Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator
Legendary Planeswalker — Ashiok
If you would pay life while your library has at least that many cards in it, exile that many cards from the top of your library instead.
+1: Look at the top two cards of your library. Exile one of them and put the other into your hand.
−2: Create two 1/1 black Nightmare creature tokens with "At the beginning of combat on your turn, if a card was put into exile this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on this token."
−7: Target player exiles the top X cards of their library, where X is the total mana value of cards you own in exile.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Wilds of Eldraine
- Price
- $0.54
- EDHREC rank
- #13517
Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator replaces life payment with exile — meaning every card you draw off Necropotence costs a card from your library instead of your life total, which in the right shell is a strict upgrade. The five-mana ask is real, but in exile-matters decks like Umbris, Fear Manifest, that cost pays for itself the turn it lands.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Umbris, Fear Manifest
Umbris, Fear Manifest grows on every exiled card, so Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator's static ability turns each Necropotence draw into a free +1/+1 counter while keeping your life total intact — it's not a support piece here, it's a core engine.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator occupies a narrow but powerful niche: decks that pay life repeatedly — Necropotence, Greed, Sylvan Library — get to convert that recurring cost into exile fodder instead, which matters when life totals start at 40 and drain quickly. Outside Commander, the card sees essentially no competitive play in Modern, Pioneer, or Legacy, where five mana for a planeswalker with a conditional static ability can't compete with the format's pace. Standard is the one other context where it occasionally surfaces in slow, controlling shells, but even there it's a fringe consideration rather than a staple.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Ashiok, Wicked ManipulatorWall of Blood
Exile your library; Near-infinitely large creature until end of turn
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Price Context
Current price
$0.54 bulk tier
At $0.54, Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator is firmly bulk — a five-mana planeswalker with narrow applicability rarely holds above that floor. It's a fine pickup for any exile-matters or life-payment Commander deck, but don't expect the price to move unless a new commander pushes the archetype into higher demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Necropotence
- Umbris, Fear Manifest
- Doom Whisperer
- Blood Celebrant
- Wall of Blood
- Unspeakable Symbol
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.