Legendary Creature — Zombie Horror

Kraum, Ludevic's Opus

Mana value5EDHREC#6,710PartnerYes

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The Commander

Flying, haste

Whenever an opponent casts their second spell each turn, draw a card.

Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)

Guide

Gameplan

Kraum is a 4/4 flyer with haste that immediately pressures opponents while turning their own spellcasting into card advantage for you. As a Partner commander, you pair him with a second legend to fill out a color identity (often adding white, black, or green) and build a value-driven spellslinger or tempo deck. Generate incremental advantage off opponents' second spells, chip in evasive damage, and bury the table in cards before closing with a combo or burn finish.

Strengths

Flying haste body delivers immediate evasive damage and commander tax pressure
Passive, hands-free card draw that scales in multiplayer pods where players cast multiple spells
Partner flexibility lets you splash a third color and pair with powerful legends
Rewards instant/sorcery-heavy builds without needing to do anything proactive

Weaknesses

Draw trigger is entirely dependent on opponents' behavior—you can't control it
At 5 mana he's slower to deploy and dies to common removal/board wipes
No inherent way to convert card advantage into a win without dedicated payoffs
Vulnerable to a quiet/permanent-heavy table that doesn't cast many spells

Key Cards

Thassa's Oracle — Premier wincon to convert all that card draw into a deck-out victory alongside a self-mill or draw-empty engine.
Tibalt's Trickery — Cheap counter/combo enabler that thins your deck and supports cascade-style cheats in a spell-heavy shell.
Underworld Breach — Turns the graveyard from cast spells into an explosive combo engine, a top-tier finisher in UR.
Mystic Remora — Stacks with Kraum to punish opponents' spellcasting and flood you with cards early.
Tymna the Weaver — A common Partner pairing that adds white and a second card-draw engine off combat damage.

Upgrade Path

Lean into fast mana (Mana Crypt, Jeweled Lotus, signets) and premium counterspells to protect a compact combo like Underworld Breach + Thassa's Oracle or Lion's Eye Diamond lines. Choose a partner that adds another engine or color (Tymna for white draw, Vial Smasher for damage, Kydele for ramp) and tighten the deck with efficient cantrips and tutors. Cut clunky high-cost cards for low-curve interaction so you can convert Kraum's card advantage into a fast, protected kill.

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

▸Thassa's Oracle / Jace deck-out after drawing through your library
▸Underworld Breach combo for infinite mana/storm into a burn finisher
▸Commander damage and evasive beats from Kraum plus a partner
▸Big X burn spell or storm payoff fueled by accumulated card advantage

Archetypes

Spellslinger — His draw rewards an instant/sorcery-dense build, and UR is the home of cantrips and burn.
Control — Card advantage plus counterspells and removal let you grind the table out while flying over for damage.
Combo — Steady card flow digs to combos like Underworld Breach or Thassa's Oracle lines.
Tempo/Aggro — Haste flyer plus cheap interaction pressures life totals while you bank cards.