Ember Swallower
Creature — Elemental
: Monstrosity 3. (If this creature isn't monstrous, put three +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes monstrous.)
When this creature becomes monstrous, each player sacrifices three lands of their choice.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Theros
- Price
- $0.11
- EDHREC rank
- #23351
Ember Swallower enters as a 4/5 for four mana — respectable rate — and its monstrous ability forces each player to sacrifice three lands, a symmetrical nuke that hits hardest in decks built to weather the aftermath. The catch is the 7RR monstrous cost: you need a reason to pay it, whether that's landfall payoffs, land recursion, or a commander who rebuilds faster than the table.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Ember Swallower is a Commander card through and through — the monstrous land-sacrifice effect is too slow and symmetrical to compete in Legacy, Modern, or Pioneer, where four mana needs to win the game outright or protect a combo. In those formats it sees essentially no play. In Commander, the calculus flips: a 4/5 body is acceptable in the 99, and a forced three-land sacrifice on top of it can shatter the mana base of a greedy five-color deck while a Borborygmos Enraged or Omnath, Locus of Rage pilot rebuilds off the same lands hitting the graveyard. Run Ember Swallower only when your deck has a clear structural advantage after the lands are gone.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.11 bulk tier
At $0.11, Ember Swallower is pure bulk — you're picking it up out of a dollar box, not tracking it on a spreadsheet. The price is stable at the floor; there's no demand spike coming unless a powerful new land-matters commander pushes it into the spotlight.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.