Kokusho, the Evening Star
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Kokusho, the Evening Star

Legendary Creature — Dragon Spirit

Flying

When Kokusho, the Evening Star is put into a graveyard from play, each opponent loses 5 life. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.

Recommendations View more recommendations

seshiro_of_the_orochi on Shadowheart/Acolyte of Bahamut

5 days ago

The fact that this is a Golgari dragons list that looks pretty intimidating is already worth an upvote. Awesome idea! Kokusho, the Evening Star is an obvious upgrade, but is pretty expensive. Two other ideas are Belbe's Portal and Cryptic Gateway

scotchtapedsleeves on Marchezzy says "Goonies Never Die!"

1 week ago

Welcome to the Cult of Marchesa!

I definitely agree that this deck doesn't have enough sac outlets. When other players start to realize the gameplan, they'll be removing every outlet they see. It's important to keep well stocked!

Add:

  • Greater Gargadon is absolutely fantastic, opponents can't interact with it until it hits the field and by then you'll have drawn another outlet... hopefully.

  • Viscera Seer is a must, you need all the 1 drop outlets you can get.

  • Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is incredible. Free sac outlet that draws you cards AND is removal? Don't mind if I do.

  • Trophy Mage is an easy tutor for both Ashnod's and Phyrexian altar. I run Altar of Dementia instead of Phyrexian altar, so I run Trinket Mage instead of trophy. This also helps me get out my 2 drop mana rocks in a pinch.

Subtract:

  • Falkenrath Aristocrat has never hit for me, 4 mana for a flying outlet is fine, but she's never done well for me.

  • Scorn-Blade Berserker is fine, but think of the timing their effect will be applied on. If you're sacrificing it for Marchesa, it'll be coming back on that end step. If you want to take advantage of backup, you'd have to sac the backed-up creature during that end step. Ideally we want to avoid doing this as you won't have that creature for the whole next turn.

You mentioned that your partner was constantly being left with no blockers for opponent's combat. That's a difficult line to tread, generally Marchesa isn't enormously aggro although it might seem that way. Your goal is to abuse ETB and LTB triggers for maximum value, swinging with creatures only if you have a sac outlet to reset them for the next person's turn.

Add:

  • Kardur, Doomscourge can help with this massively as opponents won't be able to attack you for the next cycle. If he stays around until your next turn you can "flicker" him to goad everyone again!

  • Reef Worm is a pet card of mine, it can generate a huge amount of bodies if you have a Thran Vigil or Uncivil Unrest out. Fantastic sacrifice fodder even if it doesn't have a counter on it

  • Triskelion. You're playing Mikaeus, might as well finish up the combo

  • Imposter Mech is quickly becoming my favourite card. Once you have Marchesa out you generally don't want to attack with her, so you can use her to crew this every turn! Last game I cast it I copied an Avacyn, Angel of Hope to give you an idea of the bonkers stuff you can pull off with it

Subtract:

  • Gray Merchant of Asphodel Generally you don't want to be gaining life in this deck as you want to stay the dethrone target as long as possible. I've died a few times to my own hubris by not including lifegain, but the small amounts you'd be gaining with Gary in a Grixis deck don't make him worth it for me. Special exception to Kokusho, the Evening Star as 15 lifegain is backbreaking for your opponents.

That just about wraps up my thoughts, Marchesa can be pretty complex to play so feel free to reach out if you or your partner have any questions! Like I said, I don't generally play too aggro with my deck. Generally once opponents figure out what's going on you'll be getting a lot of removal thrown your way, but Marchesa is a super sticky commander, she won't leave if you don't want her too. Don't forget to sac in response to removal!

nindude on Ratadrabik of Urborg

1 week ago

Deck Updates

These are changes based on game testing and new cards I think will improve the deck significantly. My goals are to increase the synergy but also the flow of the deck.

Cards I took out: - Athreos, God of Passage / I prefer creatures in the graveyard - Liesa, Forgotten Archangel / I prefer creatures in the graveyard - Syr Konrad, the Grim / Doesn't trigger enough for my taste - Wrath of God / I've noticed that board whipping is less effective than I thought in this deck and out of both Damnation Will be easier to cast with our mana production - Dictate of Erebos / As good as this card is Grave Pact does it for less. Additionally, I have never used its flash ability

Cards I put in: - Archaeomancer's Map / Better ramp - Blade of Selves / Myriad is crazy in this deck and can lead to quick victories or even infinite combos (which usually lead to victory) - Mondrak, Glory Dominus / This card is WAY TOO GOOD in this deck. It double tokens! It's a sacrifice outlet that makes it indestructible!! Also it combos infinitely with Blade of Selves and Ratadrabik of Urborg - Boromir, Warden of the Tower / This card alone is really good but it combos infinitely with Ratadrabik of Urborg and can be a powerful combo with cards like Grave Pact and Proper Burial - Gandalf the White / Double death triggers means double tokens with Ratadrabik of Urborg or quick wins with cards like Kokusho, the Evening Star

Things to change in the Future - Currently trying to fit "Samwise the Southearted" and "The Golden Throne" into the deck for a few additional mana combos / stabilize the mana production. - I might try to fit in "Dictate of Erebos" if possible...

fluffyeel on Leeching Cotton: Oloro's Couch

2 months ago

Some thoughts:

SufferFromEDHD on Henzie and the big creatures

3 months ago

Archon of Cruelty > Atarka, World Render

Kokusho, the Evening Star > Ancient Brass Dragon

Clone Shell > Chandra's Ignition

Birds of Paradise > Elves of Deep Shadow

Greenwarden of Murasa > Bala Ged Recovery

Myth Unbound > Midnight Reaper

Goblin Bombardment > Ghoulcaller Gisa

Fatal Grudge > Daemogoth Woe-Eater

Kolaghan's Command > Fire Covenant

SufferFromEDHD on Whisper - Endless Sacrifice

4 months ago

Kokusho, the Evening Star value.

Demonic Collusion feeds the yard while searching for solutions.

Thousand-Year Elixir speed up the clock.

Flarhoon13 on Lazav and Gyruda (Companion): Doom Mind

4 months ago

Lazav had such a good day. He got to be a Champion of Rhonas, cheating out a Kokusho, the Evening Star then, in the same attack, becoming an Old Gnawbone. Seven treasures made but exerted, he then got to enjoy the power of being Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, so, getting to be relevant while tapped and exerted. He got a whiff of what it would be like to be an Emrakul, the Promised End but even though that was not meant to be, Lazav ended the game happy; content in sacrificing other creatures for significant benefit, especially Kairi, the Swirling Sky

Tur on Hidden Power - Mono-Color - …

8 months ago

Hello everyone! This will be a forum post for a "Commander - Hidden Power" series. My goal is to show relatively inexpensive cards which are often overlooked by commander players in semi-competitive and casual play. (This post is not designed for competitive play.) If you enjoy the topic, please upvote the post or provide positive feedback and I will consider creating similar posts.

The powerful cards I plan on discussing are mono-color cards which are strong with big mana in commander.

I will provide one card per mono-color identity. These cards will not include x-spells nor multi-color identity spells. (I.e. no Torment of Hailfire nor Zacama, Primal Calamity)

It is obvious that big mana is a huge part of semi-competitive play. Whether it is from ramping through creatures, artifacts, enchantments, instants, sorceries, or lands. Big mana is pretty fun. Mana doubling effects from lands are especially useful. In this article, I'll be focusing on mana doubling from lands, but other ways to generate big mana are always possible

Here are some common big mana effects for each mono-color identity:

This is not an all inclusive list as Mana Flare, Heartbeat of Spring, Keeper of Progenitus, Sword of Feast and Famine, et cetera would work just as well. In each mono-color identity the artifacts Caged Sun, Gauntlet of Power, and Extraplanar Lens can be used, however the black and green color identities have an advantage for mono-color double mana effects. Furthermore, green contains cards such as Seedborn Muse, Awakening, and Wilderness Reclamation which allow for more interactions.

Well, let us begin in WUBRG order!

White: Sacred Mesa

This card is relatively unused. According to EDHREC, Sacred Mesa is played in 1511/849227 (0%) decklists and is under one dollar. You'd be surpized how powerful this card is with double mana. Imagine making some number of pegasus at instant speed as either blockers or attackers for your next turn. (The upkeep cost can be paid by making a summoning sick pegasus during your turn.) Not to mention power and toughness buffing effects are ideal with Sacred Mesa, examples include Dictate of Heliod, Cathars' Crusade, Caged Sun, or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite.

It is often compared to Luminarch Ascension because they have similar effects. Yes, it makes a 4/4 angel instead of a 1/1 pegasus.

However, Luminarch Ascension has many downsides:

  • You have to have four quest counters to use the ability. (That is, you have to not lose life during an opponents turn four times.) This creates a huge target on your life total and you'll see it surely chip away.
  • Bounce effects, such as Cyclonic Rift really mess it up. Welcome back to square one!
  • Common cards, such as Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider prevent quest counters from even occurring. Vampire Hexmage or Hex Parasite are also options to remove the counters.

Sacred Mesa is way more versatile and does not have such downsides. Not to mention is it only three mana, ideal for Sun Titan recursion.

Blue: Compulsion

It is very rare to see this wonderful card. According to EDHREC, Compulsion is played in 1000/945324 (0%) decklists and is under one dollar. Having an activated draw ability with very little downside on a blue enchantment is insane. Ideal when paired with Teferi's Ageless Insight or Thought Reflection. There are a few cards which have a similar effect, such as Triskaidekaphile or Kefnet the Mindful without having to discard a card, but having a two mana activation is much more versatile. I suppose that an argument could be made with Training Grounds, but that is too much just to make the Kefnet the Mindful ability more cost effective. Furthermore, discarding a specific card like Echo of Eons, Wonder, or a shuffle Eldrazi such as Kozilek, Butcher of Truth has some nice synergy. (In fact, it should be played in most bant enchantress decks, such as the commander Tuvasa the Sunlit. Replenish for life!)

Black: Chainer, Dementia Master

This is a wonderful card, but a little pricey compared to the previous two cards. According to EDHREC, Chainer, Dementia Master is played in 6344/983251 (1%) decklists and is approximately ten dollars. Yes, we all know that you can abuse Chainer, Dementia Master with Gray Merchant of Asphodel or Kokusho, the Evening Star with sacrifice outlets such as Phyrexian Altar. Suppose we don't want to abuse this card into the ground is it still just good card? Yes. We can fill up or graveyard with Buried Alive or Entomb and get back a creature card, or we can grab a creature card from an opponents graveyard. It can also be used to interrupt graveyard combos, such as Aristocrats by using the ability on an opponents Butcher Ghoul with the undying trigger on the stack.

Red: Scourge of Kher Ridges

An extremely powerful and undervalued card. According to EDHREC, Scourge of Kher Ridges is played in 1005/912333 (0%) decklists and is under three dollars. If you're able to untap with Sourge of Kher Ridges and double mana, your opponents are going to have a rough time. As you can put multiple activations on the stack, it provides you with a very high on-board presence. Even within a response to removal. I've heard players complain that Scourge of Kher Ridges dies too quick to removal and my answer is "from your opponents perspective it needs to die before you're able to untap". Ideal with lifelink (and deathtouch) equipment such as Basilisk Collar or Shadowspear.

Green: Kamahl, Fist of Krosa

Typically unseen in play. According to EDHREC, Kamahl, Fist of Krosa is played in 4786/880991 (1%) decklists and is approximately five dollars. It is odd how unused Kamahl, Fist of Krosa is compared to Ezuri, Renegade Leader when they basically have the same effect. Overrun as an activated ability which is stackable multiple times. I agree that Ezuri, Renegade Leader is better in elf tribal decks, however Kamahl, Fist of Krosa is great in most big mana decks. Ideal for wide aggro. Tall aggro will gain the benefit of trample. If you don't have extra creatures you can animate your lands as 1/1 attackers, correction 7/7 attackers. (Pretty interesting because these attackers get around Cyclonic Rift, they're lands.) You can also get some payback by animating your opponents lands in response to a creature board wipe. (From that reasoning it can be paired with cards such as Ascendant Evincar and Crovax, Ascendant Hero to destroy opponents lands through animation.)

All in all, these are relatively unused cards which have a lot hidden power with big mana. If your deck is mono-colored and designed for big mana spells or abilities, think about giving these cards a chance. See if they work well for you and your playgroup.

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