Malanthrope
Creature — Tyranid
Flying
Scavenge the Dead — When this creature enters, exile target player's graveyard. Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature for each creature card exiled this way.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GU
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Warhammer 40,000 Commander
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #11252
Malanthrope puts a massive, self-replacing body into play for every creature you control — the on-board threat is immediate and the card advantage compounds turn over turn. The cost is real: it's a Tyranid-specific card that does nothing outside that tribe, and The Swarmlord lists are where it earns every slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Swarmlord
The Swarmlord wants Malanthrope because the spawning loop feeds directly into the commander's counters-on-cast trigger, turning a single play into a chain of growing threats. At 73% inclusion, it's functionally a staple of the archetype.
Magus Lucea Kane
Magus Lucea Kane copies spells with X or mana-intensive effects, and Malanthrope's ability to flood the board pairs well with that doubling engine — more tokens means more fodder for whatever Kane is copying next.
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 Malanthrope actually lives — the 100-card singleton format gives Tyranid tribal the critical mass it needs to make the card's scaling payoff relevant. Legacy and Vintage legality is technically accurate but practically irrelevant; neither format runs tribal synergy packages that would support it, and a six-mana creature with no immediate protection gets ignored in those contexts. Malanthrope is a Commander card through and through, and even there it belongs in exactly one archetype.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't currently available for Malanthrope, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number before buying. Given its near-exclusive home in The Swarmlord lists, demand is narrow and the price likely reflects that ceiling.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.