Nin, the Pain Artist
Legendary Creature — Vedalken Wizard
, 
: Nin deals X damage to target creature. That creature's controller draws X cards.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RU
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Judge Gift Cards 2018
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #11045
Nin, the Pain Artist turns any creature into a draw engine — pay X mana, deal X damage to a target creature you control, draw X cards — and the only real cost is finding creatures worth shooting. Pair her with Brash Taunter (which redirects the damage and has indestructible) or drop her into a Nekusar, the Mindrazer shell where every card drawn punishes the table, and she stops being a utility piece and starts being a win condition.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Nekusar, the Mindrazer
Nekusar, the Mindrazer turns every card drawn into direct damage, so Nin, the Pain Artist's ability to dump a hand's worth of cards onto one player becomes a precision strike — dump X damage on a creature, draw X cards, ping everyone for X through Nekusar's trigger.
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 Nin, the Pain Artist actually gets to breathe — 100-card decks give her enough indestructible and high-toughness creatures to make the draw ability repeatable, and she's a legal commander herself, enabling a dedicated Izzet goodstuff or group-slug shell. In Legacy and Vintage she's technically legal but competes with cantrips and fast mana that make a four-mana tap ability feel glacial; no competitive player is sleeving her there. Oathbreaker is the one fringe format worth mentioning — she can serve as a planeswalker-adjacent value piece if the shell supports her, though the format's smaller card pool limits the indestructible targets she wants.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Nin, the Pain ArtistBrash TaunterMind Over MatterNyx Lotus
Infinite draw triggers; Infinite looting; Infinite self-discard triggers; Near-infinite damage; Near-infinite mana among colors with which you have devotion
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Nin, the Pain ArtistChasm SkulkerMind Over MatterKhalni GemGilded Lotus
Infinite card draw; Near-infinitely large creature
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Nin, the Pain Artist isn't available in the current feed, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number before buying. She's a casual Commander staple without significant competitive demand, which historically keeps her accessible — don't pay a premium.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.