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Cynical Loner

Creature — Human Survivor

This creature can't be blocked by Glimmers.
Survival — At the beginning of your second main phase, if this creature is tapped, you may search your library for a card, put it into your graveyard, then shuffle.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Duskmourn: House of Horror
Price
$0.26
EDHREC rank
#9157
Buy on TCGplayer
Cynical Loner card art
Cynical Loner drops a 4/4 body with ward 2 onto the battlefield and fills the graveyard at the same time — that combination of immediate pressure and self-mill is the whole pitch. Greasefang, Okiba Boss decks run it at a 62% rate because fueling the yard while threatening combat is exactly what that engine wants, and Muldrotha, the Gravetide shells appreciate any creature that arrives with graveyard value pre-attached.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Greasefang, Okiba Boss

Greasefang, Okiba Boss

62.2% of decks · synergy 0.61

Cynical Loner's enters-the-battlefield self-mill puts vehicles directly into the graveyard for Greasefang, Okiba Boss to reanimate on the spot, making it one of the most efficient setup pieces in the deck.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Cynical Loner is legal across every major constructed format, but its real home is Commander, where the graveyard fills naturally over a long game and a 4/4 ward 2 body actually survives long enough to matter. In 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, it competes with faster, more redundant self-mill payoffs and rarely makes the cut outside dedicated reanimator builds. Legacy and Vintage move too fast for a four-drop that doesn't immediately win the game. Cynical Loner is a Commander-first card — run it there and don't look back.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.26 bulk tier

At $0.26, Cynical Loner sits firmly in bulk territory, which means the barrier to picking up a copy is essentially zero. Bulk rares with a specific niche audience rarely climb without a reprint scare or a breakout tournament result, so don't expect movement — just grab it for the graveyard deck and move on.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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