Stromkirk Captain
Creature — Vampire Soldier
First strike
Other Vampire creatures you control get +1/+1 and have first strike.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Crimson Vow Commander
- Price
- $1.11
- EDHREC rank
- #2942
Stromkirk Captain puts first strike and +1/+1 on every Vampire you control the moment it enters — that's a combat-warping anthem on a two-mana body. It's an auto-include in any Vampire tribal shell, and Strefan, Maurer Progenitor lists run it at over 75% for good reason.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Strefan, Maurer Progenitor
Strefan, Maurer Progenitor wants to attack and convert Blood tokens into free Vampires, and Stromkirk Captain's first strike anthem means those Vampires trade up or don't trade at all — protecting the board state Strefan needs to keep the engine churning.
Edgar Markov
Edgar Markov floods the board with 1/1 Vampire tokens, and Stromkirk Captain turns that wide army into a first-strike wall that punishes any blocker or attacker dumb enough to engage it.
Olivia Voldaren
Olivia Voldaren is already a combat threat, and Stromkirk Captain's first strike buff extends that advantage to the whole team — stolen creatures hit harder and your Vampires survive fights they'd otherwise lose.
Evelyn, the Covetous
Evelyn, the Covetous rewards you for casting Vampires from opponents' libraries, and Stromkirk Captain ensures those stolen Vampires arrive into a board that already has a power boost and evasion in first strike.
Olivia, Crimson Bride
Olivia, Crimson Bride reanimates Vampires and needs them to stay on the battlefield to maintain the aura effect, and Stromkirk Captain's first strike makes those recursive threats harder to profitably block and kill.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Stromkirk Captain earns its keep — Vampire tribal is one of the most-built archetypes in the format, and a two-mana anthem that also leaves a body is exactly what those decks want at every point on the curve. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; tribal synergy decks in those formats don't compete at the speed required, and Stromkirk Captain has never found a home there. Modern is the same story — it's legal, but no competitive Vampire shell has leaned on it when faster, more efficient threats are available. Oathbreaker is the one other format worth mentioning: a Vampire-focused build can absolutely use it, and the lower life totals make that first-strike anthem matter sooner.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.11 cheap tier
At $1.11, Stromkirk Captain sits firmly in budget-staple territory — cheap enough to go into every Vampire build without a second thought. It sees consistent demand across a huge number of Commander decks, so the floor is stable; this isn't a card that's going to crater from reprint anxiety or spike from sudden discovery.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Strefan, Maurer Progenitor
- Edgar Markov
- Olivia Voldaren
- Evelyn, the Covetous
- Olivia, Crimson Bride
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.