At the beginning of your upkeep, you gain X life and draw X cards, where X is the number of permanents you own that your opponents control.
: Target opponent gains control of target permanent you control.
Zedruu wants to give your opponents your worst permanents so you draw cards and gain life every upkeep, fueling a control or political game. You stall the board with removal, pillowfort effects, and donated downsides, then pivot to a combo or alternate win once card advantage snowballs out of control. The deck plays the long game, leveraging deals and gifts to keep yourself safe while the engine grinds.
Repeatable card draw and lifegain that scales as you donate permanents
Strong political flexibility — donating cursed or harmless permanents buys goodwill
Access to the best removal, counters, and pillowfort effects in RUW
Several dedicated win conditions that synergize directly with donating permanents
Engine relies on Zedruu sticking around, making her a removal magnet
Vulnerable to fast aggro and combo before the donation engine comes online
Lacks black's tutors and recursion, so consistency can suffer
Donating useful permanents to a savvy opponent can backfire politically