Grim Roustabout
Creature — Skeleton Warrior
Unleash (You may have this creature enter with a +1/+1 counter on it. It can't block as long as it has a +1/+1 counter on it.)
: Regenerate this creature.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Return to Ravnica
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #22449
Grim Roustabout is a 2/1 with menace and an activated ability that gives it +1/+0 and haste until end of turn — costing one mana and a -1/-1 counter on itself — making it a repeatable, self-contained aggro piece rather than a static body. It's narrow enough that you only run it in decks that actively want counters placed on creatures or that need cheap menace attackers on a budget.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Grim Roustabout is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but it sees almost no competitive play in the non-rotating formats where the bar for a two-drop is simply too high. In Pauper it's at least plausible in aggressive black shells that want menace bodies at common rarity, though it faces stiff competition from more efficient one- and two-drops. Commander is where Grim Roustabout finds its most coherent home — specifically in -1/-1 counter synergy builds led by commanders like Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons or Devoted to Dusk commanders that weaponize the self-inflicted counter as a resource rather than a drawback. Outside of that niche, it's a bench player in every format.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Grim Roustabout is deep bulk — the kind of card you pick out of a dollar box without thinking twice. That price is stable simply because demand is low and supply is ample, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.