Lurking Jackals
Enchantment
When an opponent has 10 or less life, if this permanent is an enchantment, it becomes a 3/2 Jackal creature.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Urza's Destiny
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #30817
Lurking Jackals enters as a 1/1 and sits there until an opponent's life total drops to 10 or less — at which point it becomes a 3/2 for free, no mana required. One black mana for a permanent that upgrades itself mid-game is genuinely efficient, but the condition means it does nothing in the early game and nothing at all if no opponent gets low.
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 |
In Commander, Lurking Jackals is a fringe inclusion: four opponents mean someone will likely hit 10 life at some point, but you have no control over when, and a 3/2 body is unimpressive at a table where the average threat is much larger. Legacy and Vintage are the formats where the one-mana cost matters most, but aggressive black decks in those formats have access to far more efficient threats and have no reason to run a conditional upgrade. Lurking Jackals is essentially a Commander curiosity — a card that technically upgrades for free but rarely justifies its slot over creatures that apply immediate pressure.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Lurking Jackals is deep bulk — you're paying almost nothing for the physical card. That price reflects the demand accurately: it's a narrow, conditional card with no competitive home, so don't expect it to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.