Molten Firebird
Creature — Phoenix
Flying
When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step and you skip your next draw step.
: Exile this creature.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Planar Chaos
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #25555
Molten Firebird keeps coming back — whenever it dies, its owner returns it to hand at the beginning of the next end step, and every recurrence pings each opponent for damage if you have Syrix, Carrier of the Flame on board. The catch is that the recursion belongs to the controller's opponent, so in a non-Syrix shell it's a liability more than an asset.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame turns every phoenix recursion into a damage trigger, and Molten Firebird's built-in self-return means you can feed that engine repeatedly without any additional setup — just let it die and collect the pings.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Molten Firebird is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees essentially no play outside Commander. In competitive Eternal formats, a 2/2 flying body for four mana with a conditional, opponent-controlled recursion clause doesn't come close to the rate those formats demand. Commander is the only context where the recursion reads as an upside — specifically in Syrix, Carrier of the Flame decks where the phoenix subtype and death-loop are both doing structural work. Everywhere else, Molten Firebird is a bulk rare collecting dust.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Molten Firebird is deep bulk — a card with a narrow home and no cross-format demand. It holds that price floor comfortably because Syrix players do want it, but don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.