Midnight Reaper
Creature — Zombie Knight
Whenever a nontoken creature you control dies, this creature deals 1 damage to you and you draw a card.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Foundations
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #987
Midnight Reaper turns every non-token creature death into a card, which is exactly the engine Zombie tribal and sacrifice decks need to stay ahead on cards through a long game. The one life per trigger is real but rarely relevant — in Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver shells that churn through dozens of tokens, Midnight Reaper is simply a three-mana draw engine that refills your hand while your graveyard fills up.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver creates a Decayed Zombie on each non-Decayed Zombie death, and Midnight Reaper converts every one of those sacrifice triggers into a card — the two together turn any sac outlet into a continuous draw engine.
Temmet, Naktamun's Will
Temmet, Naktamun's Will cares about filling the graveyard with creatures and grinding through combat, and Midnight Reaper ensures every creature trade or sac outlet translates directly into card advantage rather than just board attrition.
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord rewards stacking the graveyard, and Midnight Reaper makes every creature death doubly productive — you lose a body, but you gain a card and a target for Zul Ashur's recursion.
Gisa and Geralf
Gisa and Geralf wants a full graveyard to flashback Zombies, and Midnight Reaper feeds that loop by drawing into more creatures every time one dies — keeping both hand and graveyard stocked simultaneously.
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir runs Knight-heavy creature suites that trade in combat constantly, and Midnight Reaper converts those combat losses into raw card draw, turning an inevitable board state into a hand-refill engine.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Midnight Reaper does its best work — the long game, large boards, and sacrifice synergies common in the format give it consistent triggers, and three mana is a cheap enough ask to slot into nearly any black creature deck. In Pioneer and Modern, it sees fringe play in sacrifice and aristocrats shells, where it competes with cheaper or more explosive draw options but still earns a spot when the curve allows. Legacy and Vintage have too much raw power at every mana cost for Midnight Reaper to make a dent outside of casual builds. Pauper is the one format where it's ineligible entirely, though its effect would be strong there if it were.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Midnight Reaper is bulk — every copy you need costs less than a sleeve. It's a staple-tier effect at a price that never factors into budget considerations, so there's no reason to skip it if it fits the deck.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
- Temmet, Naktamun's Will
- Zul Ashur, Lich Lord
- Gisa and Geralf
- Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.