Noxious Hatchling
Creature — Elemental
This creature enters with four -1/-1 counters on it.
Wither (This deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters.)
Whenever you cast a black spell, remove a -1/-1 counter from this creature.
Whenever you cast a green spell, remove a -1/-1 counter from this creature.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Eventide
- Price
- $0.34
- EDHREC rank
- #19281
Noxious Hatchling enters as an 8/8 for four mana — one of the best rate creatures in black-green — and the -1/-1 counter clause that keeps it small until you clear those counters is a feature, not a bug, in any deck built around that mechanic. Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons turns every counter placed on the Hatchling into a deathtouch token, so the 'drawback' is immediately generating a board.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
Every -1/-1 counter Noxious Hatchling enters with triggers Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons once per counter, flooding the board with deathtouch snake tokens while the Hatchling itself grows into an 8/8 threat the moment those counters are stripped.
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 |
Noxious Hatchling is a Commander card through and through — the -1/-1 counter synergy payoffs are concentrated there, and the 99-card singleton format gives it a dedicated ecosystem of enablers that don't exist at critical mass elsewhere. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; fair four-mana creatures with conditions don't compete at those power levels. Modern has better standalone threats at the same cost and no meaningful -1/-1 counter shell to support it. Play Noxious Hatchling in Commander or don't play it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.34 bulk tier
At $0.34, Noxious Hatchling is bulk — you're paying almost nothing for a card that does a specific and powerful thing in the right shell. Bulk rares with narrow but real applications tend to stay cheap indefinitely, so there's no urgency to stock up, but picking up a copy for a -1/-1 counter deck costs less than a sleeve.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.