Basalt Gargoyle
Creature — Gargoyle
Flying
Echo 
(At the beginning of your upkeep, if this came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost.): This creature gets +0/+1 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Time Spiral
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #30897
Basalt Gargoyle is a three-mana 2/2 flyer with a cumulative upkeep that grows its power — payable in red mana — making it a scaling threat that demands either a fast clock or a dedicated red-mana engine to justify the slot. The upkeep cost will outpace most budgets within a few turns, and a 2/2 base body doesn't buy enough time to make the gamble worthwhile.
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 |
Basalt Gargoyle is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees essentially no competitive play in any of them. In Commander, cumulative upkeep is a known trap — you're already fighting three opponents, and taxing yourself every turn to keep a modest flyer alive is a losing proposition unless you're generating absurd amounts of red mana. Legacy and Vintage have far more efficient threats at three mana, and Modern's card pool offers better flying beaters without a self-imposed tax. Basalt Gargoyle is a curiosity, not a staple, in every format it's legal in.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Basalt Gargoyle is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not power. There's no demand driver here that would push the price upward, so it holds value only as a throw-in trade card.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.