Cogwork Wrestler
Artifact Creature — Gnome
Flash
When this creature enters, target creature an opponent controls gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #18829
Cogwork Wrestler lets you steal any tapped creature and keep it until end of turn — no mana cost beyond the two to cast it, but the creature comes back at the end of the turn, so you're borrowing damage or a sacrifice, not making a permanent trade. It's a niche role-player: narrow enough to cut in most lists, but exactly right in a shell that turns the stolen creature into fuel before the game asks for it back.
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, Cogwork Wrestler earns its slot only if your deck has a reliable way to cash in the stolen creature — sacrifice outlets like Goblin Bombardment or Altar of Dementia turn a temporary loan into a permanent answer. Outside of that synergy, four-player politics and the sheer volume of threats on the board make a one-turn theft too low-impact to justify the card slot. In constructed formats like Modern or Pioneer it's outclassed by permanent-control spells at the same mana cost, and the "tapped creature" restriction limits targets further. Pauper is the most plausible competitive home, where creature quality is lower and combat tricks carry more weight, but even there Cogwork Wrestler is a fringe pick.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Cogwork Wrestler is deep bulk — you're not paying for scarcity, you're paying for cardboard. It won't appreciate; the card's ceiling is determined by its narrow use case, not supply.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.