Gimli, Counter of Kills

Gameplan

Gimli, Counter of Kills is a mono-red voltron/aggro commander that punishes opponents for losing creatures, turning every board wipe, removal spell, and combat exchange into incremental damage. You curve out into Gimli, attack with a trampling body, and force opponents to either keep weak creatures (which die) or sacrifice them, draining their life total. Pair removal-heavy turns and your own creatures' deaths-by-opponent with reliable burn to close games.

Key Cards

• Blasphemous Act — A one-sided-feeling wrath that kills every opponent creature, each death pinging its controller for Gimli damage.
• Fervor — Haste lets Gimli attack and start triggering the turn he lands, accelerating the clock.
• Goblin Bombardment — Sacrifice outlets force opponents' creatures to die, but more importantly you can pressure them while Gimli punishes any death.
• Embercleave — Cheap to cast with a wide board and turns trample-Gimli into a one-hit commander-damage threat.
• Chaos Warp — Mono-red's premier catch-all answer for problematic permanents Gimli can't otherwise interact with.
• Impact Tremors — Stacks incremental damage with Gimli, rewarding token and ETB-heavy red builds.

Upgrade Path

Lean into edict and sacrifice effects (Fall of the Thain, Dictate of the Twins-style cards, Sheoldred-style pressure isn't in color, so use red edicts and pingers) plus repeatable board wipes to maximize triggers. Add fast mana like Jeska's Will, Mana Crypt, and Sol Ring with cheap equipment such as Lightning Greaves and Shadowspear to make Gimli lethal early. Round out with card advantage engines (Light Up the Stage, Outpost Siege, Wheel of Misfortune) to keep gas flowing in mono-red.