Kenrith
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[[Kenrith, the Returned King]] is one of the most versatile commanders in cEDH, with a suite of activated abilities that make him a flexible tool in any situation. His five-color identity allows access to every card in Magic, while his activated abilities offer recursion, card draw, ramp, and even lifegain. Whether as a control commander or the centerpiece of a midrange deck, [[Kenrith, the Returned King]] offers the flexibility to adapt to any meta and game state.
The two primary builds of Kenrith are Control and Midrange:
Control: Focuses on heavy interaction and using [[Kenrith, the Returned King]] to grind value while disrupting opponents.
Midrange: Combines proactive ramp and explosive combo lines with [[Kenrith, the Returned King]] acting as a versatile value engine and combo piece.
Core Gameplan
Control Kenrith
The Control version of [[Kenrith, the Returned King]] emphasizes slowing the game down through interaction while leveraging Kenrith’s abilities to grind incremental value. This build is a toolbox deck that reacts to the table while setting up win conditions over time.
Disrupt Opponents: Use interaction ([[Swords to Plowshares]], [[Force of Negation]], [[Deflecting Swat]]) to dismantle opponents’ strategies.
Grind Value: Leverage [[Kenrith, the Returned King]]’s abilities to draw cards, reanimate creatures, or grow your board state.
Win Through Resilience: Use infinite mana combos or value loops to close out the game at a controlled pace.
Midrange Kenrith
The Midrange version of Kenrith aims to accelerate the board state with fast mana and ramp while executing explosive combos. The deck balances interaction and proactive strategies to close games quickly.
Ramp Quickly: Use cards like [[Bloom Tender]] and [[Fellwar Stone]] to accelerate mana production.
Assemble Combos: Use tutors ([[Demonic Tutor]], [[Green Sun's Zenith]]) to find pieces of infinite mana combos or other win conditions.
Explode and Win: Leverage Kenrith's abilities to draw cards and deploy infinite mana win conditions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Flexibility: [[Kenrith, the Returned King]] can adapt to almost any game state due to his broad range of abilities.
Resilience: Access to recursion and lifegain makes Kenrith hard to grind out of a game.
Powerful Card Pool: Five-color identity gives access to the best cards in Magic.
Weaknesses
Mana-Hungry: Kenrith’s abilities are expensive, requiring a robust mana base.
Susceptible to Stax: Cards like [[Drannith Magistrate]] and [[Collector Ouphe]] can shut down critical elements of the deck.
Vulnerable to Interaction: Heavy reliance on [[Kenrith, the Returned King]] can leave the deck vulnerable to removal.
Combos
[[Underworld Breach]] + [[Brain Freeze]] + [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]
Cast [[Underworld Breach]] (requires [[symbol:1]] [[symbol:r]]).
Cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and sacrifice it for [[symbol:u]] [[symbol:u]] [[symbol:u]].
Escape [[Brain Freeze]] targeting yourself to mill your deck.
Continue looping [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and [[Brain Freeze]] until you mill your library win with [[Thassa’s Oracle]] or deck your opponents with [[Brain Freeze]].
[[Thassa’s Oracle]] + [[Demonic Consultation]] or [[Tainted Pact]]
Cast [[Thassa’s Oracle]] ([[symbol:1]] [[symbol:u]]).
Respond to the ETB trigger with [[Demonic Consultation]] ([[symbol:b]]) or [[Tainted Pact]] ([[symbol:1]] [[symbol:b]]).
Exile your library to win.
Things to keep in mind when winning with [[Thassa's Oracle]]:
If you have an [[Esper Sentinel]] or [[Kraum, Ludevic's Opus]] in play, your opponents can cast spells to force you to draw from an empty library with the [[Thassa's Oracle]] trigger on the stack. Make sure to remove these creature's before comboing or leave a couple of cards in your library with [[Tainted Pact]].
Removing [[Thassa's Oracle]] before the trigger resolves does not stop your win if you have an empty library even if you have 0 devotion to blue because your devotion must "greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library"
If you think your opponents don't have a creature counterspell you can cast [[Demonic Consultation]] or [[Tainted Pact]] before [[Thassa's Oracle]] to trick them into not countering the spell. This is more dangerous, however, because if they counter your [[Thassa's Oracle]] you'll have no library and lose the game on your next turn.
[[Devoted Druid]] + [[Machine God’s Effigy]]
Cast [[Machine God’s Effigy]] and copy [[Devoted Druid]].
Tap the [[Machine God’s Effigy]] clone of [[Devoted Druid]] for [[symbol:infinity-u]][[symbol:infinity-g]] by repeatedly untapping it (the copy isn’t a creature so it does not die from -1/-1 counters).
Use Kenrith to draw your deck and execute a win condition or force your opponents to draw until they draw from an empty library.
[[Warren Soultrader]] + [[Chatterfang, Squirrel General]]
Cast [[Warren Soultrader]] and [[Chatterfang, Squirrel General]].
Sacrifice a creature other than [[Chatterfang, Squirrel General]] to [[Warren Soultrader]]’s ability, creating 1 Treasure and 1 Squirrel token.
Sacrifice the Squirrel token to create 1 Treasure and 1 Squirrel token.
Repeat to create as many Treasure tokens as your life total permits.
Use the Treasure Tokens to draw cards with [[Kenrith, the Returned King]]’s draw ability or execute another combo.
Win Conditions
Infinite Mana + Kenrith:
Activate Kenrith to draw your deck and force opponents to draw their decks until they die from drawing from an empty library. You can respond to any game action they take with more draw activations.
[[Underworld Breach]] + [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] + [[Brain Freeze]]:
Mill your library with [[Brain Freeze]].
Recast [[Brain Freeze]] using [[Underworld Breach]] to mill opponents.
[[Thassa’s Oracle]] + [[Demonic Consultation]] or [[Tainted Pact]]:
Exile your library and win with the [[Thassa’s Oracle]] trigger.
Combat Damage:
Use Kenrith’s [[symbol:r]] ability to give creatures haste and trample.
Turn a wide board state into lethal combat damage.
Conclusion
[[Kenrith, the Returned King]] is the quintessential toolbox commander in cEDH, capable of adapting to any meta or game state. Whether you're playing control or midrange, Kenrith provides consistent value, explosive combo potential, and access to the most powerful tools in Magic. By mastering resource management and sequencing, you can wield Kenrith as a formidable force at any table.
