Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Baral and Kari Zev

Baral and Kari Zev

Legendary Creature — Human · {1}{U}{R} · Red/Blue commander

First strike, menace Whenever you cast your first instant or sorcery spell each turn, you may cast a spell with lesser mana value that shares a card type with it from your hand without paying its mana cost. If you don't, create First Mate Ragavan, a legendary 2/1 red Monkey Pirate creature token. It gains haste until end of turn.

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What Baral and Kari Zev actually does

Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.

• Triggered ability · cast_spellWhenever you cast your first instant or sorcery spell each turn, you may cast a spell with lesser mana value that shares a card type with it from your hand without paying its mana cost. If you don't, create First Mate Ragavan
• Keyword · first strikefirst strike
• Keyword · menacemenace

What a Baral and Kari Zev deck wants

The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.

• 32× Mana value at or above the floor — for a cascade commander a cheap card is a DEFECT, not a bargain
• 20× A card that is CAST to trigger the commander — reanimating or blinking it does not count
• 22× Instants and sorceries — for a magecraft/prowess commander the spell COUNT is the engine
• 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
• 1× Answer a whole board at once
• 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
• 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
• 7× Refill your hand
• 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal

Best cards for Baral and Kari Zev

Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.

Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →

Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables. Read the guide · Browse all commanders · Pricing