Manic Vandal
Creature — Human Warrior
When this creature enters, destroy target artifact.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Magic 2012
- Price
- $0.02
- EDHREC rank
- #18991
Manic Vandal enters the battlefield and immediately destroys an artifact — the tempo hit is real and costs you nothing beyond the card slot. Three mana for a 2/2 that blows up a Sol Ring is acceptable; the problem is that better options exist at the same price point, so Manic Vandal earns its slot mainly where Gornog, the Red Reaper rewards every point of damage dealt.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gornog, the Red Reaper
Gornog, the Red Reaper scales on damage dealt to opponents, and Manic Vandal's enter-the-battlefield trigger routinely redirects an artifact's blocking or acceleration potential into a free damage vector — fewer mana rocks on the other side of the table means Gornog's pressure lands faster and harder.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Manic Vandal is a role-player rather than a staple — it fills a removal slot in mono-red or artifact-light builds that need a body alongside the destruction, and it's never embarrassing when an opponent cracks a mana vault on turn two. Pauper is where the card sees its most competitive daylight, since the artifact presence in that format is dense and a 2/2 body has more relative board relevance at common. In Legacy and Vintage, Manic Vandal is simply outclassed — Smash to Smithereens, Force of Vigor, and Null Rod exist — and the 3-mana investment is too slow to matter against the artifact engines those formats produce. Modern has the same problem: the card is legal but functionally obsolete next to cheaper, more efficient hate.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.02 bulk tier
At $0.02, Manic Vandal is pure bulk — you're not buying it so much as finding it in a trade binder. That price is stable in the way only bulk commons are stable: there's no downside floor left to fall through, and no scenario where demand spikes enough to move the needle.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Gornog, the Red Reaper
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.