Karplusan Minotaur
Creature — Minotaur Warrior
Cumulative upkeep—Flip a coin. (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
Whenever you win a coin flip, this creature deals 1 damage to any target.
Whenever you lose a coin flip, this creature deals 1 damage to any target of an opponent's choice.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Coldsnap
- Price
- $5.24
- EDHREC rank
- #9461
Karplusan Minotaur turns every coin flip into a removal trigger — stack enough flips in one turn and you're wiping boards or killing players before anyone untaps. The combo ceiling with Frenetic Efreet is the reason Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom decks run it at a 74% clip.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom
Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom is the natural home — the partner pair flips coins in bulk, and Karplusan Minotaur converts each flip into a damage trigger that can pick off blockers, drain opponents, or close the game alongside an evasive, doubling-power Okaun.
Yusri, Fortune's Flame
Yusri, Fortune's Flame flips up to five coins per attack, meaning Karplusan Minotaur is dealing up to five damage — distributed however you choose — every time Yusri connects, layering punishment on top of the card-draw payoff.
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 |
Karplusan Minotaur is a Commander card through and through — the cumulative value of repeated coin-flip triggers only matters in a multiplayer game where the damage can be spread across three opponents and blockers. It's legal in Legacy, Modern, and Vintage, but sees zero competitive play in those formats; a 2/2 for four mana with a conditional upside is nowhere near the speed those formats demand. Commander is the only context where its ceiling is real, specifically inside dedicated flip-matters builds where the trigger fires multiple times per turn.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Frenetic EfreetKarplusan MinotaurHerald of Eternal Dawn
Infinite damage
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
There's no direct budget replacement for Karplusan Minotaur — the repeatable, targeted ping on every coin flip is a unique effect. Tavern Scoundrel is the closest analogue, producing Treasure instead of damage, but it doesn't close games the way Karplusan Minotaur does in a damage-based flip deck; treat it as a value piece rather than a swap.
Price Context
Current price
$5.24 mid tier
At $5.24, Karplusan Minotaur sits at the low end of mid-tier pricing — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate include, cheap enough that it's not a barrier for the decks that want it. It's a narrow enough card that price movement will follow casual flip-deck popularity rather than any competitive demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Frenetic Efreet
- Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom
- Yusri, Fortune's Flame
- Platinum Angel
- Gideon of the Trials
- Herald of Eternal Dawn
- Courageous Resolve
- Angel's Grace
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.