Harpoon Sniper
Creature — Merfolk Archer
, 
: This creature deals X damage to target attacking or blocking creature, where X is the number of Merfolk you control.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Lorwyn
- Price
- $0.25
- EDHREC rank
- #20734
Harpoon Sniper turns any Merfolk you control into a repeatable pinger that can pick off small fliers or drain a planeswalker, all at instant speed — the activation cost is real, but the permanence is not. If your deck already wants Merfolk density, this is a free value engine stapled to a 2/2 body.
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 |
Commander is where Harpoon Sniper earns its keep: Merfolk tribal lists can activate it multiple times per round and use it as a political tool, tapping to snipe a threat during an opponent's turn. In Legacy and Vintage, Merfolk is a real deck, but those formats want speed above all else — a three-mana 2/2 that requires additional mana investment each turn simply doesn't fit the curve. Modern Merfolk similarly has no room for it; the format demands creatures that apply immediate, unconditional pressure. Oathbreaker could support it in a Merfolk shell, but the compressed game length works against slow activations.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.25 bulk tier
At $0.25, Harpoon Sniper is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not scarcity. That price is stable by definition; there's no meaningful downside risk, and no catalyst that would move it unless a future Merfolk commander drives sudden demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.