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Commander Nexus
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  3. Kentaro, the Smiling Cat

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Kentaro, the Smiling Cat

Kentaro, the Smiling Cat

Legendary Creature — Human Samurai

Kentaro wants a deck that is built around one creature type, like Elves or Dragons. It also works in a deck built around Humans or Samurai.

  • Mana cost1 genericwhite
  • White ()
  • Power / toughness2 / 1
  • RarityRare

Bushido 1 (Whenever this creature blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)

You may pay X rather than pay the mana cost for Samurai spells you cast, where X is that spell's mana value.

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Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Kentaro, the Smiling Cat

Picked for what they do in Kentaro's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Kentaro's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Kentaro, the Smiling Cat

explain how Kentaro works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 1 Feb 2005

Kentaro doesn’t change when you can cast Samurai. It just makes Samurai castable for generic mana.

Wizards of the Coast 1 Feb 2005

Kentaro’s ability only applies while Kentaro is on the battlefield. You have to pay for Kentaro normally. It still costs {1}{W}.

2 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Kentaro, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWPlayers write colors as letters: W for white.Typal/KindredTypal 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 tribal.Open the Typal/Kindred pageTypal PayoffRewards you for playing lots of one kind of creature. That includes "lords" that make every other Goblin or Merfolk you control bigger, and cards that ask you to choose a creature type and then pay you off for it. A creature type is the word on the middle line of the card, like Goblin, Elf or Zombie.Open the Typal Payoff pageSamuraiSamurai are mostly white and red, and many have bushido, which makes them bigger when they block or are blocked. Some reward a creature for attacking alone.Open the Samurai pageAlternative CostLets you cast a spell by paying some other cost instead of its mana cost, like life, a card from your hand, or nothing at all.Open the Alternative Cost page