Giant Albatross
Creature — Bird
Flying
When this creature dies, you may pay 
. If you do, for each creature that dealt damage to this creature this turn, destroy that creature unless its controller pays 2 life. A creature destroyed this way can't be regenerated.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Homelands
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #28691
Giant Albatross threatens to destroy any creature that damages it — a deterrent effect that makes opponents think twice about attacking into it. The payoff is real but fragile: a 1/1 body for two mana means almost anything trades with it, and the trigger requires the damage to be dealt to the Albatross itself, so it folds to removal before blocks.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Giant Albatross is a fringe political tool — it can sit on the board and discourage small attacks, but a 1/1 for two mana rarely survives long enough to matter in a format defined by large threats and widespread removal. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but will never touch it; blue has far better two-mana plays in both formats. Pauper is the only environment where its deterrent effect could see occasional niche use, particularly in slower defensive shells, but even there it competes poorly with more reliable blockers and removal spells.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Giant Albatross is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not power. That price will hold because demand is essentially zero, not because the card is undervalued.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.