Cautious Survivor
Creature — Elf Survivor
Survival — At the beginning of your second main phase, if this creature is tapped, you gain 2 life.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Duskmourn: House of Horror
- Price
- $0.03
- EDHREC rank
- #18858
Cautious Survivor enters the battlefield and immediately replaces itself by drawing a card whenever you surveil, making every looting effect a two-for-one as long as it stays in play. The cost — a two-mana 1/1 that does nothing without surveil support — means it earns its slot only in dedicated surveil shells.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Cautious Survivor is a roleplayer in surveil-heavy decks rather than a staple, paying off in lists built around Dimir or Esper commanders that trigger surveil repeatedly across a long game. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, the card is too fragile and conditional to see serious play — dedicated draw engines and looting effects don't need a 1/1 body attached. Standard is the most plausible non-Commander home, where surveil synergies cluster and the card-draw trigger can snowball in the right shell. Pauper gives it the most favorable environment outside Commander, since commons-only pools reward incremental value from cheap creatures.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.03 bulk tier
At $0.03, Cautious Survivor is firmly bulk — you're paying for cardboard and postage, not the card itself. Bulk commons rarely appreciate unless a synergy breaks into a top-tier competitive list, and nothing in the current surveil landscape suggests that's coming.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.