Jaya's Phoenix
Creature — Phoenix
Flying, haste
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker, copy the next loyalty ability you activate this turn when you activate it. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Whenever you cast a planeswalker spell, you may return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander Masters
- Price
- $0.62
- EDHREC rank
- #8060
Jaya's Phoenix hits the board as a 2/2 flying haste threat that comes back from the graveyard whenever you cast a planeswalker — a recursion trigger that costs you nothing extra once you're already in a superfriends shell. The catch is a 3/3 mana cost and a body that won't survive most red-zone collisions, but in Commodore Guff decks that are casting planeswalkers every turn, the Phoenix is reliably immortal.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Commodore Guff
Commodore Guff is the natural home: his passive generates planeswalker loyalty every upkeep, his ultimate draws cards, and every planeswalker you cast off that engine triggers Jaya's Phoenix back from the graveyard for free. The 68% inclusion rate reflects just how automatic that pairing is.
Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh decks stack Chandra planeswalker variants to hit the commander's transformation trigger, and each one cast off the top pulls Jaya's Phoenix right back — turning a board wipe into a minor inconvenience.
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager flips into a planeswalker himself, and the Grixis shell supports enough additional walkers that Jaya's Phoenix finds consistent recursion triggers while the flying body lines up with Bolas's discard and control gameplan.
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is a planeswalker-type permanent that decks often pair with other walkers, and Jaya's Phoenix earns its slot as a repeatable flying attacker that reburies itself whenever the walker count ticks up.
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame triggers on Phoenix creatures dying and returning, turning each graveyard loop into a drain-and-pump event — Jaya's Phoenix is one of the cleanest fuel sources for that engine in a dedicated Phoenix tribal build.
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 |
Commander is where Jaya's Phoenix actually functions — superfriends decks cast planeswalkers multiple times per game, so the recursion trigger fires constantly and the Phoenix becomes a near-unkillable air threat for three mana. In Legacy and Vintage, it's technically legal but competes with a century of more efficient threats and sees no meaningful play; the recursion condition is too slow for those formats to care about. Oathbreaker is the other real home: the format's planeswalker-as-commander structure means Jaya's Phoenix can trigger off the commander cast itself, making it an auto-include in any red Oathbreaker build.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.62 bulk tier
At $0.62, Jaya's Phoenix is firmly bulk — you're picking it up as a throw-in, not a purchase. It's a narrow enough card that the price is unlikely to move unless a high-profile superfriends deck pushes it into the spotlight, so treat it as a cheap role-player and move on.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Commodore Guff
- Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
- Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
- Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
- Syrix, Carrier of the Flame
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.