Aethersquall Ancient
Creature — Leviathan
Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, you get 
(three energy counters).
Pay eight : Return all other creatures to their owners' hands. Activate only as a sorcery.
- CMC
- 7
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Aetherdrift Commander
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #6178
Aethersquall Ancient lands and immediately starts stockpiling energy, threatening a full board bounce every upkeep once it hits eight counters. The seven-mana ask is real, but in energy-matters shells — especially anything built around Saheeli, Radiant Creator — the recurring bounce effect is a legitimate control tool, not just a one-time reset.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Saheeli, Radiant Creator
Saheeli, Radiant Creator's artifact-copying engine loves Aethersquall Ancient both as an energy producer and as a repeatable bounce threat that can clear the way for an alpha strike.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius
Satya, Aetherflux Genius generates energy naturally through her token-creation triggers, so Aethersquall Ancient slots in as a payoff that converts that stockpile into a board wipe on a stick.
Liberty Prime, Recharged
Liberty Prime, Recharged runs energy as a core resource, and Aethersquall Ancient's upkeep bounce doubles as both a source and a sink that keeps opponents off their footing while Liberty Prime closes the game.
Dr. Madison Li
Dr. Madison Li rewards stacking energy payoffs, and Aethersquall Ancient's repeatable bounce gives the deck a control angle that complements the go-wide artifact strategies she enables.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Aethersquall Ancient is legal across Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees essentially zero competitive play outside Commander — seven mana for a conditional bounce effect is nowhere near the power threshold those formats demand. In Commander, it earns its slot almost exclusively in energy-matters builds, where the eight-counter threshold is reachable and the recurring bounce is genuinely oppressive. Outside dedicated energy decks, it's too slow and too conditional to justify the cost.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Aethersquall Ancient is deep bulk — pick it up without hesitation if the deck calls for it. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to move unless a major energy commander spikes in popularity.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Saheeli, Radiant Creator
- Satya, Aetherflux Genius
- Liberty Prime, Recharged
- Dr. Madison Li
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.