Nirkana Assassin
Creature — Vampire Assassin Ally
Whenever you gain life, this creature gains deathtouch until end of turn. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Battle for Zendikar
- Price
- $0.04
- EDHREC rank
- #23040
Nirkana Assassin is a conditional blocker that destroys attacking creatures with lifelink — solid disruption stapled to a 2/3 body for three mana. The lifelink requirement keeps it narrow enough that it rarely earns a main-deck slot outside of dedicated black lifegain builds.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Nirkana Assassin occupies a niche in lifegain-matters decks where triggering the ability consistently is realistic, but most black removal suites would rather run interaction that doesn't depend on what the attacking creature has. In Pauper it's legal and the lifelink clause lines up reasonably against commons that frequently carry the keyword, but three-mana do-nothing-until-attacked is a tough sell in a faster format. Across Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer, Nirkana Assassin doesn't compete with the efficient removal those formats demand.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.04 bulk tier
At $0.04, Nirkana Assassin sits firmly in bulk territory — the kind of card you pull from a box rather than order. Demand is too narrow to expect the price to move in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.