Dread Specter
Creature — Specter
Whenever this creature blocks or becomes blocked by a nonblack creature, destroy that creature at end of combat.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Mirage
- Price
- $0.22
- EDHREC rank
- #29801
Dread Specter enters with a discard trigger that scales off your opponents' life totals — the more life they have, the more cards they lose. The cost is a four-mana 2/3 with no evasion, which means it often trades with something embarrassing before that trigger fires again.
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 |
Commander is the only realistic home for Dread Specter — opponents starting at 40 life means the enter-the-battlefield discard trigger can strip three or four cards at once, which is genuinely backbreaking early. In a dedicated black discard or Specter tribal shell it pulls real weight; outside those contexts, a 2/3 for four with no evasion doesn't justify the slot. Legacy and Vintage are legal on paper, but the card sees no meaningful play there — the competition at four mana is simply too stiff.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.22 bulk tier
At $0.22, Dread Specter is pure bulk — easy to pick up as a playset for under a dollar. Bulk rares with narrow appeal don't appreciate, so treat it as a cheap role-player rather than a hold.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.