Breathstealer
Creature — Nightstalker
: This creature gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Mirage
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #28717
Breathstealer taxes every draw your opponents make — each player who draws a card must pay 1 life or discard it, which adds up fast in a four-player pod. The catch is a 2/2 body for three mana that does nothing on its own if it dies the turn it enters.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Breathstealer's effect multiplies across three opponents, turning every cantrip and end-step draw into a life-or-cards decision at the table scale. Dedicated discard and life-drain commanders — think Nekusar, the Mindrazer or Tinybones, Trinket Thief — get the most mileage, stacking Breathstealer's punishment on top of forced-draw effects. In Pauper it's legal but too fragile and too slow for a format where tempo dominates; a 2/2 for three with no immediate board impact doesn't make the cut. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but would never run it — the effect isn't close to format-warping at those power levels.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Breathstealer is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a common box, not a store shelf. The price won't move; the card has a narrow home and no spike potential, so grab it for the specific discard build and don't think twice about the cost.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.