Grim Hireling
Creature — Tiefling Rogue
Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, create two Treasure tokens.
, Sacrifice X Treasures: Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #878
Grim Hireling turns each attacking creature into a Treasure factory, then cashes those Treasures to drain opponents — on a single four-mana body. Combat-heavy commanders like Najeela, the Blade-Blossom hit multiple triggers per swing, and Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero pairs the Treasure generation with a commander that already wants to attack and benefits from a bloated mana pool.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero
Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero runs Grim Hireling in nearly 80% of lists because both cards reward the same attack — Burakos produces Treasure on combat damage and Grim Hireling stacks more on top, turning every swing into a Treasure flood that funds the deck's party payoffs.
Rev, Tithe Extractor
Rev, Tithe Extractor is a drain-and-gain commander that turns every Treasure sacrifice into incremental life-loss, so the Treasures Grim Hireling generates on attacks feed directly into Rev's engine rather than just sitting as mana.
Vihaan, Goldwaker
Vihaan, Goldwaker animates Treasures into attacking creatures, and Grim Hireling generates more Treasures when those animated attackers deal damage — a loop where each attack cycle expands the token base Vihaan can mobilize next turn.
Nalia de'Arnise
Nalia de'Arnise builds a rogue-heavy board that connects in combat repeatedly, and Grim Hireling converts each of those hits into Treasure, giving the deck a mana-acceleration engine that scales with how many creatures sneak through.
Prosper, Tome-Bound
Prosper, Tome-Bound already generates Treasure from exile-casting, and Grim Hireling layers combat-based Treasure on top, letting Prosper decks funnel a larger pile of tokens into the activated drain ability when it matters most.
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 format where Grim Hireling is genuinely good — three opponents means three life totals to drain, and a wide board makes the Treasure triggers stack fast enough to be a real engine rather than a slow trickle. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; four mana for a 3/2 with no immediate board impact can't compete in formats where the game is often decided by turn two or three. Oathbreaker shares enough of Commander's multiplayer structure that Grim Hireling is playable there too, especially under a Planeswalker that rewards attacking or generating artifacts. Outside those multiplayer shells, this card simply doesn't have a home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Najeela, the Blade-BlossomGrim Hireling
Near-infinite lifegain; Near-infinite lifegain triggers; Near-infinite colored mana; Near-infinite combat damage; Near-infinite Treasure tokens; Near-infinite combat phases
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Grim Hireling isn't available at the moment, so check Scryfall or your preferred retailer for the current market rate. Given its 79% inclusion rate in Burakos lists and strong showing across multiple high-traffic commanders, demand is consistent — it's unlikely to be a throw-in bulk rare.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
- Burakos, Party Leader // Folk Hero
- Rev, Tithe Extractor
- Vihaan, Goldwaker
- Nalia de'Arnise
- Prosper, Tome-Bound
- Time Sieve
- Academy Manufactor
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.