Cloudreader Sphinx
Creature — Sphinx
Flying
When this creature enters, scry 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them on the bottom and the rest on top in any order.)
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Jumpstart
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #23082
Cloudreader Sphinx enters and gives you a Scry 2, then parks a 3/7 flying body on the board for five mana — that's a fine rate in Limited but not a competitive one in Constructed. Sphinx tribal is the only context where it earns a slot; everywhere else, the effect is too small for the cost.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Cloudreader Sphinx is a Sphinx-tribal filler piece — it shows up in Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign lists where the Sphinx subtype alone justifies the slot and Unesh's cost-reduction makes the five mana feel like three. Outside tribal, five mana for Scry 2 plus a body is too inefficient when blue has access to Mulldrifter and Hullbreaker Horror at similar price points. In Pauper, it's one of the more legitimately playable homes — blue skies and control shells can use the 3/7 flying blocker and the scry to smooth draws, and the competition at common is thinner. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer have no interest in Cloudreader Sphinx; the rate fails on curve in every competitive context those formats demand.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Cloudreader Sphinx is pure bulk — you'll find it in a commons box before you'd ever buy a single. It's unlikely to appreciate given its narrow application, so pick up copies only if you're actively building Sphinx tribal.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.