key components of your deck faster than normal.
Instant Speed: Krav’s ability is activated at instant speed, allowing you to wait until the precise moment before making the decision to sacrifice creatures. This flexibility lets you adapt to the unfolding game and exploit the perfect timing to disrupt your opponent’s strategy or to avoid removal.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Krav the Unredeemed compels you to sacrifice another creature as part of its ability to draw cards and gain life. This can be a hindrance when you’re unable to spare creatures or are playing a strategy that values keeping a wide board presence.
Specific Mana Cost: Being locked into black mana for its casting cost, Krav may not seamlessly fit into multi-colored decks that are not heavily biased towards black or lack sufficient mana fixing.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of five, Krav the Unredeemed can be a costly addition to your curve. Considering the competitive nature of the five-drop slot, players might opt for alternatives that impact the board immediately without the need for further investment.
Reasons to Include Krav the Unredeemed in Your Collection
Versatility: Krav the Unredeemed offers a flexible role in many Commander decks, catering to strategies that revolve around creature sacrifice for gain. Its ability to serve both as a creature engine and a draw mechanism makes it a valuable asset in various situations.
Combo Potential: With an innate ability to sacrifice creatures for growth and card draw, Krav pairs well with partners like Regna, the Redeemer, or any setup that benefits from repeated sacrifice triggers—opening the door to powerful synergies.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Krav’s capability to amass card advantage and create a commanding board presence ensures it remains a fitting choice for competitive play.
How to beat Krav the Unredeemed
Krav the Unredeemed can be a formidable adversary on the battlefield, often seen in decks that revolve around token generation and life gain. This powerful creature can overwhelm opponents by converting a wide board presence into card advantage and increased life totals. However, you can counteract Krav’s strategy with a bit of planning.
Firstly, graveyard hate can be extremely effective. Cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can prevent Krav’s controller from reanimating the creatures they sacrifice. Second, board wipes can reset the game and remove the tokens or small creatures Krav relies on. Look to play a card like Wrath of God or Damnation before Krav’s controller can capitalize on their board state. Lastly, direct removal spells are always helpful. A timely Path to Exile or Assassin’s Trophy can take Krav off the board before his ability can be used.
It’s all about timing and resource management when facing a card like Krav the Unredeemed. Disrupt the synergy between Krav and other pieces in their strategy, and you’ll have a much easier time keeping this unredeemed force at bay.
BurnMana Recommendations
As we’ve dissected the facets of Krav the Unredeemed, it’s evident the card can be a kingpin in the right MTG deck. With its potential to convert creatures into a flood of new options and bolstering your life total, Krav can radically shift the dynamics of a match. If you’re intrigued by the prospects of building a deck that capitalizes on sacrifice mechanics or looking for an edge in your Commander games, considering Krav is a wise move. Ready to embrace the art of the sacrifice and reign supreme in your next game? Dive deeper into our reservoir of knowledge for winning strategies and insider tips to ensure Krav the Unredeemed becomes your ace in the hole. Join the BurnMana community and enhance your gameplay today.
Cards like Krav, the Unredeemed
Krav the Unredeemed holds a unique place in Magic: The Gathering as a creature that leverages the power of sacrifice for advantage. Similar to cards like Viscera Seer, which allows you to sacrifice a creature to scry, Krav not only offers the ability to scry but also draws cards and gains life equal to the sacrificed creature’s power. This makes Krav a multi-faceted powerhouse in any deck focused on creature control.
Another peer in this space is Yahenni, Undying Partisan, who thrives on the demise of others by gaining indestructible when a creature dies. While Krav requires a mana investment for each sacrifice, Yahenni’s ability is cost-free. However, Krav compensates with his built-in card advantage engine. Similarly, Blood Artist turns creatures’ death into direct damage and life gain for the controller, yet lacks Krav’s immediate card draw effect and scalability.
While each of these cards captures the essence of creature sacrifice, Krav the Unredeemed stands out by offering a suite of benefits with each creature offered up. This positions him as a versatile and potentially game-swinging option for players building around synergies of life, card advantage, and board presence in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Krav, the Unredeemed by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Krav, the Unredeemed MTG card by a specific set like Battlebond Promos and Battlebond, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Krav, the Unredeemed and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Printings
The Krav, the Unredeemed Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2018-06-08 and 2018-06-08. Illustrated by Randy Vargas.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2018-06-08 | Battlebond Promos | PBBD | 4s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Randy Vargas | |
| 2 | 2018-06-08 | Battlebond | BBD | 4 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Randy Vargas |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Krav, the Unredeemed has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Krav, the Unredeemed card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-06-08 | An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders. |
| 2018-06-08 | Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards of your deck are shuffled to become your library. |
| 2018-06-08 | If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can only include cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities. If Khorvath and Sylvia are your commanders, your deck may contain cards with red and/or white in their color identity, but not blue, black, or green. |
| 2018-06-08 | If your team didn’t gain life during the turn before the end step begins, Regna’s last ability won’t trigger at all. Gaining life during the end step won’t cause the ability to trigger. |
| 2018-06-08 | Krav can be sacrificed to pay the cost for its own ability. The +1/+1 counters won’t be put on anything. |
| 2018-06-08 | Note that the target player searches their library (which may be affected by effects such as that of Stranglehold) and that the card they find is revealed, even though these words aren’t included in the ability’s reminder text. |
| 2018-06-08 | Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 damage from one of them, not from both of them combined. Command Beacon’s effect puts one into your hand from the command zone, not both. |
| 2018-06-08 | Regna’s last ability checks if any player on your team gained life at any point during the turn. It doesn’t matter if the player also lost life or whether the team’s life total is greater than it was at the beginning of the turn. It also doesn’t matter whether Regna was on the battlefield when the life gain happened. |
| 2018-06-08 | Regna’s last ability has you create two tokens, regardless of which player on your team gained life, how many players on your team gained life, or how much life was gained. |
| 2018-06-08 | The second ability represented by the “partner with -ame]” keyword modifies the rules for deck construction in the Commander variant and has no function outside of that variant. If a legendary creature card with “partner with -ame]” is designated as your commander, the named legendary creature card can also be designated as your commander. For more information on the Commander variant, please visit Wizards.com/Commander. |
| 2018-06-08 | The triggered ability of the “partner with” keyword still triggers in a Commander game. If your other commander has somehow ended up in your library, you can find it. You can also target another player who might have that card in their library. |
| 2018-06-08 | To have two commanders, both must have the partner ability (featured in the Magic: The Gathering—Commander™ (2016 Edition) set) or corresponding “partner with” abilities as the game begins. A creature with a “partner with” ability can’t partner with any creature other than its designated partner. Losing a partner ability during the game doesn’t cause either to cease to be your commander. |
| 2018-06-08 | “Partner with -ame]” represents two abilities. The first is a triggered ability: “When this permanent enters the battlefield, target player may search their library for a card named -ame], reveal it, put it into their hand, then shuffle their library.” |
