Altanak, the Thrice-Called
GLegendary Creature — Insect Beast

Altanak, the Thrice-Called

Mana value7EDHREC#7,470

The Commander

Trample

Whenever Altanak becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, draw a card.

{1}{G}, Discard this card: Return target land card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

Guide

Gameplan

Cast a big mono-green stompy curve, ramp hard into Altanak as a 7-mana beater that punishes opponents for targeting it by drawing cards. Use the graveyard land-recursion ability for value when you don't need him in play, then close games with trampling fatties, big mana payoffs, and overrun-style swings.

Strengths

  • Built-in card advantage in a color that struggles for it — opponents can't safely target him with removal or interaction
  • Flexible: works from the command zone as a finisher or pitched for land ramp acceleration
  • Trample makes him hard to chump and a great target for buffs
  • Mono-green consistency with strong, cheap ramp and tutors for lands/creatures

Weaknesses

  • Seven mana is steep; he's a do-nothing-the-turn-he-lands beater without haste
  • Board wipes, edicts, and -X/-X effects sidestep the targeted-draw clause entirely
  • Mono-green lacks interaction, card filtering, and counterspells
  • Draw trigger relies on opponents choosing to target him — savvy tables just ignore him

Key Cards

  • Heroic InterventionProtects your board and bait-targets Altanak yourself? No — but shields him from removal while you keep value.
  • Crop RotationFuels the land-recursion ability and fetches utility lands to rebuy from the yard.
  • CultivateRamps toward seven mana and stocks the graveyard with lands for Altanak's reanimation ability.
  • Vorinclex, Voice of HungerDoubles your land mana while taxing opponents, turning Altanak's ramp shell into explosive turns.
  • Craterhoof BehemothMono-green's premier finisher, converting Altanak and friends' trample into a one-shot kill.
  • Rishkar's ExpertiseDraws a massive pile off Altanak's power and free-casts another threat.

Upgrade Path

Add fast mana (Sol Ring, mana dorks, Nature's Lore) and protection (Heroic Intervention, Tyvar's Stand) to deploy and defend Altanak ahead of curve. Lean into a payoff package — Craterhoof, Triumph of the Hordes, Finale of Devastation — so your ramp converts to wins, and include strong recursion lands and Crop Rotation to maximize his graveyard ability. Top end like Vorinclex and Nyxbloom Ancient pushes ceiling toward high-power explosive turns.

Core Cards

The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.

Win Conditions

  • Overrun effects like Craterhoof Behemoth or Pathbreaker Ibex turning trampling creatures lethal
  • Repeated huge trample swings from Altanak buffed by auras and equipment
  • Out-grinding the table via card advantage and bigger threats

Archetypes

  • Big Mana StompyAltanak is a payoff for ramping into huge trampling threats and overrun effects.
  • LandsHis discard ability rebuys fetched and sacrificed lands, rewarding a landfall/land-recursion build.
  • VoltronTrample plus protection lets you suit him up while drawing cards off enemy removal attempts.
  • Value MidrangeCard draw on being targeted keeps mono-green's grindy, creature-heavy plans fueled.

Combos

No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.

Related Commanders

Same color identity (G), by popularity.

Discussion (0)