EDH Optimizer
The Dalek Emperor
Legendary Artifact Creature — Dalek · 5BR
Color identity: Black · Red · Rakdos
The Dalek Emperor is Rakdos (black and red): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Affinity for Daleks (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each Dalek you control.)
Other Daleks you control have haste.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, each opponent faces a villainous choice — That player sacrifices a creature of their choice, or you create a 3/3 black Dalek artifact creature token with menace.
Reference price of the card: €0.17
Average lands in decks for The Dalek Emperor: 36
ShapeshiftersArtifactsExtra CombatsDaleksTokensAggroAffinityControl
Build your The Dalek Emperor deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for The Dalek Emperor 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average The Dalek Emperor deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: C+ (59/100)
- Consistency37
- Speed56
- Interaction45
- Resilience67
- Closing82
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (26 nonbasic, 6 Swamp, 4 Mountain)
Dalek Squadron · Dalek Drone · Exterminate! · Genesis of the Daleks · Sol Ring · Arcane Signet · Doomsday Confluence · Adaptive Automaton · Bloodline Pretender · Metallic Mimic · Taurean Mauler · Universal Automaton · Changeling Outcast · Cyberman Patrol · Maskwood Nexus · Graveshifter · Cybermen Squadron · Shared Animosity · Talisman of Indulgence · Delete · Terminate · Rakdos Signet · Roaming Throne · Labyrinth Raptor · Solemn Simulacrum · Steel Overseer · Chaos Warp · Changeling Wayfinder · Cryptothrall · Venomous Changeling · Black Market Connections · Foundry Inspector · Lightning Greaves · Three Tree Mascot · Patchwork Banner · Strionic Resonator · Their Name Is Death · Dark Ritual · Firdoch Core · Sonorous Howlbonder · Feed the Swarm · Phyrexian Arena · Skeletal Changeling · Bedevil · Blasphemous Act · Helm of the Host · Mind Stone · Kindred Dominance · Sign in Blood · Swiftfoot Boots · Barkform Harvester · Rakdos Charm · Thought Vessel · Fire-Belly Changeling · Great Train Heist · J. Jonah Jameson · This Is How It Ends · Collective Inferno · Fellwar Stone · Moonglove Changeling · Aggravated Assault · Mirkwood Bats · Chief of the Foundry · Command Tower · Dragonskull Summit · Smoldering Marsh · Haunted Ridge · Foreboding Ruins · Path of Ancestry · Shadowblood Ridge · Temple of Malice · Blood Crypt · Sulfurous Springs · Luxury Suite · Reliquary Tower · Rakdos Carnarium · Exotic Orchard · Tainted Peak · Three Tree City · Canyon Slough · Bojuka Bog · Graven Cairns · Temple of the False God · Bloodstained Mire · Great Furnace · Myriad Landscape · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Vault of Whispers · Blazemire Verge
🃏 Recommended cards for The Dalek Emperor
The highest-synergy cards in decks for The Dalek Emperor, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Exterminate! | 95% | +95% |
| Dalek Squadron | 97% | +94% |
| Dalek Drone | 95% | +94% |
| Genesis of the Daleks | 94% | +94% |
| Doomsday Confluence | 87% | +87% |
| Adaptive Automaton | 82% | +81% |
| Bloodline Pretender | 81% | +80% |
| Universal Automaton | 77% | +76% |
| Metallic Mimic | 77% | +75% |
| Taurean Mauler | 77% | +74% |
| Changeling Outcast | 74% | +72% |
| Cyberman Patrol | 70% | +70% |
| Maskwood Nexus | 70% | +69% |
| Graveshifter | 68% | +66% |
| Cybermen Squadron | 67% | +66% |
| Delete | 63% | +62% |
| Shared Animosity | 65% | +62% |
| Labyrinth Raptor | 59% | +59% |
| Steel Overseer | 58% | +58% |
| Cryptothrall | 56% | +55% |
| Roaming Throne | 61% | +55% |
| Venomous Changeling | 56% | +55% |
| Changeling Wayfinder | 56% | +55% |
| Foundry Inspector | 54% | +52% |
💰 The best cards for your The Dalek Emperor deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Exterminate!
- Dalek Squadron
- Dalek Drone
- Genesis of the Daleks
- Doomsday Confluence
- Adaptive Automaton
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Shared Animosity
- Their Name Is Death
- Strionic Resonator
- Helm of the Host
- Kindred Dominance
- Great Train Heist
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Cyberman Patrol
- Cybermen Squadron
- Cryptothrall
- Roaming Throne
- Black Market Connections
- Three Tree City
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with The Dalek Emperor
- Sensei's Divining Top + Foundry Inspector + Mystic Forge → Infinite card draw, Near-infinite storm count, Infinite draw triggers
- The Reaver Cleaver + Aggravated Assault → Infinite colored mana, Infinite combat damage, Infinite combat phases, Infinite mana creatures you control can produce, Infinite Treasure tokens, Infinite untap of creatures you control
- Sword of Feast and Famine + Aggravated Assault → Infinite combat phases
- Ancient Copper Dragon + Aggravated Assault → Near-infinite colored mana, Near-infinite combat damage, Near-infinite Treasure tokens, Near-infinite combat phases, Near-infinite untap of creatures you control, Near-infinite mana creatures you control can produce
- Combat Celebrant + Helm of the Host → Infinite combat phases, Infinite ETB, Infinite mana creatures you control can produce, Infinite tapped creature tokens, Infinite untap of creatures you control
- Neheb, the Eternal + Aggravated Assault → Infinite combat phases, Infinite red mana, Infinite mana creatures you control can produce, Infinite untap of creatures you control
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is The Dalek Emperor's color identity?
The Dalek Emperor is Rakdos (black and red): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does The Dalek Emperor come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average The Dalek Emperor deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 6.7 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 73 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 24 % of the time and floods 24 %. Deck health: C+ (59/100).
How many lands should a The Dalek Emperor deck run?
Real The Dalek Emperor decks run 36 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for The Dalek Emperor?
The three highest-synergy cards are Exterminate!, Dalek Squadron, Dalek Drone. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in The Dalek Emperor decks.
What combos does The Dalek Emperor have?
The Dalek Emperor has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Sensei's Divining Top + Foundry Inspector + Mystic Forge. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a The Dalek Emperor deck cost?
You can start cheap: Exterminate!, Dalek Squadron, Dalek Drone are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.