Cloud Pirates
Creature — Human Pirate
Flying
This creature can block only creatures with flying.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Portal
- Price
- $4.21
- EDHREC rank
- #15870
Cloud Pirates is a one-mana 1/1 flyer with shadow — it hits and rarely gets blocked, but what it actually does is hand Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator a free Treasure every turn it connects uncontested. Outside of Francisco, Fowl Marauder // Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator, there is almost no reason to run it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Francisco, Fowl Marauder // Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
Cloud Pirates is tailor-made for Francisco, Fowl Marauder // Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator: shadow makes it nearly unblockable, which means Malcolm's Treasure trigger fires consistently, converting a one-mana 1/1 into repeatable mana acceleration while Francisco rewards the same evasive hits.
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 |
Cloud Pirates is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker — and Commander is the only format where it sees any real play, exclusively in Malcolm shells. In Legacy and Vintage it is simply too weak for a 1/1 shadow to matter when the formats are full of faster, more impactful one-drops. Pauper legality is technically present, but there is no Pauper archetype that wants a 1/1 shadow with no additional text. Cloud Pirates is a Commander-only card in practice, and even there it belongs in exactly one deck.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$4.21 cheap tier
At $4.21, Cloud Pirates sits at a premium for a card with such a narrow home — the price is driven entirely by demand from Francisco, Fowl Marauder // Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator players rather than any broad utility. If that Commander falls out of favor, so does the price.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Francisco, Fowl Marauder // Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.