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Commander Nexus
  1. Commander Nexus
  2. Archetypes
  3. Typal/Kindred
Typal/Kindred artwork

Typal/Kindred

decks are built around one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, with cards that make that type stronger. The type is printed after the dash on the card's type line, and the strategy is also called kindred or .

  • KindArchetype
  • Cards1,291
  • Good first deck?Yes

Pick a creature type you love (Dragons, Cats, Zombies) and fill your deck with it. They all make each other stronger.

An archetype is a whole game plan: the way a deck tries to win.

Find these cards in the app Commanders with this archetype

How it plays

You pick one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, and fill the deck with it. cards (also called ) make every creature of that type cheaper, bigger or better, so each creature you play helps every other one.

How it wins

By attacking with a whole tribe that keeps growing. A lord, a creature that gives all your Elves +1/+1, turns eight small creatures into a big army, and the tribe's own tricks finish the job.

What beats it

A , which hits every creature you own. Cards that name a creature type and punish it, or stop that type from attacking, are rare but exact.

If this is your first deck

A great first deck. Pick a type you love, buy the cards, and the deck builds itself. Every card tells you what it does for the tribe.

Commanders to Start With

The most played commanders where Typal/Kindred is one of their two main plans, in order from EDHREC, a site that counts the Commander decks players post online.

Example Cards

Typal (short for Kindred)A card type for cards that care about one creature type, like Elf or Faerie. A Kindred card has creature types even though it is not a creature. Wizards of the Coast renamed it from "Tribal" in 2024, so older cards and articles may use the old name. Players also call a deck built around one creature type a kindred deck.BitterblossomOpen the full glossaryTribalThe old name for Kindred, a card type for cards that care about one creature type. Wizards of the Coast renamed it in 2024, but players still call a deck built around one creature type, like Elves or Zombies, a tribal deck.Crib SwapOpen the full glossaryKindredA card type for cards that care about one creature type, like Elf or Faerie. A Kindred card has creature types even though it is not a creature. Wizards of the Coast renamed it from "Tribal" in 2024, so older cards and articles may use the old name. Players also call a deck built around one creature type a kindred deck.BitterblossomOpen the full glossaryBoard WipeA spell that destroys or removes most or all creatures at once, resetting the battlefield for everyone. Also called a sweeper or a wrath.Open the full glossary