Nezumi Bone-Reader
Creature — Rat Shaman
, Sacrifice a creature: Target player discards a card. Activate only as a sorcery.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Champions of Kamigawa
- Price
- $0.39
- EDHREC rank
- #14939
Nezumi Bone-Reader puts a repeatable forced discard outlet on the board for two mana — opponents can't hold answers if they can't keep them. The cost is real: you need creatures to sacrifice, so it does nothing in a vacuum, but in Rat tribal shells built around Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm it's almost always online.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm floods the board with 1/1 Rat tokens, giving Nezumi Bone-Reader a constant stream of sacrifice fodder — the result is a repeatable discard engine that strips hands clean while the token engine keeps rebuilding.
Marrow-Gnawer
Marrow-Gnawer's exponential token production means Nezumi Bone-Reader never runs out of fuel, letting you pivot from explosive board states to grinding opponents out of their hands in the same turn cycle.
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 |
Commander is where Nezumi Bone-Reader actually earns its slot — three opponents means three hands to strip, and a repeatable discard outlet at two mana is meaningful disruption at a table. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; those formats move too fast for a 1/1 that asks you to jump through hoops for a single discard. Modern has enough efficient hand disruption that Nezumi Bone-Reader never gets a look. Stick to Commander, specifically Rat tribal, where the sacrifice cost is invisible.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.39 bulk tier
At $0.39, Nezumi Bone-Reader is bulk — you're picking it up as an afterthought, not a purchase. It's a niche tribal piece with a narrow home, so don't expect the price to move meaningfully in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.