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  3. Kozilek, the Great Distortion

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Kozilek, the Great Distortion

Kozilek, the Great Distortion

Legendary Creature — Eldrazi

Kozilek wants a deck that throws away its own cards on purpose for a reward. It also suits a deck that answers everything its opponents play, then wins late.

  • Mana cost8 genericcolorlesscolorless
  • Colorless
  • Power / toughness12 / 12
  • RarityMythic

When you cast this spell, if you have fewer than seven cards in hand, draw cards equal to the difference.

Menace

Discard a card with mana value X: Counter target spell with mana value X.

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Themes

Cards That Fit Kozilek, the Great Distortion

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, the Great Distortion

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 22 Jan 2016

If there's an {X} in the mana cost of the card you discard, that X is 0. Any {X} in the mana cost of the target spell will have whatever value was determined for it as the spell was cast.

Wizards of the Coast 22 Jan 2016

Kozilek's triggered ability checks to see if you have fewer than seven cards in hand when you cast it. Kozilek is on the stack at this time and not in your hand. If you don't, the ability won't trigger at all. If the ability does trigger, it will check again as it tries to resolve. If you have seven or more cards in hand at that time, the ability won't do anything.

Wizards of the Coast 22 Jan 2016

The mana value of a spell doesn't change, even if it's been cast using an alternative cost (such as an awaken cost). For example, the mana value of a Sheer Drop (a spell with mana cost {2}{W}) that's been cast for its awaken cost of {5}{W} is 3.

Wizards of the Coast 22 Jan 2016

To activate the last ability, there must be a legal target: a spell on the stack. That target will determine the value of X and the mana value of the card you discard. You can't activate the ability unless you can match the mana value of a spell on the stack to that of a card in your hand.

4 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 glossaryMadness/DiscardDiscard decks throw away their own cards on purpose and play cards that reward each discard. Cards with madness can even be cast for a different, usually cheaper, cost at the moment you discard them.Open the Madness/Discard pageLootingDraws and discards in the same breath. Faithless Looting, Frantic Search. It does not gain you cards. It improves the ones you have, and fills your graveyard on purpose, which is exactly what a reanimator card like Animate Dead wants.Open the Looting pageSelf-DiscardDiscards your own cards as a cost or an effect. Filling your own graveyard on purpose is the point: it feeds cards that bring things back, madness and channel abilities, and some cards are worth more there than in hand. Faithless Looting, Boseiju, Who EnduresOpen the Self-Discard pageControlControl decks answer what everyone else plays, stopping spells and removing dangerous cards, then win slowly once they are in charge. Expect lots of removal, spells that cancel other spells, and extra card draw.Open the Control pageCounterspell - HardCancels a spell outright, with no way for its caster to pay to save it. The most reliable kind of counterspell. CounterspellOpen the Counterspell - Hard pageCounterspellCancels a spell or ability while it is waiting on the stack, so it never takes effect. The countered spell goes to its owner's graveyard without doing anything. CounterspellOpen the Counterspell pageStack InteractionActs while a spell is waiting to take effect: countering it, changing what it targets, or copying it. When someone casts a spell it waits on the stack, and every player gets priority, a chance to respond, before it happens. Counterspell, NegateOpen the Stack Interaction page