Lazav, Familiar Stranger
Whenever you commit a crime, put a +1/+1 counter on Lazav. Then you may exile a card from a graveyard. If a creature card was exiled this way, you may have Lazav become a copy of that card until end of turn. This ability triggers only once each turn. (Targeting opponents, anything they control, and/or cards in their graveyards is a crime.)
How Lazav decks play in EDH
Lazav, Familiar Stranger is a Dimir commander in blue and black costing 1UB, and its legendary creature - shapeshifter line shapes the whole deck around it. It cares about +1/+1 counters, so counter-doubling effects and creatures that grow on their own carry the deck. The cards below are the ones Lazav, Familiar Stranger decks actually play most often, grouped by the job they do.
Most-played cards
20 cards · about $27.68Play rates from EDHREC. Prices from Scryfall, refreshed daily.
Card draw (4)
Counterspells (2)
Creatures (9)
Synergy & payoffs (4)
Lands (1)
Build the full 100
Grimoire generates a complete, Commander-legal Lazav, Familiar Stranger decklist with a written strategy, a full mana base and live prices — from the whole card pool, or only from cards you already own.
Start with LazavLazav deck questions
What colours can I use in a Lazav, Familiar Stranger deck?
Lazav, Familiar Stranger has a Dimir colour identity, so every card in the deck must be blue and black or colourless. That includes mana symbols in rules text, not just casting cost.
What are the best cards for Lazav, Familiar Stranger?
The cards played most often in Lazav, Familiar Stranger decks include The Master of Lake-town, Multiply by Zero, Turbulent Wetlands. The full list of staples above is grouped by the job each card does, so you can see the deck's skeleton rather than just a pile of names.
How much does a Lazav, Familiar Stranger deck cost?
The 20 most-played cards shown above come to roughly $27.68 at current market prices. A complete 100-card build costs more, and Grimoire can generate a budget version instead if you set a price ceiling.
Can I build a Lazav, Familiar Stranger deck from cards I already own?
Yes. Import your collection into Grimoire and choose "my cards" when you build. The generator will only use cards you actually own, and the Missing Cards page shows what you would need to buy to finish any list.