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Corpse Knight

Creature — Zombie Knight

Whenever another creature you control enters, each opponent loses 1 life.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{W}{B}
Color identity
BW
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Core Set 2020
Price
$0.42
EDHREC rank
#1336
Buy on TCGplayer
Corpse Knight card art
Corpse Knight drains one life from every opponent each time a creature enters the battlefield under your control — stapled onto a two-mana body, that passive turns token generators into a clock without any additional investment. In token-heavy shells like Ghave, Guru of Spores, where creatures enter by the dozen per turn, a single Corpse Knight can close games that combat never would.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Temmet, Naktamun's Will

Temmet, Naktamun's Will

79.3% of decks · synergy 0.69

Temmet, Naktamun's Will triggers Corpse Knight on every token created by its ability, turning each embalm and eternalize activation into incremental life drain that stacks fast across multiple opponents.

02
Varina, Lich Queen

Varina, Lich Queen

69.7% of decks · synergy 0.59

Varina, Lich Queen churns out Zombie tokens at combat, and each one hitting the battlefield pings every opponent through Corpse Knight — the drain is essentially free value stapled onto an attack step you were already taking.

03
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir

Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir

66.1% of decks · synergy 0.56

Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir generates a steady stream of Knight tokens, and Corpse Knight turns each of those triggers into a universal drain, adding a lethal dimension to what is otherwise a tempo-based go-wide strategy.

04
Teysa, Opulent Oligarch

Teysa, Opulent Oligarch

67.4% of decks · synergy 0.55

Teysa, Opulent Oligarch creates tokens at end of turn whenever opponents have more creatures, giving Corpse Knight repeated free triggers in the mid-game without any extra effort.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Corpse Knight is a Commander staple first: the passive drain scales with the number of opponents, so the effect that pings one player in a two-player game pings three in a pod of four. In Modern and Pioneer it sees fringe play in aristocrats shells where the redundancy matters, but a 2/2 for two with no immediate impact is a tough sell in formats where pressure needs to be faster and more direct. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but have no meaningful use for it — the effect is too slow and the body too fragile. Commander is where Corpse Knight earns its keep, particularly in any Orzhov or Esper list generating creatures at scale.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.42 bulk tier

At $0.42, Corpse Knight is bulk — you can pick up a playset for under two dollars without thinking about it. Bulk staples this widely played tend to stay flat unless a reprint pushes them even lower, so there's no urgency either direction; just grab it when you need it.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.