MagicTheGathering.fyi

Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest

Legendary Creature — Insect Shaman

Flying
Whenever a player sacrifices another permanent, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{B}{G}
Color identity
BG
Rarity
mythic
Set
Secret Lair Drop
Price
$5.48
EDHREC rank
#1706
Buy on TCGplayer
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest card art
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest turns every sacrifice trigger into a board-wide +1/+1 counter pump — one fetch land cracking, one token being eaten, one Basking Broodscale loop — and the board snowballs immediately. The cost is a five-mana legend that does nothing alone, but Szarel, Genesis Shepherd decks have made that trade 76% of the time for good reason.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Szarel, Genesis Shepherd

Szarel, Genesis Shepherd

76.5% of decks · synergy 0.63

Szarel, Genesis Shepherd generates a steady stream of sacrifice fodder from the graveyard, and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest converts every one of those deaths into permanent stats across the whole board — the two cards share the same fuel and pay each other back immediately.

02
Dina, Essence Brewer

Dina, Essence Brewer

64.1% of decks · synergy 0.55

Dina, Essence Brewer wants creatures dying constantly to drain opponents, and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest layers a counter-stacking threat on top of that drain engine so the board gets out of control even when the life-loss damage is being raced.

03
Zask, Skittering Swarmlord

Zask, Skittering Swarmlord

63.4% of decks · synergy 0.55

Zask, Skittering Swarmlord mills and sacrifices insects at a high volume, and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest ensures every insect death contributes to a growing army of increasingly oversized threats.

04
Grist, the Hunger Tide

Grist, the Hunger Tide

59.0% of decks · synergy 0.50

Grist, the Hunger Tide self-mills and sacrifices insects constantly, so Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest rides that flow of sacrifices to pump the board without requiring any additional setup beyond what Grist already demands.

05
Hearthhull, the Worldseed

Hearthhull, the Worldseed

57.4% of decks · synergy 0.44

Hearthhull, the Worldseed produces wide token boards that want to attack, and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest turns the inevitable attrition — blocks, sac outlets, fetch lands — into a counter advantage that keeps the team relevant as the game goes long.

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 Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest lives — sacrifice is one of the format's most common mechanics, opponents crack fetch lands, and a single loop with a free sac outlet can pump an entire board past answerable range before the table can respond. Legacy and Vintage legality is technically real but practically irrelevant; the card is too slow and too parasitic for those formats. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander home worth mentioning if your planeswalker and signature spell generate enough sacrifice fodder, but the 100-card singleton format remains the correct address.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

6,346 decks
Basking BroodscaleMazirek, Kraul Death Priest

Basking BroodscaleMazirek, Kraul Death Priest

Infinite colorless mana; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite +1/+1 counters on creatures you control

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

There's no direct swap that replicates Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest's unique combination of flying, deathtouch, and board-wide counter scaling — Cathars' Crusade hits a similar pump effect but costs more mana and only triggers on creatures entering the battlefield rather than leaving. If the goal is purely growing the team through sacrifice, Skullclamp plus any token-doubler gets more cards in hand while Tend the Pests or Bloodspore Thrinax can plug individual counter-distribution gaps at a lower price point.

Price Context

Current price

$5.48 mid tier

At $5.48, Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest sits in the mid tier — affordable enough that it belongs in any deck that can use it, priced high enough to reflect genuine demand across Szarel, Grist, and Zask builds. Given its role as a near-staple in multiple high-volume archetypes, $5–6 is a stable floor rather than an inflated ceiling.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

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