Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
Legendary Creature — Shapeshifter
Hexproof
Whenever a creature card is put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, you may have Lazav become a copy of that card, except its name is Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, it's legendary in addition to its other types, and it has hexproof and this ability.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BU
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Zendikar Rising Commander
- Price
- $0.74
- EDHREC rank
- #6605
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind turns every creature an opponent mills into a potential identity theft — he copies the best thing in any graveyard the moment it lands there, which means he gets stronger the more mill you run. The cost is that he needs milling to be your deck's thesis, not a side theme; in slower tables where graveyards stay empty, he's a vanilla 3/3 for four.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Anowon, the Ruin Thief
Anowon, the Ruin Thief mills every opponent on every successful rogue attack, which means Lazav, Dimir Mastermind has a fresh menu of creatures to copy every combat step — the two cards form a self-sustaining engine where attacking fills the graveyard and Lazav upgrades himself off the result.
Xanathar, Guild Kingpin
Xanathar, Guild Kingpin lets you play the top card of opponents' libraries, and anything you can't use goes to the graveyard — Lazav, Dimir Mastermind is there to immediately absorb whatever high-value creature hits the bin.
Phenax, God of Deception
Phenax, God of Deception mills in bulk at instant speed, which is exactly the condition Lazav, Dimir Mastermind needs to become a shapeshifting threat; the more toughness your creatures have, the faster Lazav finds something worth copying.
Saruman of Many Colors
Saruman of Many Colors rewards you for casting multiple spells and naturally inclines the deck toward UB value, where Lazav, Dimir Mastermind slots in as a resilient threat that gets better the more interaction disrupts opponents' creatures into graveyards.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Lazav, Dimir Mastermind actually lives — four mana, hexproof, and the ability to become any creature an opponent mills is a strong role-player in dedicated mill strategies, and he scales directly with the power level of your opponents' decks. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer, he's legal but rarely seen; four mana is too slow to matter in formats where threats resolve and win by turn three or four, and there's no critical mass of self-mill to make his copy ability consistent. Vintage has the power level for his effect to be interesting in theory, but the format's pace works against him the same way. Oathbreaker is a reasonable home if you build around mill spells as your signature, though his impact there is table-dependent. Bottom line: if you're not in Commander, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind doesn't have a natural home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.74 bulk tier
At $0.74, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind is bulk, which is accurate for a legendary that requires specific deck architecture to function. Copies are plentiful and the price is unlikely to move unless a new mill commander pushes him into wider rotation.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.