Cursed Wombat
Creature — Nightmare Wombat
: Adapt 2. (If this creature has no +1/+1 counters on it, put two +1/+1 counters on it.)
Permanents you control have "Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on this permanent, put an additional +1/+1 counter on it. This ability triggers only once each turn."
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Modern Horizons 3
- Price
- $0.26
- EDHREC rank
- #10548
Cursed Wombat turns every counter placed on a creature you control into a life gain trigger, which adds up fast in any deck stacking +1/+1 counters. The cost is a two-mana enchantment with no immediate board impact — you're buying an engine, not a body — but The Most Dangerous Gamer and similar commanders recoup that investment within a turn or two.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Most Dangerous Gamer
The Most Dangerous Gamer triggers on hunting counters and creature counters alike, and Cursed Wombat converts every one of those triggers into life, turning the hunt mechanic into a passive lifegain engine that scales directly with how many creatures you're countering up.
Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan
Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan is built around distributing counters across multiple permanents, so Cursed Wombat fires repeatedly in a single turn cycle — each counter placed on a creature is a separate life trigger, making Felothar one of the more explosive shells for it.
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave accrues counters faster than almost any other commander, and Cursed Wombat ensures that every counter Skullbriar picks up in combat or through pump spells also pads your life total, giving you buffer to survive the aggressive lines the deck often walks.
Jenova, Ancient Calamity
Jenova, Ancient Calamity puts counters on creatures as a byproduct of its copy effects, so Cursed Wombat slots in as incidental lifegain that requires no extra investment — it just rewards you for doing what the deck already does.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Cursed Wombat is a Commander card through and through — it needs a deck built around counters to do anything meaningful, and that kind of synergy density only exists in the 99. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but competes in formats where a two-mana enchantment that gains life is simply not competitive, full stop. Modern has the counter-synergy pieces but not the shell that wants a passive lifegain enchantment over more impactful threats. Commander is where Cursed Wombat earns its slot, specifically in the handful of counter-heavy commanders where it quietly generates ten-plus life by mid-game.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.26 bulk tier
At $0.26, Cursed Wombat is bulk — grab a copy without thinking about it. Bulk rares with narrow synergy profiles like this rarely spike unless a new commander turns them into staples, so treat it as a cheap pickup for the right deck rather than a spec.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.