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Commander Nexus
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  3. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Command zone

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Legendary Creature — Eldrazi

Kozilek wants a deck that gives up its own cards on purpose to get something back. It also suits a deck that slows the whole table down with rules everyone must follow.

  • Mana cost10 generic
  • Colorless
  • Power / toughness12 / 12
  • RarityMythic

When you cast this spell, draw four cards.

Annihilator 4 (Whenever this creature attacks, defending player sacrifices four permanents of their choice.)

When Kozilek is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles their graveyard into their library.

Build a deck with Kozilek Find it in the app

Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Picked for what they do in Kozilek's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Kozilek'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 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

explain how Kozilek 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 15 Jun 2010

Annihilator abilities trigger and resolve during the declare attackers step. The defending player chooses and sacrifices the required number of permanents before they declare blockers. Any creatures sacrificed this way won't be able to block.

Wizards of the Coast 15 Jun 2010

If a creature with annihilator is attacking a planeswalker, and the defending player chooses to sacrifice that planeswalker, the attacking creature continues to attack. It may be blocked. If it isn't blocked, it simply won't deal combat damage to anything.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Dec 2018

Kozilek's first ability triggers as you cast it, and that ability resolves before the spell itself. It resolves even if the spell is countered.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Kozilek, 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 glossarySacrificeSacrifice decks give up their own creatures, Treasures and other cards on purpose and get something back each time. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you want, is the heart of the deck.Open the Sacrifice pageForced SacrificeMakes opponents sacrifice their own permanents. Because they choose what to lose, it gets around protection and hexproof that ordinary removal cannot touch. Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Living DeathOpen the Forced Sacrifice pageGraveyard HateEmpties graveyards or stops cards from coming back out of them, shutting down decks built on reusing their graveyard. Bojuka Bog, Scavenger Grounds. It answers a whole plan rather than one card: without it, something like Eternal Witness keeps returning the same card all game.Open the Graveyard Hate pageRecursionBrings cards back from the graveyard: to your hand, to the battlefield, or letting them be cast again from where they lie. Eternal Witness, Reanimate, VictimizeOpen the Recursion pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax page