Commander Deck Tech: The Infamous Cruelclaw - Now With Dragons!

There are a thousand possibilities when you build a Magic: The Gathering deck. And, in these last few years, as I played and developed my Commander decks, so many more possibilities opened for me and encouraged me to think outside the box, as well as explore new ideas for my decks.

Bloomburrow was no exception: it gave me several new ideas for my commanders, particularly for The Infamous Cruelclaw. This daring Weasel Mercenary, with its cruel claws and unmatched wits, opened doors for us and an archetype that has been, for a long time, worshiped by many players - Dragons!

In this article, we'll dive head first into the deadly combination of red and black, and explore how The Infamous Cruelclaw can be the foundation of a Dragon kindred. Cruelclaw will not only make playing Dragons easier, but also turns any cards we discard into strategic advantages.

Let's see how this commander can be the main piece in one of the most unusual decks you've ever piloted!

The Infamous Cruelclaw is a powerful, high-performance commander. As it is very accessible and only costs , we can put it in play really early on. Its first ability is Menace, which makes the opponents' lives harder because it forces them to use two blockers to stop it. However, The Infamous Cruelclaw's greatest strength is how it turns simple attacks into great opportunities.

Whenever Cruelclaw deals damage to a player, it exiles cards on the top of their deck until it finds a nonland card. Then, it lets you play it without paying any mana, as long as you're willing to discard a card. This effect is what really sets Cruelclaw apart from other commanders, as it is almost an infinite cascade, and doesn't limit in any way the cards you can play this way. This commander turns aggression into card advantage and lets you interact in a thousand ways with discarding cards, which is something red and black excel at.

When we build a deck around The Infamous Cruelclaw, we will naturally lean towards big creatures and impactful spells that we wouldn't usually be able to cast early on in any other situation. The first thing that comes to mind considering these conditions is Eldrazis. However, this is a bit too obvious, and we're all tired of seeing decks whose final game plan is to cast Eldrazis for close to no cost at all.

If we're a bit more creative, and start with strong, expensive creatures that are as widespread as Elrazi, hardly any options meet these conditions as well as Dragons. They are the perfect co-stars for a commander that sets up high-impact plays incredibly fast.

The main goal is to maximize Cruelclaw's efficiency, and activate its ability multiple times every turn with cards that give you evasion and even double strike. For instance, with double strike, you'll activate its ability two times whenever you attack.

The deck we'll be working with today is the following:

Dragons are, undoubtedly, the center of this deck. Creatures like Terror of the Peaks and Lathliss, Dragon Queen both are an immediate, constant threat, and also make each play even more impactful.

Terror of the Peaks deals a lot of damage to your opponents directly whenever Dragons enter your battlefield, and Lathliss, Dragon Queen will quickly take over the game, as she creates more Dragons whenever another Dragon enters play. These creatures not only complement The Infamous Cruelclaw's inherent aggression but also take advantage of the fact it lets you cast spells without paying any mana.

Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury is one of my favorite cards from Fate Reforged. This creature adds an explosive amount of damage to your board, as it gives each attacking Dragon a +1/+0 bonus until the end of the turn. With it, your attacks will be even more powerful.

Dragons like Thunderbreak Regent and Drakuseth, Maw of Flames complement this deck because they put extra pressure on your opponents. Thunderbreak Regent, in particular, was entirely designed to punish anyone that tires to remove your Dragons, as it will make your opponents pay extra for it whenever they try. As for Drakuseth, Maw of Flames, it can add even more aggression to your deck, considering it distributes damage across the board whenever it attacks.

Bladewing the Risen lets you return Dragons from your graveyard to your board and effectively reanimate them, which fits The Infamous Cruelclaw's discard mechanic perfectly. This means you'll be able to play aggressively and discard Dragons with Cruelclaw's effect, knowing that you can bring them back with Bladewing the Risen. Furthermore, its second ability lets you pay mana to give +1/+1 to all your Dragons, and turn them into even bigger threats.

Ganax, Astral Hunter's ability creates a treasure token whenever another Dragon enters the board under your control. The fact you'll be able to create extra ramp from treasures will not only speed up your game plan but also make it easier to cast more expensive Dragons and spells. In a deck with The Infamous Cruelclaw, this card will add even more value to your Dragons, and will be a threat on the board as well.

We can list many other very interesting Dragons for this deck, like Kokusho, the Evening Star, Dragonhawk, Fate’s Tempest, Boneyard Scourge, Glorybringer and Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon. This is one of the best represented creature types in Magic: The Gathering.

Together, these Dragons form a battlefield that is difficult to answer without a card like Wrath of God. We picked each one according to their synergy with The Infamous Cruelclaw, so you'll always have at your disposal a series of aggressive and recursive plays turn after turn.

Cruelclaw's ability, which lets you discard a card to play another for free, might seem a bit costly, or even just too complicated, but it is a key aspect of this deck that we simply can't ignore. To make the most of it, we included cards that create value when we discard them.

For instance, you can play Bladewing the Risen straight from your hand, but you can also reanimate Dragons from the graveyard with it, and thus turn the cards you discarded into strategic tools instead of costs. Furthermore, with cards like Olivia, Mobilized for War, you'll be able to discard your cards and grant them extra abilities like haste, which can be crucial for surprise attacks.

Speaking of haste, we can also use Anger, a creature that, while in your graveyard and as long as you control a mountain, grants all your creatures haste. This means your Dragons, which are already a problem for your opponents on their own, will be able to attack immediately after they enter the battlefield.

Big Game Hunter has Madness, a mechanic that lets you discard this card to play it for an extra cost. So when you discard this card with Cruelclaw, you'll have the opportunity to cast it as well as use all the other effects in this setup. The same goes for Terminal Agony. Both of these cards have a lot of synergy with our commander's mechanic, and have great synergies with enemy creatures as well, as they're removals.

Crucible of Fire is an enchantment that costs and grants +3/+3 to all Dragons you control. Even smaller Dragons will become significant threats after you buff them with this card; they'll be even more aggressive flyers.

Dragon's Hoard will give you mana as well as card advantage, and fits this deck's Dragon theme rather perfectly. It costs and not only gives you mana of any color (effectively fixing your mana), but also gains gold counters whenever a Dragon enters the battlefield under your control. You can then remove these counters to draw cards, and make sure you never run out of options - something that red naturally struggles with.

Dragon's Hoard offers you the perfect balance between ramp and card advantage, essential elements to maintain whatever game rhythm is best for you.

Urza's Incubator is a popular artifact in decks that focus on specific creature types, in this case, Dragons. This permanent turns all your Dragons into much more accessible threats, as it discounts how much they cost. It is a great plan B whenever your commander is away from your board.

Crux of Fate is a massive removal that fits Dragon decks perfectly. This sorcery either destroys all creatures on the board that aren't Dragons, or, alternatively, destroys all Dragons. In this deck, you'll nearly always pick the first option, and clear the board of any enemy threat while keeping your creatures. Unfortunately, this will remove your commander, but, depending on the board state, it will always be worth it, as it will put you leagues ahead of your opponents.

Worldfire

The Infamous Cruelclaw recently became famous in decks with a high number of lands and only a few, or simply one, combo piece. In this case, let's see this commander with Worldfire, popularized by the YouTube channel 8thPlaceDave. This list practically resets the game, as it sets all players' life totals to 1. Then, it goes after its lands to either create value or deal damage to win the game.

Budget Version

There's also a budget version of this deck. It is perfect if you want to start slow and upgrade it bit by bit:

I was thrilled when I decided to build this Weasel Mercenary, worthy of many old stories and fables, but also managed to focus on Dragons. This shows how complex Commander is as a format. The fact we have the freedom to add whatever we want to our decks and push the game onto unconventional paths that are still great builds is truly what I enjoy the most about this format.

Unfortunately, Bloomburrow's days are almost over. Soon, we'll all be hunting monsters in a haunted mansion with Duskmourn.

Did you like this list? Would you change anything? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below!

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!