Rivaz of the Claw
A Rakdos Dragons commander that ramps specifically for Dragons and turns your graveyard into a once-per-turn Dragon casting lane.
Public decks: 1Bracket: Varies
Overview
- Use Rivaz as a dedicated Dragon mana engine to jump from early setup into big fliers ahead of schedule.
- Stock the graveyard with Dragons through looting/discard, then cast one from the yard each turn as steady card advantage.
- Play a midrange-to-battlecruiser game: pressure life totals with evasive threats while using Rakdos removal to keep pace.
- Plan around the exile-on-death clause for graveyard-cast Dragons by choosing when to expose them to blocks and sweepers.
- Typically closes with repeated Dragon casts over multiple turns, leveraging ETB/attack triggers and raw combat damage.
Common lines
- Turn 3 Rivaz, then immediately start converting taps into Dragon mana to deploy a threat while holding up interaction.
- Loot early to put a Dragon in the graveyard, then use Rivaz once per turn to cast it back and keep your hand moving.
- Trade resources with spot removal, then rebuild faster than the table by re-casting a Dragon from the graveyard each turn cycle.
- When a sweeper is likely, prioritize casting from hand or sequence your graveyard-cast Dragon so you still get value before it dies.
Strengths
- Reliable commander-based ramp that specifically supports expensive tribal threats.
- Built-in, repeatable graveyard access that can grind through removal-heavy games.
- Naturally threatening clock through evasive, high-impact creatures and combat pressure.
- Rakdos colors provide solid creature and permanent interaction to clear blockers and answer key pieces.
Weaknesses
- Heavily creature-centric; repeated sweepers can stunt momentum, especially when graveyard-cast Dragons would be exiled on death.
- Graveyard hate can significantly reduce Rivaz's card-advantage engine.
- Rivaz must tap to ramp, so summoning sickness and commander removal slow your key turns.
- Can be a bit mana-hungry and may stumble if early setup (ramp/loot) is disrupted.
Rule zero notes
- This is primarily a combat-oriented Dragons deck with a consistent graveyard-casting engine once Rivaz sticks.
- Call out how much discard/looting and graveyard recursion you run, since it can feel like steady card advantage.
- Mention whether you lean into burst damage payoffs for Dragons (for example, cards like Dragon Tempest) or stay purely combat-focused.
- Be clear about your expected pace: typically midrange/battlecruiser rather than fast combo, unless your list intentionally pushes speed.
Matchups
Best into
- Fair midrange pods that trade resources and give you time to leverage repeated graveyard casts.
- Creature-based tables where big fliers and combat dominance matter.
- Removal-heavy games where your commander lets you rebuild incrementally.
Struggles against
- Fast combo tables that can win before your Dragon turns come online.
- Pods packing heavy graveyard hate as a default part of their interaction suite.
- Frequent board-wipe metas that line up well against creature piles.
FAQ
Is Rivaz more ramp, reanimation, or tribal payoff?
It plays like a mix of all three: a mana dork for Dragons plus a once-per-turn graveyard cast that rewards you for being heavily Dragon-dense.
Do Dragons cast from the graveyard get exiled immediately?
No, they gain a dies trigger that exiles them when they die, so you still get to attack, block, and potentially extract value before they leave.
How do you usually set up the graveyard?
The straightforward plan is looting and discard to put a Dragon into the yard early, then using Rivaz each turn to convert that into a real spell.
What’s the main way the deck closes games?
Most wins come from repeated big Dragon turns that snowball board presence and end the game through combat damage and Dragon ETB/attack pressure.
Do you need to be all-in on Dragons?
You typically want a high Dragon count so both abilities matter often, but you still need a small core of interaction and setup to not get run over.