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Golgari Thug

Creature — Human Warrior

When this creature dies, put target creature card from your graveyard on top of your library.
Dredge 4 (If you would draw a card, you may mill four cards instead. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand.)

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Magic Online Theme Decks
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#3316
Buy on TCGplayer
Golgari Thug card art
Golgari Thug puts a creature on top of your library when it dies — a free, repeatable setup that graveyard engines like Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis exploit every turn. The cost is a 1/1 body that does nothing on the board; you're running it entirely for the death trigger, and in the right shell that's exactly enough. Colossal Grave-Reaver and similar self-mill payoffs make the topdeck manipulation genuinely dangerous rather than incidental.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

54.3% of decks · synergy 0.50

Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis appears in over half the Golgari Thug decks for an obvious reason: the Thug's death trigger puts any creature directly on top of the library, feeding Hogaak's convoke and delve costs while stacking the graveyard simultaneously.

02
The Mycotyrant

The Mycotyrant

46.8% of decks · synergy 0.43

The Mycotyrant wants creatures dying constantly to generate Fungus tokens, and Golgari Thug obliges by being a cheap, recurrable sacrifice target that also sculpts the top of the library for whatever threat comes next.

03
Syr Konrad, the Grim

Syr Konrad, the Grim

38.9% of decks · synergy 0.37

Syr Konrad, the Grim pings opponents whenever creatures leave or enter graveyards, so Golgari Thug looping through the bin is free damage on a timer — every recur cycle triggers Konrad without needing any additional setup.

04
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord

36.1% of decks · synergy 0.32

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord wins by sacrificing large creatures to drain the table, and Golgari Thug keeps the sacrifice pipeline moving by placing the next threat on top of the library the moment it dies.

05
Rakdos, the Muscle

Rakdos, the Muscle

24.0% of decks · synergy 0.23

Rakdos, the Muscle taxes opponents based on creatures dying, and Golgari Thug is a disposable body that can be sacrificed repeatedly to feed that engine while keeping the deck's hand stocked with whatever creature was placed on top.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Golgari Thug is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its real home has always been Commander. In Legacy it sees fringe play in reanimator shells where the topdeck manipulation supports specific setups, but it's rarely a staple. Modern graveyard decks have largely moved past it in favor of faster self-mill engines, so it doesn't show up competitively there. Commander is where Golgari Thug earns its slot: a recursive, low-cost piece that threads through sacrifice loops, Hogaak-style graveyarding, and Konrad-style ping engines with essentially no competition for the effect at two mana.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Golgari Thug isn't currently confirmed in our records, so check Scryfall or your preferred vendor for the current number. Given its niche but consistent role in graveyard Commander decks, it tends to be an affordable pickup — the kind of card worth grabbing as a four-of if your deck wants the effect.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.