Blistergrub
Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Swampwalk (This creature can't be blocked as long as defending player controls a Swamp.)
When this creature dies, each opponent loses 2 life.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob Nixilis
- Price
- $0.08
- EDHREC rank
- #20259
Blistergrub drains each opponent for 2 when it dies, making it a repeatable damage source in sacrifice loops rather than a serious standalone threat. The cost is a 2/2 body for 2B with no enters-the-battlefield effect — you're here for the death trigger, full stop.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Blistergrub earns a slot exclusively in aristocrats-style decks where it can be sacrificed and recurred repeatedly — each death trigger hits all opponents, so the 2 damage scales to 6 or 8 life lost per loop in a four-player game. Outside of that niche, a vanilla 2/2 for three mana with a conditional drain effect is below rate. In Pauper, the format's tighter card pool makes death-trigger engines more viable, but Blistergrub still competes with strictly more efficient options at common. Legacy and Vintage have no interest in a three-mana creature this fragile.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.08 bulk tier
At $0.08, Blistergrub is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a commons box, not buying it. That price reflects its narrow application accurately; it holds no value outside the specific sacrifice decks that want it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.