Cliffhaven Vampire
Creature — Vampire Warrior Ally
Flying
Whenever you gain life, each opponent loses 1 life.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Oath of the Gatewatch
- Price
- $0.80
- EDHREC rank
- #4829
Cliffhaven Vampire turns every life swing into a drain trigger — gain a life, opponents lose one; lose a life, opponents lose one — and in a format built around lifegain, that snowballs fast. The cost is a four-mana 2/3 with no evasion, so it needs a shell that already generates life events consistently; pair it with Exquisite Blood and you have a two-card loop that ends the game, and Astarion, the Decadent provides exactly the kind of repeated lifegain engine that keeps Cliffhaven active every turn.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Astarion, the Decadent
Astarion, the Decadent is the premier home for Cliffhaven Vampire because Astarion's triggered lifegain fires on upkeep and on creature attacks, producing a constant stream of drain events that Cliffhaven converts into table-wide pressure every single turn.
Kambal, Consul of Allocation
Kambal, Consul of Allocation taxes every noncreature spell opponents cast with a life payment, and Cliffhaven Vampire converts each of those forced life-loss triggers into additional drain — the two cards stack punishment on the same actions.
Queza, Augur of Agonies
Queza, Augur of Agonies drains opponents whenever you draw a card, and Cliffhaven Vampire tags along on every Queza trigger, meaning a single Windfall or Consecrated Sphinx activation spirals into a cascade of life-loss that Cliffhaven amplifies.
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic gains life automatically on upkeep even while sitting in the command zone, giving Cliffhaven Vampire a free drain trigger every turn before you've cast a single spell.
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk forces all players to pay two life per spell cast, and Cliffhaven Vampire pings opponents for each of those life-loss events — in a spell-heavy game, that adds up to meaningful passive damage without requiring any additional investment.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Cliffhaven Vampire actually lives — three opponents means every drain trigger hits the table three times, and lifegain-matters shells in Orzhov, Esper, and Mardu have enough redundant pieces to make it a reliable engine rather than a cute one-off. In Modern and Legacy it's a four-mana 2/3 competing against formats that end games on turn three or four, so it's unplayable outside of fringe casual tables. Pioneer is the same story — the card has no competitive niche there. Cliffhaven Vampire is a Commander card through and through, and it earns its slot specifically in dedicated lifegain decks rather than as a generic inclusion.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Exquisite BloodCliffhaven Vampire
Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite lifeloss; Infinite lifegain
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Bloodthirsty ConquerorCliffhaven Vampire
Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite lifeloss; Infinite lifegain
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.80 bulk tier
At $0.80, Cliffhaven Vampire is firmly bulk — easy to acquire and unlikely to move meaningfully given its format concentration. It's a low-risk pickup for any lifegain build, and the price reflects its Commander-only relevance rather than any deficiency in what it actually does in the right deck.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.