Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
Legendary Creature — Vampire · {4}{W}{B}{B} · Black/White commander
Flying, lifelink
Sacrifice a creature: Put X +1/+1 counters on Vish Kal, where X is the sacrificed creature's power.
Remove all +1/+1 counters from Vish Kal: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn for each +1/+1 counter removed this way.
Build a Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter deck →
What Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Activated abilitySacrifice a creature: Put X +1/+1 counters on Vish Kal, where X is the sacrificed creature's power.
- Activated abilityRemove all +1/+1 counters from Vish Kal: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn for each +1/+1 counter removed this way.
- Keyword · flyingflying
- Keyword · lifelinklifelink
What a Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter deck needs
Plays as aristocrats. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- expendable creatures and tokens to sacrifice (the commander is a sacrifice outlet)
- counter doublers and proliferate (it grows only itself with +1/+1 counters)
The Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 8× Evasion that does NOT target or attach — for a commander your own auras and equipment cannot legally touch
- 21× Creatures you are happy to sacrifice — a free sac outlet on the commander is worthless with nothing to feed it
- 12× Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, or multiply the ones already there
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- 11× Get ahead on mana
Best cards for Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
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.
Evasion that does NOT target or attach — for a commander your own auras and equipment cannot legally touch
- Akroma's Will4 mana
- Glaring Spotlight1 mana
- Cultist of the Absolute1 mana
- Elspeth, Storm Slayer5 mana
- The Wind Crystal4 mana
- Elspeth, Sun's Champion6 mana
- Inquisitorial Rosette2 mana
- Predators' Hour2 mana
Creatures you are happy to sacrifice — a free sac outlet on the commander is worthless with nothing to feed it
- Nurgle's Rot1 mana
- Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization6 mana
- Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead5 mana
- Phyrexian Triniform9 mana
- Hildibrand Manderville // Gentleman's Rise2 mana
- Edgar, Charmed Groom // Edgar Markov's Coffin4 mana
- Exquisite Huntmaster4 mana
- Grixis Slavedriver6 mana
Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, or multiply the ones already there
- Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion3 mana
- Yoshimaru, Beloved Companion3 mana
- Blightbelly Rat2 mana
- Grateful Apparition2 mana
- Metastatic Evangel2 mana
- Scheming Aspirant2 mana
- Generous Pup2 mana
- Martyr for the Cause2 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- Defile1 mana
- Tragic Slip1 mana
- March of Otherworldly Light1 mana
- Infernal Grasp2 mana
- Fatal Push1 mana
- Bitter Triumph2 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Demonic Tutor2 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana
- Vampiric Tutor1 mana
- Imperial Seal1 mana
- Demonic Consultation1 mana
- Grim Tutor3 mana
- Tainted Pact2 mana
- Scheming Symmetry1 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Damn2 mana
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Toxic Deluge3 mana
- Damnation4 mana
- Wrath of God4 mana
- Day of Judgment4 mana
- Bontu's Last Reckoning3 mana
- Kaya's Wrath4 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Black Market Connections3 mana
- Braids, Arisen Nightmare3 mana
- Morbid Opportunist3 mana
- Phyrexian Arena3 mana
- Archivist of Oghma2 mana
- The One Ring4 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Flowering of the White Tree2 mana
- Bastion Protector3 mana
- Codsworth, Handy Helper3 mana
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope8 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Chaplain of Alms // Chapel Shieldgeist1 mana
- Eldrazi Monument5 mana
Get ahead on mana
- Sol Ring1 mana
- Orzhov Signet2 mana
- Palladium Myr3 mana
- Worn Powerstone3 mana
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mana Vault1 mana
Combos with Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
Known combos from Commander Spellbook that Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter is a piece of, and how many decks list them.
- Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter + Mikaeus, The Unhallowed321 decks
- Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter + Crackdown Construct14 decks
- Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter + Animation Module + Pitiless Plunderer10 decks
- Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter + Haunted One + Honor-Worn Shaku