Festerleech
Creature — Zombie Leech
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you mill two cards.
: This creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Activate only once each turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Murders at Karlov Manor
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #19553
Festerleech drains each opponent for 1 whenever a creature dies and you have the mana to pay — in a 40-life pod where death triggers stack fast, that incremental life swing adds up quickly. The activation cost keeps it fair, but in sacrifice-heavy shells it's a consistent source of reach that doesn't require a card slot every turn.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Festerleech is a role-player in dedicated sacrifice or aristocrats builds — it won't slot into a generic deck, but in the right shell it generates meaningful life swing across three opponents simultaneously. Competitive 60-card formats don't want it; Modern and Pioneer have far more efficient drain options at the same mana investment, and the activation cost makes it inconsistent at the speed those formats demand. Legacy and Vintage have no use for it. Standard is the one place a budget aristocrats list might give it a look, though even there it sits firmly in the bulk-rare tier rather than a staple slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Festerleech is deep bulk — buy a playset without thinking twice. It's unlikely to hold or gain value unless a future aristocrats deck in Standard pushes it into demand, so treat it as a cheap role-player and nothing more.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.