Gristleback
Creature — Boar Beast
Bloodthirst 1 (If an opponent was dealt damage this turn, this creature enters with a +1/+1 counter on it.)
Sacrifice this creature: You gain life equal to this creature's power.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Guildpact
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #27251
Gristleback gives you a repeatable life-gain engine stapled to a regenerating body — relevant in any deck that wants to pay life as a resource, and actively busted alongside Beledros Witherbloom, who untaps all your lands whenever you hit 10 life gained in a turn. The cost is a 2/2 stat line that demands mana and life investment to do anything threatening.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Gristleback is a Commander card through and through — the life-gain loop is too slow and the body too fragile to compete in Legacy, Modern, or Vintage, where the format clocks demand immediate board impact. In Commander, the repeatable life-gain ability finds a real home in life-matters builds, particularly in Golgari and Sultai shells where paying life is a feature rather than a bug. Oathbreaker is legal but the same ceiling applies; you'd need a planeswalker that specifically rewards incremental life-gain to justify the slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Beledros WitherbloomUrza's SagaAgatha's Soul CauldronArwen, Weaver of HopeGristleback
Infinite creature tokens; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite lifegain; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite LTB; Infinite power and toughness for certain creatures; Infinite mana lands you control can produce; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite untap of lands you control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Gristleback is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a commons box, not tracking it on a market. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to move unless a high-profile Beledros Witherbloom list pushes it, so grab copies whenever you need them without a second thought.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.