Legendary Creature — Human Rogue

Rilsa Rael, Kingpin

Mana value5EDHREC#6,814

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The Commander

Deathtouch

When Rilsa Rael enters, you take the initiative.

Whenever you attack, target attacking creature gains deathtouch until end of turn. If you've completed a dungeon, that creature also gets +5/+0 and gains first strike and menace until end of turn.

Guide

Gameplan

Rilsa Rael takes the initiative the moment she lands, walking you through Undercity to grind value and threaten the Throne of the Dead Three payoff. You play a low-curve aggressive Dimir deck that protects the initiative, completes dungeons fast, then attacks with deathtouch evasive threats that turn any creature into a lethal first-striking menace beater. Keep pressure up to force opponents to take the initiative back so you can re-take it on your turn for extra venture triggers.

Strengths

Built-in card and life advantage engine via the initiative and Undercity without needing extra cards
Deathtouch on attack makes even small creatures into pseudo-removal that trade up in combat
Once a dungeon is completed, the +5/+0 first strike menace buff makes commander damage and one-shots realistic
Dimir gives elite interaction, evasion, and tutors to find the pieces you need

Weaknesses

The initiative is a magnet that puts a target on you and can be stolen by any combat damage
Relatively low impact if Rilsa is removed before you complete a dungeon
Vulnerable to fliers and reach blockers that out-race your ground assault
Board wipes and creature removal hit your venture/initiative enablers hard

Key Cards

Throne of the Dead Three — The premier initiative payoff, churning out Zombie tokens to defend the initiative and pressure opponents.
Undercity — The dungeon Rilsa ventures through, gaining life, cards, and the powerful completion bonus that fuels her attack trigger.
Caves of Chaos Adventurer — Another take-the-initiative body that gives redundancy if Rilsa dies or you lose the initiative.
Acererak the Archlich — Lets you complete a dungeon for value and recur, enabling Rilsa's +5/+0 buff quickly.
Anowon, the Ruin Thief — A Rogue payoff and card-advantage engine that synergizes with evasive attackers and mill.

Upgrade Path

Add more take-the-initiative creatures (Caves of Chaos Adventurer, White Plume Adventurer is off-color, so lean on Dimir ones) and fast dungeon completers like Acererak to maximize buff turns. Tighten the curve with cheap evasive threats and strong protection (Counterspell, Swords to Plowshares is off-color, so use Cut Down, Fatal Push, and bounce) plus tutors like Vampiric Tutor to find Throne. Improve mana with fast rocks and a low average mana value so you can re-take the initiative every turn and apply relentless pressure.

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

▸Buffed deathtouch attacker dealing lethal commander or combat damage after completing a dungeon
▸Grinding incremental advantage from the initiative and Throne of the Dead Three until the board is overwhelmed
▸Death by a thousand cuts with evasive Rogues plus mill payoffs like Anowon

Archetypes

Initiative/Dungeon Aggro — Rilsa enters with the initiative and rewards completing dungeons, making venture and initiative payoffs the core engine.
Voltron/Commander Damage — The +5/+0 first strike menace buff plus deathtouch lets a single attacker close games via commander or combat damage.
Dimir Rogue Tribal — Her creature type and evasive aggressive plan slot perfectly into a Rogues mill-and-beatdown shell.
Aggro-Control — Cheap evasive threats backed by counters and removal protect the initiative and your attackers.