Drowner Initiate
Creature — Merfolk Wizard
Whenever a player casts a blue spell, you may pay 
. If you do, target player mills two cards.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadowmoor
- Price
- $0.25
- EDHREC rank
- #21830
Drowner Initiate mills two cards per Merfolk you play, which compounds fast in a tribal shell but does nothing the turn it enters. The payoff is real in dedicated Merfolk mill builds; outside that context, it's too narrow and too slow to justify a slot.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Drowner Initiate belongs in exactly one deck type: Merfolk tribal with a mill win condition, most often under Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca or a similar Simic Merfolk commander. Milling two per Merfolk cast adds up over a long game but won't close things out alone — it wants backup from Thassa's Oracle or a critical mass of mill effects. In Pauper, Merfolk is a real archetype and Drowner Initiate sees occasional fringe play as a free mill engine in creature-dense builds, though it rarely makes the cut over more aggressive options. Legacy and Vintage have no interest — the formats are too fast and the effect too marginal. Stick to Commander tribal shells where the Merfolk count is high enough to make each trigger matter.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.25 bulk tier
At $0.25, Drowner Initiate is pure bulk — easy to acquire and easy to cut without regret. The price reflects its narrow home: it holds that floor as long as Merfolk tribal remains a casual Commander staple, but don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.