Syr Konrad, the Grim – MTG Throne of Eldraine Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

I’m fascinated by the sheer number of things that trigger Syr Konrad’s ability. It bodes very well for his prospects in casual formats, because it multiplies the number of combo decks and interactions he can be part of. There are obvious synergies with common black strategies revolving around sacrificing and self-milling, but I also noticed that he punishes your opponents for trying to weaken your Mortivores with graveyard hate. Although there’s probably a little too much midrange competition in Standard for him to be a top-tier card, a properly constructed deck in larger casual settings will devastate people in frightening ways.

Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5

Syr Konrad is a pretty interesting card to think about, and he can add up to a lot of damage if he’s left unchecked. He offers a way for mill decks to win without simply emptying libraries (and self-mill also doesn’t mind Syr Konrad, since he cares about creatures hitting the graveyard from anywhere), and he can even enable it himself with a slow milling effect. Add to that a passable body, and he can definitely do a lot of damage in the right set-up. He is five mana with no real protection, though, and that can be a problem when going into Standard and environments with far more abundant removal than he’d like to see, since his own death doesn’t ping anyone.

He’s intriguing, to be sure. I don’t think he gets there in Standard; he’s too clunky, wins the game a bit too slowly, and folds to a lot of things, but casual formats and Commander can have a field day with him. And he’s a good threat in Limited, between the Knight support and just his inherently pressure-generating presence.

Constructed: 2.75
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander: 3.75