Kaervek the Merciless
Kaervek the Merciless: Legendary Creature - Human Shaman, Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander. Printings, prices, and format legality on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {5}{B}{R}
- Mana value
- 7
- Type
- Legendary Creature - Human Shaman
- Colour identity
- Black and red (BR)
- Power / toughness
- 5/4
- Rarity
- Rare
- Set
- Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander (DSC)
- Released
- 2024-09-27
- Collector number
- 222
- Artist
- Heonhwa
- Commander rank
- 2,560 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
- Commander
- Can be your commander
Build around this card with Grover
About Kaervek the Merciless
Kaervek the Merciless is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare black and red legendary creature from Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander (DSC), a Commander product released in September 2024. It is collector number 222 in that set, with art by Heonhwa. It costs {5}{B}{R} (five generic, one black and one red mana) to cast, for a mana value of 7. It is a 5/4 creature. Its colour identity is black and red. It is legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, PreDH and Penny Dreadful. It has been printed in 6 sets, from Time Spiral (2006) to Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander (2024). It can be your commander. The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.56 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-02).
Card text
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, Kaervek deals damage equal to that spell's mana value to any target.
"Rats and jackals feast in his swath, but even they will not walk with him." -Mangara
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.56 (as of 2026-11-02).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Kaervek the Merciless by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Modern | Legal |
|---|---|
| Legacy | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| PreDH | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
Other printings of Kaervek the Merciless
Kaervek the Merciless has been printed in 6 sets. The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Starter Commander Decks (SCD) #233 | Rare | 2022 |
| Double Masters 2022 (2X2) #236 | Rare | 2022 |
| Double Masters 2022 (2X2) #512 | Rare | 2022 |
| Time Spiral Remastered (TSR) #257 | Rare | 2021 |
| Archenemy (ARC) #88 | Rare | 2010 |
| Time Spiral (TSP) #242 | Rare | 2006 |
Official rulings
Three official rulings apply to Kaervek the Merciless, newest first.
- For spells with {X} in their mana costs, use the value chosen for X to determine the spell's mana value.
- An ability that triggers when a player casts a spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered.
- Alternative costs, additional costs, and cost reductions don't change a spell's mana value. Its mana value is still based on its mana cost.
Similar cards
Other creature cards with a black and red colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.
In these precons
Kaervek the Merciless is in the decklist of these preconstructed Commander decks.