Mercurial Chemister
Creature — Human Wizard
, 
: Draw two cards.
, , Discard a card: This creature deals damage to target creature equal to the discarded card's mana value.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RU
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.32
- EDHREC rank
- #14867
Mercurial Chemister gives you repeatable draw or direct damage stapled to a 2/3 body — discard a card to draw two, or discard an instant or sorcery to deal damage equal to its converted mana cost. The cost is real: five mana to cast, then additional discard to activate means it needs support to pull its weight. In most Commander shells it's too slow, but Mairsil, the Pretender turns it into something worth building around.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Mairsil, the Pretender
Mairsil, the Pretender exiles Mercurial Chemister to gain both activated abilities indefinitely, converting Mairsil into a repeatable draw engine and a damage dealer that scales with the mana cost of instants and sorceries pitched from hand — all without ever paying the five-mana cast cost.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Mercurial Chemister is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but competitive play in any non-Commander format is essentially theoretical — a five-mana 2/3 with conditional activated abilities doesn't register outside casual tables. In Commander, Mercurial Chemister has exactly one home worth discussing: Mairsil, the Pretender, where it contributes two distinct activated abilities to the cage engine. Outside of that specific shell, the rate is too slow and the body too small to justify the slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.32 bulk tier
At $0.32, Mercurial Chemister is deep bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to move unless Mairsil sees a sudden spike in popularity, so don't expect this to appreciate.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.