Custodi Lich
Creature — Zombie Cleric
When this creature enters, you become the monarch.
Whenever you become the monarch, target player sacrifices a creature of their choice.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- New Capenna Commander
- Price
- $0.33
- EDHREC rank
- #9510
Custodi Lich enters and immediately forces a sacrifice from whoever holds the monarchy, then hands you that crown — repeated political disruption stapled onto a 4/2 lifelink body. The cost is real: five mana for a creature that dies to every Lightning Bolt variant and needs the monarchy in play to keep triggering, which makes it almost entirely a Commander card.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Queen Marchesa
Queen Marchesa creates the monarchy on entry and wants it to change hands constantly, so Custodi Lich functions as both a threat and a reset button — drop it, strip the monarch's best blocker, reclaim the crown, and let the chaos engine keep spinning.
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 |
Custodi Lich is a Commander card through and through — the monarchy mechanic only matters in a multiplayer political environment, and five mana for a 4/2 is a non-starter in Legacy or Vintage where it's technically legal. In Commander, it earns its slot specifically in decks that care about the monarchy as a resource rather than a side effect: the sacrifice trigger is a real removal spell against the right targets, and lifelink on a flying body is relevant in long games. Outside of those shells, Custodi Lich is too slow and too fragile to compete.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.33 bulk tier
At $0.33, Custodi Lich sits firmly in bulk territory, which makes it an easy pickup for any monarch-themed build. Bulk rares with narrow but genuine Commander utility tend to stay cheap indefinitely, so there's no urgency — just grab one the next time you're placing an order.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.