Merfolk Pupil
Creature — Merfolk Wizard
When this creature enters, draw a card, then discard a card.
, Exile this card from your graveyard: Draw a card, then discard a card.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Foundations Jumpstart
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #19231
Merfolk Pupil puts a 2/1 body on the board that draws a card when it connects — the payoff is real, but it costs three mana for a fragile creature that dies to any stiff breeze. Outside of a dedicated Neerdiv, Devious Diver shell where the evasion setup is built in, the rate is too weak to compete.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Neerdiv, Devious Diver
Neerdiv, Devious Diver makes Merfolk Pupil's attack trigger trivial to fire — Neerdiv sets up unblockability for the team, turning every successful swing into a free card, which is exactly the kind of incremental advantage the archetype wants to chain together.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Merfolk Pupil is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but the relevant homes are narrow. In Commander, it belongs only in decks built around Neerdiv, Devious Diver or similar evasion-granting commanders — outside that context, a three-mana 2/1 with a conditional draw trigger is well below rate. Pauper is where Merfolk Pupil has the most plausible competitive footing, slotting into aggressive Merfolk lists that can guarantee attacks, though it sits on the bubble of inclusion even there. Legacy and Vintage offer no meaningful use case; the competition at every mana cost is simply too steep.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Merfolk Pupil is bulk — you're not paying for scarcity, you're paying for cardboard. The price is stable by definition: bulk commons don't spike, and there's no demand driver outside niche Commander and Pauper lists to push it higher.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.