Harbinger of Night
Creature — Spirit
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a -1/-1 counter on each creature.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Mirage
- Price
- $38.17
- EDHREC rank
- #13894
Harbinger of Night ticks down every creature on the board at end of turn — -1/-1 counters on everything, every turn, for as long as it stays in play. The Scorpion God turns that persistent drain into a card-draw engine, which is why this card slots into roughly 39% of those decks.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Scorpion God
Harbinger of Night distributes -1/-1 counters on all creatures at end of turn, and The Scorpion God draws a card whenever any creature with a -1/-1 counter on it dies — that's a repeating draw engine that requires zero additional setup beyond keeping Harbinger alive.
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 |
Harbinger of Night is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its real home is Commander — the multiplayer board gives it far more creatures to tick down, and the slower pace lets it accumulate value over multiple turns. In Legacy and Vintage the four-mana cost and lack of immediate impact make it unplayable competitively; those formats want threats that matter the turn they enter. In Oathbreaker it's a viable engine piece in any -1/-1 counter shell, though the smaller board presence relative to Commander limits the ceiling. Treat it as a Commander card.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Nest of Scarabs and Blowfly Infestation both operate in the same -1/-1 counter ecosystem at a fraction of the cost, though neither replicates the board-wide attrition Harbinger of Night generates on its own. If the goal is recurring counter distribution, Carnifex Demon does similar work for under $1 and can be retapped repeatedly — the trade-off is that it costs counters off itself rather than operating indefinitely.
Price Context
Current price
$38.17 premium tier
At $38.17, Harbinger of Night sits firmly in premium territory — a price driven almost entirely by its unique, non-keyworded ability that no cheaper card fully replicates. It holds value because the supply is narrow and the demand in -1/-1 counter Commander decks is consistent, but at this price point it's a deliberate purchase, not an easy auto-include.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- The Scorpion God
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.