Nikara, Lair Scavenger
Legendary Creature — Human Cleric
Partner with Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel (When this creature enters, target player may put Yannik into their hand from their library, then shuffle.)
Menace
Whenever another creature you control leaves the battlefield, if it had one or more counters on it, you draw a card and you lose 1 life.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Commander 2020
- Price
- $0.83
- EDHREC rank
- #12456
Nikara, Lair Scavenger turns every creature death into card draw and life gain — a persistent engine that runs automatically as long as creatures leave the battlefield with counters on them. The three-mana body is unimpressive on its own, but in any deck that reliably stacks +1/+1 counters, Nikara, Lair Scavenger is a draw engine that demands an answer, and pairing it with Felisa, Fang of Silverquill means those same deaths also produce a swarm of tokens.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill converts creatures dying with +1/+1 counters into Inklings, and Nikara, Lair Scavenger converts those same deaths into card draw — together they turn each removal spell your opponent casts into a net gain for you.
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful is built around creatures that accumulate and redistribute +1/+1 counters, so every death in the deck triggers Nikara, Lair Scavenger and keeps your hand full while Reyhan salvages the counters.
Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh
Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh runs a counter-heavy strategy that naturally generates frequent creature deaths with counters attached, giving Nikara, Lair Scavenger repeated triggers and making it one of the most consistent draw engines the deck can run.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Nikara, Lair Scavenger belongs — the 100-card singleton format generates enough creature deaths and counter synergies to fire the trigger multiple times per turn cycle, and the life gain is non-trivial over a long multiplayer game. Outside Commander, Nikara, Lair Scavenger is legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but three mana for a conditional draw engine is simply too slow to compete in Legacy or Vintage where the game is often decided before the effect matters. Oathbreaker offers a more reasonable home if you're building around a counter-based planeswalker signature spell. Modern, Pioneer, Standard, and Pauper are all off the table by legality.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.83 bulk tier
At $0.83, Nikara, Lair Scavenger sits squarely in bulk territory — easy to pick up without a second thought. It's a staple in enough counter-based Commander builds that demand is unlikely to push it meaningfully higher, and supply keeps the floor low.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
- Reyhan, Last of the Abzan // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful
- Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.