Crooked Scales
Artifact
, 
: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, destroy target creature an opponent controls. If you lose the flip, destroy target creature you control unless you pay 
and repeat this process.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Mercadian Masques
- Price
- $1.21
- EDHREC rank
- #14097
Crooked Scales puts a repeatable coin-flip death trigger on the board for four mana — each turn it survives, an opponent's creature is one flip away from the graveyard. Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom decks are the natural home, where stacking extra flips turns the Scales from a soft threat into a guaranteed removal engine.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom
Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom runs Crooked Scales because every extra flip trigger Zndrsplt generates doubles the odds that opponents lose their creatures — pair it with the partners' built-in flip-stacking and the Scales reliably fires multiple times per round.
Yusri, Fortune's Flame
Yusri, Fortune's Flame flips coins on attack, which means Crooked Scales gets free activations just by swinging — the more coins Yusri flips in a turn, the more creatures opponents have to sacrifice when the odds fall against them.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Crooked Scales is a Commander card through and through — the repeated, political pressure of forcing opponents to sacrifice creatures every turn only compounds as the game goes long, which is exactly the environment Commander provides. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but sees no competitive play; four mana for a coin-flip removal effect is far too slow and unreliable in those formats. Oathbreaker could support it in the right coin-flip shell, but the smaller starting hand size and faster game pace cut into its effectiveness. Stick to Commander.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.21 cheap tier
At $1.21, Crooked Scales sits in the bulk-rare tier — easy to pick up without budget consideration. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to spike, so there's no urgency to buy multiples.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom
- Yusri, Fortune's Flame
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.