Necromancer's Familiar
Creature — Bird Spirit
Flying
Hellbent — This creature has lifelink as long as you have no cards in hand.
, Discard a card: This creature gains indestructible until end of turn. Tap it.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Modern Horizons 2
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #26477
Necromancer's Familiar is a discard outlet and graveyard enabler stapled to a flying body — the kind of utility piece that earns its slot in dedicated black reanimator and madness shells. The cost is real: a 2/2 for three mana is below the curve, and you're paying for the activated ability, not the stats.
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 |
In Commander, Necromancer's Familiar fits narrowly into decks that want repeated, cheap discard — Anje Falkenrath madness lists and Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver zombie builds that double-dip on discard triggers. Legacy and Vintage are theoretically legal homes, but neither format has any interest in a three-mana 2/2 when Unmask and Faithless Looting exist. Necromancer's Familiar is a Commander card in practice: its ceiling is enabling a graveyard engine across a long game, which is exactly the kind of attrition play that multiplayer rewards.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Necromancer's Familiar is pure bulk — you're picking it up as an afterthought in a collection or a cheap order filler. That price is stable because demand is narrow; it won't spike without a new commander that specifically rewards repeated discard.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.