Cenote Scout
Creature — Merfolk Scout
When this creature enters, it explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #11017
Cenote Scout puts a land into play tapped when it enters — that's immediate value stapled to a one-mana Merfolk body. The cost is negligible: in any blue-green Merfolk shell, especially under Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca, a 1/1 that cantrips a land is exactly what the tribe wants to flood the board with.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca wants as many Merfolk bodies as possible to tap for draw, buff, or counter effects, and Cenote Scout delivers one for a single green mana while also smoothing your land drops — it's one of the cleanest one-drops in the 99.
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Hakbal of the Surging Soul cares about Merfolk entering the battlefield and exploring, so Cenote Scout pulling a land into play on ETB lines up directly with the landfall and board-presence engines Hakbal rewards.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Cenote Scout earns its slot in any Merfolk tribal build that benefits from cheap, replaceable bodies — the land-to-play rider is a genuine bonus, not a consolation prize. Outside Commander, the competition gets fierce: Constructed formats like Modern and Pioneer have one-mana accelerants that do far more, and a 1/1 with a tapped land isn't clearing the bar there. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters for the same reason — the power ceiling is simply too low. Standard is where Cenote Scout could see fringe play if a Merfolk-adjacent synergy deck emerges, but it's not a format staple.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Cenote Scout is bulk, and that price is appropriate — it's a role-player with a narrow home in Merfolk tribal Commander builds. Don't expect movement; bulk tribal commons rarely appreciate unless a competitive archetype picks them up, and that's not on the horizon here.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.