Assassin Initiate
Creature — Human Assassin
: This creature gains your choice of flying, deathtouch, or lifelink until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Assassin's Creed
- Price
- $0.31
- EDHREC rank
- #5757
Assassin Initiate enters tapped and immediately kills a creature your opponents control — the cost is that it dies doing it, and you spent a card to do what a removal spell does for less mana. Outside of Assassin tribal, where Etrata, Deadly Fugitive and similar commanders reward the creature type, there's almost no reason to run this over a cheap instant.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive's ability triggers off Assassins dealing combat damage, and Assassin Initiate is a free piece of the tribal count that also clears a blocker on arrival — it earns its slot by contributing to the creature type while solving a board problem the turn it lands.
Ramses, Assassin Lord
Ramses, Assassin Lord buffs every Assassin you control and wins the game if an opponent loses life from an Assassin you control during combat, so Assassin Initiate pulls double duty as both a lord target and a removal piece that keeps the board clear for your attacking Assassins.
Ezio Auditore da Firenze
Ezio Auditore da Firenze cares about Assassins and creatures dying, and Assassin Initiate delivers both — it's a creature that kills a creature, feeding both halves of Ezio's trigger conditions on the same turn.
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad scales off the number of Assassins you've played, making Assassin Initiate a one-mana body that advances the counter engine while removing a threat standing in the way of your attackers.
Ratonhnhaké꞉ton
Ratonhnhaké꞉ton rewards Assassin tribal with buffs and evasion, and Assassin Initiate fills out the creature-type count cheaply enough that the self-sacrifice clause is an acceptable trade-off for keeping the tribal density high.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Assassin Initiate is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it only meaningfully belongs in Commander — specifically in Assassin tribal builds. In competitive formats like Legacy and Modern, a one-mana 1/1 that dies on entry competes against removal spells that cost the same or less and don't ask you to sacrifice a creature slot. Commander is the one context where the Assassin type line matters enough to justify the slot, and even there, Assassin Initiate is a role-player in a narrow tribe rather than a card you'd recommend without a tribal home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.31 bulk tier
At $0.31, Assassin Initiate is bulk — you're not paying for power, you're paying for a tribal enabler. That price is stable precisely because demand is narrow: it moves in Assassin decks and almost nowhere else.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Etrata, Deadly Fugitive
- Ramses, Assassin Lord
- Ezio Auditore da Firenze
- Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
- Ratonhnhaké꞉ton
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.