Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier
Legendary Creature — Angel // Legendary Creature — Angel
Flash
Flying, vigilance
When Archangel Avacyn enters, creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
When a non-Angel creature you control dies, transform Archangel Avacyn at the beginning of the next upkeep.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RW
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Innistrad Remastered
- Price
- $1.87
- EDHREC rank
- #7362
Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier lands as a five-mana flash angel that throws a indestructibility blanket over your board the moment a creature dies — then punishes your opponents with a 6/5 flying beater that pings everyone else for 3 when she flips. The cost is real: five mana is a commitment, and the transform trigger requires a non-Angel creature death on your side, so shell-less token strategies and mono-angel builds will rarely flip her. That said, "Sonic the Hedgehog" has nothing to do with this card, and you should disregard any reference treating that as a genuine synergy.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sonic the Hedgehog
"Sonic the Hedgehog" is not a legal Magic: The Gathering commander, and no genuine synergy with Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier exists to describe — this entry appears to be a data error.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight doubles damage dealt to opponents, which means the 3-damage ping from Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier's flip becomes a 6-damage ping to every non-Angel creature and opponent simultaneously — an immediate board reset that leaves Gisela's team standing. The indestructibility flash also slots neatly into Gisela's combat-centric gameplan, protecting her team through a critical swing.
Aurelia, the Warleader
Aurelia, the Warleader attacks twice per turn, and Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier's flash indestructibility gives that double-strike window a meaningful safety net against chump blocks and combat tricks. A well-timed Avacyn flash before Aurelia's first attack makes the entire team effectively unkillable through combat, and any creature that does die triggers the potential flip to close out the game.
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 |
Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker. Commander is where she earns her keep — the singleton format rewards flash threats that double as board protection, and a five-mana angel that saves your entire team from a board wipe is exactly the kind of tempo swing that decides multiplayer games. In Modern and Pioneer she's too slow for the dominant strategies and too conditional to justify the slot over more reliable five-drops, though she sees occasional fringe play in midrange shells that can actually utilize the transform. Legacy and Vintage have far more broken things happening at five mana, so she's essentially irrelevant there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.87 cheap tier
At $1.87, Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier sits in the budget-rare tier despite being a genuinely powerful Commander staple — a price point that reflects her age and widespread reprinting rather than her on-board impact. She's a strong pick up at this price and unlikely to drop meaningfully further.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.