A bit of a win-more, color intensive card, but if you manage to get it to the board in timel you can steal a game or two with it if your opponent doesn't draw appropriate removal. Combine with Bloodpyre Elemental for best results.
SoulReaverDan
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Perfect for a Jund-devour deck.
The_Somnambulist
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This card has huge potential, and it's not too bad for 5 mana.
A few cards I'd like to try with this would be first Malfegor and also maybe Deathbringer Thoctar along with other stuff like that.
Kenji18
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I'm going to spin this a different direction and say Altar of Dementia, and maybe something like Cauldron Haze would work well with this guy. Everything can die twice to the Altar, making Kresh huge. Then he could sac himself to the Altar, essentially doubling the mill (+3) that has already happened.
Does any one still use Spark Elemental? My friend makes fun of me for it.
Guest191090682
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This guy is absolutely sick with Nantuko Husk, Devoted Druid, and Quillspike aggro combos. Include more persist creatures for even more synergy and then throw in the Mageslayer or Soul's Fire.
This is one of Raymond Swanlands best cards. He's by far my favorite artist - Kresh, Violent Ultimatum, Obsidian Fireheart are all amazing looking.
themonkey74
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
He excels as a Commander in EDH games. Kresh followed by a card that kills multiple creatures like Plague Wind, Barter in Blood, or Voidcan win you the game.
HairlessThoctar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy is an EDH HOUSE!
durdent
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Works great with Pyroclasm if your opponent has a lot of weenies in play. Then once Kresh gets huge, you can follow up with Lavalanche to finish the rest of his creatures you weren't able to kill with the 2 damage from 'clasm.
Diabolic combo: play Phyrexian Dreadnought, let it go to the graveyard. You now have a 15/15 behemoth, top it off with a Soul's Fire.
statiefreez
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'd love to see this guy get buffed by Ball Lightning, despite the .1% of it actually happening due to the color intensity.
krissy821
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
With the Combo aboutAltar of Dementia and Cauldron Haze, you can sac Kresh the Bloodbraided (with Persist) then Sac anyother creature with 1 or more Power to Get rid of Kresh's -1/-1 Counter so he can Persist again. Then repeat for each creature. You can actually do it twice for each Creature as long as the creature has high enough Power when you Sac it.
Ex. Sac Kresh, they lose top 3 cards and Kresh persists. Sac Sprouting Thrinax and Kresh is a 5/5 and they lose 3 off the top and Thrinax persists. Sac Kresh for 5 cards off the top and he persists (since the +1/+1 counters get's rid of the -1/-1). Then Sac Thrinax again and Kresh is a 4/4 and they lose 2 cards. Then you get even more uses out of this since the two Thrinax made 6 1/1 saprolings. so Kresh can become a 3/3 again each time you sac a Saproling. So with 3 cards, you can effectively mill out over half your opponents deck, or maybe even the whole thing. I didn't count it all out.
I don't believe the combo with the Altar and Cauldron Haze would operate like that. +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters do not counter each other, so Kresh would still keep the -1/-1 counter on him, even after Thrinax gives him 3 +1/+1 counters. He ends as a +2/+2 but still has all four counters on him, leaving him unable to persist again.
metalevolence
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@twistedNsanity: a friend and I use kresh and thrax as generals for 2 headed giant EDH. Better BFFs you will never find.
@krissy821 Unfortunately that interaction does not work like that. Once you sacrifice Kresh the first time, he persists, but he no longer has the persist ability granted by Cauldron Haze when he returns to the battlefield.
@Dragon23 You're right, and wrong. The combo krissy821 mentioned doesn't work like that because Kresh no longer retains the persist ability when he returns to the battlefield, as mentioned above. However, -1/-1 and +1/+1 counters do cancel each other out. I believe this was a rule change about the time Shadowmoor was released.
DocGodin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
He works unbelievably well in Dragon decks with a lot of devour. My personal favourite combo I had going with him (a number of times), was: Rakka Mar + Dragon Broodmother + Kresh.
Pump out 3/1's to feed to the Dragons, then watch Kresh become a freaking monster.
I want to try him out in a Jund Vamp EDH. I think it would pay off a lot more.
TheLionsMane
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Oddly enough, the only other card with "Bloodbraid", is Bloodbraid Elf, which is, quite obviously, an Elf. It's interesting, because even though Jund is a mindless, destructive, wasteland, or perhaps even because it's a mindless, destructive, wasteland, the people there don't have any prejudices against members of other species. Kresh is a Human, but his subjects are Elves. He really doesn't care.
Also, him plus Brood Warden plus any Eldrazi Spawn generators is a fun combo. Kresh's constant ramping is a really difficult problem, and in a good ramp deck, usually people will be working overtime just to deal with him, and not spend any time trying to stop you from ramping into something like Emrakul or Gelatinous Genesis.
Kresh + Fangren Marauder + Pentavus = big ass creature and tons of life
4wolf359
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy with Mage Slayer has the potential to be one of the the most unfair EDH combos out there. I use typical Jund burn spells and throw out Gift of the Deity on something silly like Jund Hackblade for mass removal. He gets far too big to deal with far too quickly. I've also seen the predictable Force of Savagery, Ball Lightning, and its green clone Groundbreaker, but no mention of Nova Chaser. Just refuse to champion anything, or champion Ball Lightning and save it for later. Only one more cost than the other three, and still economical for a potentially automatic 10-point buff for Kresh.
Gee thanx SoulReaverDan, I had no idea what to do with my Kresh until I came here and read the top rated comment on the page... wow. And now... more random card!!!
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy is a prime removal target. Either they have an answer in hand or quickly lose the game. 4.5/5
KjaK
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you're gonna a commander deck with kresh as your general that's based off of sacing your own creatures then a very useful card to add is Hell's Caretaker , I don't see it in many kresh deck lists and it can be very useful for pumping up kresh and trigger 'enters the battlefield' and 'when this creature dies' abillities.
SAUS3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Play him. Play other fatties/removal spells to kill their fatties. Swing for massive damage. If he dies, meh. He's a solid card that you don't really have to build around. That's why I love him (he was also my first mythic). I'm making a more casual EDH deck with him as the commander. It's basically gonna be a bunch of budget fatties combined with ramp. It's gonna be glorious.
Comments (44)
A few cards I'd like to try with this would be first Malfegor and also maybe Deathbringer Thoctar along with other stuff like that.
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper and Rakka Mar look like good candidates too.
Does any one still use Spark Elemental? My friend makes fun of me for it.
Diabolic combo: play Phyrexian Dreadnought, let it go to the graveyard. You now have a 15/15 behemoth, top it off with a Soul's Fire.
Ex.
Sac Kresh, they lose top 3 cards and Kresh persists.
Sac Sprouting Thrinax and Kresh is a 5/5 and they lose 3 off the top and Thrinax persists.
Sac Kresh for 5 cards off the top and he persists (since the +1/+1 counters get's rid of the -1/-1).
Then Sac Thrinax again and Kresh is a 4/4 and they lose 2 cards. Then you get even more uses out of this since the two Thrinax made 6 1/1 saprolings. so Kresh can become a 3/3 again each time you sac a Saproling.
So with 3 cards, you can effectively mill out over half your opponents deck, or maybe even the whole thing. I didn't count it all out.
@Dragon23 You're right, and wrong. The combo krissy821 mentioned doesn't work like that because Kresh no longer retains the persist ability when he returns to the battlefield, as mentioned above. However, -1/-1 and +1/+1 counters do cancel each other out. I believe this was a rule change about the time Shadowmoor was released.
Rakka Mar + Dragon Broodmother + Kresh.
Pump out 3/1's to feed to the Dragons, then watch Kresh become a freaking monster.
Also, him plus Brood Warden plus any Eldrazi Spawn generators is a fun combo. Kresh's constant ramping is a really difficult problem, and in a good ramp deck, usually people will be working overtime just to deal with him, and not spend any time trying to stop you from ramping into something like Emrakul or Gelatinous Genesis.
"This guy with Mage Slayer has the potential to be one of the the most unfair EDH combos out there."
Have you ever seen a Thromok the Insatiable with a Mage Slayer equipped?"
Bac when I started playing Magic, such a creature would have been utterly impossible. Just imagine this appearing in Legends!!
Btw, I love this artwork much more the the FTV: Legens one. Swanland FTW!
Force of Savagery and Phyrexian Dreadnought are cute tricks, but why just kill off your own creatures when Kresh triggers from anybody's creatures' death. Magus of the Abyss!
the top rated comment on the page... wow. And now... more random card!!!
4.5/5