Kastral, the Windcrested
Legendary Creature — Bird Scout
Flying
Whenever one or more Birds you control deal combat damage to a player, choose one —
• You may put a Bird creature card from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield with a finality counter on it.
• Put a +1/+1 counter on each Bird you control.
• Draw a card.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- UW
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Bloomburrow
- Price
- $0.36
- EDHREC rank
- #4460
Kastral, the Windcrested lands as a 4/4 flying vigilance body that draws you a card whenever another Bird enters the battlefield under your control — a passive engine that compounds fast in any dedicated Bird build. The four-mana cost is honest for what you get, and in Choco, Seeker of Paradise decks it's close to mandatory.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Choco, Seeker of Paradise
Choco, Seeker of Paradise puts Birds into play at a pace that turns Kastral, the Windcrested into a draw engine — 85% of Choco decks run it, and that inclusion rate reflects how quickly the card-advantage snowballs when your commander is already flooding the board with fliers.
Kangee, Sky Warden
Kangee, Sky Warden wants every Bird that pulls double duty, and Kastral, the Windcrested delivers — a lord-sized body with vigilance that replaces itself every time the flock grows.
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician's tap-and-untap game is full of creatures entering and attacking, and Kastral, the Windcrested slots in as a flying threat that keeps the hand stocked through all that activity.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Kastral, the Windcrested is a Commander card through and through — the Bird tribal payoff it provides only compounds in a 100-card singleton format where you have room to run every quality Bird and enough games to see the draw trigger fire repeatedly. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern or Pioneer, tribal synergies need to close games by turn four, and a four-mana 4/4 that draws cards incrementally doesn't clear that bar when faster, more focused payoffs exist. Standard gives it a fair shot if a critical mass of cheap Birds is in the format, but the payoff is still slow for an aggro shell. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters — the power ceiling there leaves Kastral far behind.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.36 bulk tier
At $0.36, Kastral, the Windcrested is bulk — easy to pick up as a four-of or a casual staple without any real financial commitment. Bulk rares with narrow tribal applications rarely climb unless the tribe gets a breakout standard-legal push, so treat this as a cheap pickup for the decks that want it, not a spec.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Choco, Seeker of Paradise
- Kangee, Sky Warden
- Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.