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Activated Sleeper

Creature — Phyrexian Shapeshifter

Flash
You may have this creature enter as a copy of any creature card in a graveyard that was put there from the battlefield this turn, except it's a Phyrexian in addition to its other types.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{2}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Dominaria United Commander
Price
$1.20
EDHREC rank
#8314
Buy on TCGplayer
Activated Sleeper card art
Activated Sleeper enters as a 3/3 that immediately steals a creature from any opponent's graveyard and gives you full control of it — then rebounds as a 2/2 flier when it dies, keeping the loop alive. At three mana with no additional hoops, it's a cleaner reanimation staple than Karmic Guide in most shells.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Activated Sleeper does its best work — graveyard density is high, opponents are constantly discarding and sacrificing creatures, and the recurring body keeps generating value across a long game. Legacy and Vintage are technically legal formats, but the three-mana slot is brutally competitive there and Activated Sleeper's impact doesn't justify the inclusion over faster options. In Commander specifically, the combination of immediate theft and a built-in second body makes it a reliable engine piece in reanimator, aristocrats, and blink strategies alike.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$1.20 cheap tier

At $1.20, Activated Sleeper sits firmly in the cheap tier — you're getting a lot of functional power for the cost. That price is likely to stay stable; it's not a chase mythic, but it's good enough that demand keeps it from bottoming out.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.