Hollowborn Barghest
Creature — Demon Dog
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have no cards in hand, each opponent loses 2 life.
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has no cards in hand, they lose 2 life.
- CMC
- 7
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Shadowmoor
- Price
- $0.40
- EDHREC rank
- #25573
Hollowborn Barghest drains each opponent for their hand size at the start of every upkeep — in a four-player pod, that's three triggers a round before you've done anything else. Seven mana is real, but the incremental life loss compounds fast enough that opponents who can't answer it quickly are just losing.
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 the only format where Hollowborn Barghest reaches its ceiling — three opponents means three drain triggers per round, and the life totals starting at 40 give it enough time to accumulate meaningful pressure. In Legacy or Vintage it's a curiosity at best: seven mana is unplayable against decks operating on turns one and two, and one opponent draining down from 20 is too slow to matter. Modern is similarly hostile; the format's clock is too fast for a seven-drop with no immediate board impact. Hollowborn Barghest belongs in Commander and essentially nowhere else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.40 bulk tier
At $0.40, Hollowborn Barghest is deep bulk — it costs less than a sleeve. That price is unlikely to move much; the card is powerful in the right shell but narrow enough that demand stays low.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.