Frankenstein's Monster
Creature — Zombie
As this creature enters, exile X creature cards from your graveyard. If you can't, put this creature into its owner's graveyard instead of onto the battlefield. For each creature card exiled this way, this creature enters with a +2/+0, +1/+1, or +0/+2 counter on it.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The Dark
- Price
- $8.19
- EDHREC rank
- #27843
Frankenstein's Monster enters as a potentially massive creature, but it's entirely dependent on exiling creature cards from your graveyard — no fuel, no stats, and you're left with a 0/1 for two mana. The setup cost is real, but in a graveyard-heavy black deck it can land as a 6/6 or larger for two mana, which is absurd value.
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 Frankenstein's Monster — graveyard synergies are abundant, games go long enough to fill your bin, and the casual spirit of the format forgives the setup cost. In Legacy and Vintage it's a non-starter; competitive decks have no interest in a conditional beater that requires prior graveyard investment when faster, unconditional threats exist. Oathbreaker is legal but the 20-life format moves too fast for a card that needs a board state to be built first.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
If the graveyard-fueled stat ceiling is the appeal, Mortivore and Lhurgoyf both grow from graveyard counts and require no exile payment to get big. Frankenstein's Monster trades their ongoing recalculation for a locked-in stat line — better if the graveyard is about to get hated out, worse if you want a threat that rebuilds itself after a wrath.
Price Context
Current price
$8.19 mid tier
At $8.19, Frankenstein's Monster sits in mid-tier pricing driven almost entirely by collector and novelty demand rather than competitive play. It holds that price tag as a recognizable piece of Magic history, but don't expect it to climb — there's no spike catalyst on the horizon.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.