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Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

Legendary Creature — Bird Wizard

Flying
When Derevi enters and whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may tap or untap target permanent.
{1}{G}{W}{U}: Put Derevi onto the battlefield from the command zone.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{G}{W}{U}
Color identity
GUW
Rarity
mythic
Set
Magic Online Promos
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#2825
Buy on TCGplayer
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician card art
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician is one of the most powerful tap/untap engines in Commander — every creature or flyer connecting with an opponent lets you tap down blockers or untap your mana rocks for free. The real edge is the alternate command zone ability: paying four mana to put Derevi directly onto the battlefield bypasses commander tax entirely, making it nearly impossible to keep off the table, which is why it slots into stax shells alongside Emiel the Blessed and anchors the top of lists helmed by Thrasios, Triton Hero // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Thrasios, Triton HeroYoshimaru, Ever Faithful

Thrasios, Triton Hero // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

71.7% of decks · synergy 0.66

Thrasios, Triton Hero // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful runs Derevi, Empyrial Tactician as a central piece of the untap-into-infinite-mana engine — Derevi's triggered untaps feed into the mana generation that Thrasios converts into card draw and eventually a win.

02
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

51.5% of decks · synergy 0.48

Sisay, Weatherlight Captain can tutor Derevi, Empyrial Tactician directly onto the battlefield, and Derevi's untap triggers give Sisay immediate payoff by generating the mana needed to keep activating the tutor chain.

03
Choco, Seeker of Paradise

Choco, Seeker of Paradise

45.1% of decks · synergy 0.40

Choco, Seeker of Paradise leans on Derevi, Empyrial Tactician for the same reason most creature-combat-heavy Bant commanders do — reliable untap triggers translate directly into mana advantage and battlefield control every combat step.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Derevi, Empyrial Tactician lives and where its design is most consequential — the commander tax bypass alone makes it uniquely resilient compared to any other four-mana legendary creature. In Legacy and Vintage, Derevi is technically legal but sees essentially no play; the formats move too fast for a four-mana creature that needs board presence to generate value. Oathbreaker is legal as a planeswalker-adjacent format, but again the card's strengths are Commander-specific and don't translate. The bottom line: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician is a Commander card through and through, and if you're building around it, that's the only format that matters.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Derevi, Empyrial Tactician isn't available at the moment, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate before buying. Historically it has fluctuated based on reprint availability, so verifying before purchase is worth the thirty seconds.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.