Abzan Skycaptain
Creature — Bird Soldier
Flying
When this creature dies, bolster 2. (Choose a creature with the least toughness among creatures you control and put two +1/+1 counters on it.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Fate Reforged
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #23723
Abzan Skycaptain leaves behind a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control when it dies — a fine parting gift, but a 4/4 flier for five mana that does nothing until it's removed is a hard sell. The floor is too low for most Commander tables where five mana buys considerably more.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Abzan Skycaptain is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but sees essentially no competitive play in any of them. In Commander it finds its best home in aristocrats or +1/+1 counter shells where the bolster trigger on death at least contributes to a board state, but five mana for a vanilla 4/4 flier with a marginal death trigger is a tough inclusion to justify against deeper options. In Pauper the common card pool is constrained enough that a 4/4 flier has some raw size appeal, though the trigger rarely changes outcomes at that table size. Across the other eternal formats, Abzan Skycaptain simply doesn't clear the power threshold.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Abzan Skycaptain is deep bulk — you'll find it in a common box long before you'd pay for it. There's no pressure on that price to move in either direction; it reflects the card's narrow demand accurately.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.