MTG players are loving Bloomburrow Rakdos Commander that can cast without mana

The Infamous Cruelclaw is a unique Weasel Commander in MTG, bringing combat tricks and a unique casting method to Rakdos decks in the Bloomburrow set.

The Bloomburrow Commanders revealed as part of Magic: The Gathering’s official spoiler season have been a varied lot. Frogs and Bats have had a good showing, bringing a distinct identity to both of these animal factions.

Now, in a unique addition Bloomburrow’s draftable Creature factions, The Infamous Cruelclaw is a Weasel mercenary that can be recruited to any MTG deck running Rakdos colors. Bloomburrow’s Rakdos faction is the fire-focused Lizards, but Cruelclaw fits right into their discard-based gameplay.

WotC

The Infamous Cruelclaw, Weasel Mercenary from MTG Bloomburrow

The Infamous Cruelclaw is a 3/3 Creature that can be cast for 1BR. With decent stats for the early game as well as Menace, Cruelclaw will be swinging into opponents as often as possible.

Packing a combat trick like Menace is necessary to ensure that The Infamous Cruelclaw can deal combat damage to players without being blocked. When it does so, you exile cards from the top of your deck until you hit a nonland permanent.

Rather than casting this card for free – as would be the case with abilities like Cascade and Discover – Cruelclaw nonetheless allows you to play it without paying mana, as long as you discard a card of your choice.

MTG players have quickly grown fond of this card’s style. As one player on Reddit mentioned in regards to Cruelclaw’s name: “Feels more… dunno, swashbuckler-y? Like, he’s the one telling you he’s infamous, or the way he’d be called in a storybook.”

Other players were more focused on The Infamous Cruelclaw’s potential power: “Woah, that’s an aggressive free cost effect.”

Casting without expending mana is almost always a game-changing ability, allowing you to out-resource opponents with ease. While The Infamous Cruelclaw’s stats won’t always allow it to attack as the game progresses – at least without boosts – it can be an invaluable early tool for racing ahead of other players.