Battlefly Swarm
Creature — Phyrexian Insect
Flying
: This creature gains deathtouch until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Dominaria United
- Price
- $0.21
- EDHREC rank
- #8838
Battlefly Swarm puts a flying, deathtouch body into play on turn two that punishes any opponent who swings into it — the damage clause that triggers on being blocked is the real teeth. Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor decks run it because combat damage to opponents fuels card draw, and a evasive deathtouch creature that opponents have to respect is exactly what keeps that engine churning.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor converts combat damage dealt to opponents into card draw, and Battlefly Swarm's flying plus deathtouch combination means it either connects safely in the air or trades up, keeping the damage pipeline open turn after turn.
Gonti, Night Minister
Gonti, Night Minister rewards you for opponents losing life, and Battlefly Swarm's deathtouch makes it a credible threat that either deals damage directly or forces bad blocks — both outcomes feed Gonti's life-loss triggers.
Grist, the Hunger Tide
Grist, the Hunger Tide is an insect tribal commander, and Battlefly Swarm is an Insect that contributes to the swarm count while providing an evasive, hard-to-block attacker that Grist's mill and token strategies are happy to grind alongside.
Fumulus, the Infestation
Fumulus, the Infestation cares about insects and generating tokens, so Battlefly Swarm's creature type and aggressive evasive statline fit naturally into the kind of wide board Fumulus wants to build.
Rev, Tithe Extractor
Rev, Tithe Extractor profits from opponents losing life repeatedly, and Battlefly Swarm's ability to slip through blockers in the air and ping opponents makes it a reliable early source of the incremental life loss Rev's gameplan needs.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Battlefly Swarm is a bulk common, so the question is never legality — it's whether the effect clears the bar in a given format. In Commander it earns its slot specifically in decks that care about combat damage triggers, insect tribal, or life-loss synergies; outside of those shells it's too low-impact for a 100-card singleton environment. In Pauper, a two-mana 1/1 flying deathtouch is a legitimate blocker and attacker, and the damage-on-block clause occasionally matters, but it's fringe rather than a staple. In Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, and Vintage the power ceiling is simply too low — faster threats and interaction make a 1/1 deathtouch irrelevant by turn two in those formats.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.21 bulk tier
At $0.21, Battlefly Swarm is deep bulk — you're buying it out of a commons box or picking up a playset for under a dollar without thinking twice. Bulk commons at this price point don't hold or gain value; it's a utility pickup you grab when you need it and forget about otherwise.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
- Gonti, Night Minister
- Grist, the Hunger Tide
- Fumulus, the Infestation
- Rev, Tithe Extractor
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.