Kain, Traitorous Dragoon | Illustrated by Russell Dongjun Lu

Kain Highwind, a Dragoon knight from Final Fantasy IV, spends most of the game being mind-controlled by nefarious figures in the shadows. With little warning, he twice abandons your party, helmed by his supposed best friend, Cecil, to deliver valuable treasures to your enemies, and it almost happens a third time, too. The endless Will He, Won’t He? is almost too much to bear.

Still, time spent with Kain is still time well spent. His skill with a spear is unrivaled, and he holds the distinct ability to temporarily vanish from the battlefield entirely, avoiding powerful attacks from foes, only to return with a heck of an attack of his own. If only he could have been free from mind control while in the company of the enemy: his sabotage would have ended the game much faster.

This deck emboldens Kain to do right by you while punishing opponents while he’s under their employ. There will be no splitting of loyalties here.

Jump For Joy

Kain’s a fickle soldier whose loyalty can be bought for a blood price. He gains flying during your turn with his Jump ability, and upon dealing combat damage to an opponent, you draw cards, make tapped Treasure tokens, and lose life equal to his power. Then, your opponent gains control of Kain.

As a commander, Kain’s card design rings true to how he behaves in Final Fantasy IV the video game, where he can attack normally or “jump” to deal extra damage at the cost of a turn cycle. Kain, Traitorous DragoonKain, Traitorous Dragoon follows suit by offering pain and possibilities right away but delays complete gratification until you untap, likely with Kain off fighting for his new lord... perhaps with you in his sights.

There are a few other commanders who pass themselves around the table, though the vast majority of them exist outside mono-black. Yes Man, Personal SecuritronYes Man, Personal Securitron can be used by others but ultimately benefits you the most, which tracks with their white color identity. Slicer, Hired MuscleSlicer, Hired Muscle, Khârn the BetrayerKhârn the Betrayer, and Alexios, Deimos of KosmosAlexios, Deimos of Kosmos do the mono-red thing of coming in fast and coming in hot. The most analogous commander is Vislor TurloughVislor Turlough from the Doctor Who precons, but they offer more choice than Kain, and less pain, in how they operate.

If Kain has his heart set on disloyalty, I wanted to soften the blow as much as possible by leveraging Kain’s feast-and-famine nature at every stage of the game, even when he’s left me for dead.

Weapons Grade

I wanted this deck to focus on two things: maximize my own Kain triggers and extract modest value from those of others. This meant not only bolstering Kain’s power but suiting him up with Equipment to allow me to benefit from attacking under my opponents’ control. Because, lest we forget, if an equipped creature changes controllers, the Equipment cards remain under the control of their owner. Selecting the right weapons proved trickier than I’d anticipated because I didn’t want to necessarily pick Equipment that gave Kain abilities, like hexproof or lifelink, that would become stapled onto Kain himself and thus benefit my opponents. Luckily, there were still plenty of options:

• Lost JitteLost Jitte, Umezawa’s JitteUmezawa’s Jitte, Pip-Boy 3000Pip-Boy 3000, Adaptive OmnitoolAdaptive Omnitool, Dowsing DaggerDowsing Dagger, Sword of the AnimistSword of the Animist, and Anduril, Flame of the WestAnduril, Flame of the West have abilities that send resources my way even when my opponents attack or deal combat damage with Kain.
• Tarrian’s SoulcleaverTarrian’s Soulcleaver, LashwritheLashwrithe, Blackblade ReforgedBlackblade Reforged, Wrecking Ball ArmWrecking Ball Arm, Thran Power SuitThran Power Suit, Cranial PlatingCranial Plating, and NettlecystNettlecyst beef up Kain’s power a significant amount and push him close to, if not well beyond commander damage range.
• Tormentor’s TridentTormentor’s Trident, Assault SuitAssault Suit, and Bloodthirsty BladeBloodthirsty Blade keep Kain swinging.
• Haste is important, but something like Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves or Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots makes it so that when Kain is under someone else’s control, I won’t be able to target him. I chose Hero’s HeirloomHero’s Heirloom, Lavaspur BootsLavaspur Boots, and Sting, the Glinting DaggerSting, the Glinting Dagger instead; plus, Sting ensures Kain is always available for battle.
• SkullclampSkullclamp, because always Skullclamp.

Next, I included a few more effects that would encourage or flat-out mandate combat to keep Kain in motion. Cards like Parasitic ImpetusParasitic Impetus and Vow of MaliceVow of Malice were skipped because they encouraged opponents to blow us out with 2-for-1 trades, and instant-speed effects, like Supernatural StaminaSupernatural Stamina or Fake Your Own DeathFake Your Own Death, felt far too reactive to have much use, the exception being Malakir RebirthMalakir Rebirth for being stapled to a land.

My selections offered either built-in recursion or the ability to be repeated across multiple turns:

• Eye of NidhoggEye of Nidhogg and Ghoulish ImpetusGhoulish Impetus return to hand a la RancorRancor when they hit the graveyard.
• Court of AmbitionCourt of Ambition, Marchesa’s DecreeMarchesa’s Decree, Thorn of the Black RoseThorn of the Black Rose, and Custodi LichCustodi Lich introduce the monarch mechanic and dissuade opponents from coming our way.
• Maddening ImpMaddening Imp and Nettling ImpNettling Imp are slow but goofy ways to demand attacks every turn
• Fungal FortitudeFungal Fortitude resembles the Malakir Rebirths of the world but can be played proactively.

Obviously, the elephant in the room is the fact that opponents can simply swing right back at you with a non-goaded Kain if they so choose, increasing the likelihood that you may die to your own commander. First of all, what a fabulous way to die, but secondly, the deck runs some stoppers that can act as an insurance policy against this tragic-if-not-glorious corner case:

• Homeward PathHomeward Path is the undisputed champion in this domain, though Sanctum of EternitySanctum of Eternity and Mystifying MazeMystifying Maze can grab your toy back if need be. Expedition MapExpedition Map and Urza’s CaveUrza’s Cave can grab them, too.
• Staff of CompleationStaff of Compleation blows Kain up as a last-ditch effort.
• Life gain also hedges our life loss bets, from both Kain’s attacks and when he triggers on our side. Crypt GhastCrypt Ghast, DeathgreeterDeathgreeter, ExsanguinateExsanguinate, Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel, and Vampiric LinkVampiric Link provide enough of a buffer to keep you jumping along (notably, Vampiric Link gains you life even if an opponent controls Kain).

There shouldn’t be any surprises in the stock categories of ramp, card draw, removal, and recursion, though I wanted to call out Ruthless TechnomancerRuthless Technomancer specifically. The card makes great use of tapped Treasure tokens and can return Kain (or Gary) to the battlefield by sacrificing only two artifacts, meaning you could suit Kain up, sacrifice him to Technomancer’s ETB, and still come out ahead. This is an already-ruthless card that plays extra ruthlessly in this deck.

How Does This Kain, Traitorous Dragoon Commander Deck Win?

Assuming you’ve gained a bit of life already, the best way to guarantee your opponents won’t benefit from Kain is to send 21 commander damage at them; Kain can’t defect if there’s nowhere to go. Between the many massive buff effects, the deck shouldn’t have a problem reaching that threshold.

The deck can also whittle away at opponents’ life totals with its many Aristocrats-style effects. Rather than punish opponents for drawing cards with Scrawling CrawlerScrawling Crawler or Underworld DreamsUnderworld Dreams, I decided to focus on Treasure tokens entering or leaving the battlefield to capitalize on additional artifact synergy with the deck’s many Equipment cards. Look to Disciple of the VaultDisciple of the Vault, Al Bhed SalvagersAl Bhed Salvagers, Mirkwood BatsMirkwood Bats, Nadier’s NightbladeNadier’s Nightblade, Marionette ApprenticeMarionette Apprentice, and Marionette MasterMarionette Master to put your opponents within kill range and, in the case of some, gain you a bit of life in the process.

If things start spiraling out of control, there’s always Vorpal SwordVorpal Sword or Revel in RichesRevel in Riches to end the game fairly quickly, or a massive ExsanguinateExsanguinate powered by a plethora of Treasure tokens.

Kain, Traitorous Dragoon Commander Decklist

Conclusion

Though this deck doesn’t contain any game changers (or Sol RingSol Ring, as per my usual deckbuilding restriction), I’d put it at a Bracket 3 power level due to its high level of synergy. It was also built on a modest, not too restrictive budget, though I opted to exclude bangers like Sheoldred, the ApocalypseSheoldred, the Apocalypse and Cabal CoffersCabal Coffers because they reach slightly too far into our wallets. You’ll find a few options for upgrades in the Maybeboard.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this deck, particularly around how much it should lean into politics or if Kain’s ability is too strong and unrestrictive to allow for them. For now, happy hopping, and don’t place too much trust in Kain. He just might break your heart.