Nyxathid
Creature — Elemental
As this creature enters, choose an opponent.
This creature gets -1/-1 for each card in the chosen player's hand.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Battlebond
- Price
- $0.33
- EDHREC rank
- #14948
Nyxathid enters as a 7/7 or bigger for three mana — the catch is that your opponent controls how big it gets by managing their hand size. In Abigale, Eloquent First-Year decks it's almost always a threat on turn three, but in any context where opponents can freely refill, the floor is embarrassingly low.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Abigale, Eloquent First-Year
Abigale, Eloquent First-Year is built to empty opponent hands, which means Nyxathid consistently enters and stays as a 7/7 — the discard engine does exactly the work needed to keep the threat online.
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist runs enough disruption that hand sizes stay suppressed, giving Nyxathid a reliable floor and making it a reasonable include in the 23% of those decks that want a cheap, oversized body.
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 |
In Commander, Nyxathid is a strong fit for dedicated discard shells — three opponents means three hands to whittle down, and a resolved discard strategy can keep it at or near maximum size. Outside of that archetype it's a liability, since any one opponent refilling erodes the threat without interaction required on their part. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but sees no meaningful play; the format's threat density and speed make a creature whose power depends on opponent hand size a poor investment. Modern is the same story — Nyxathid has never found a home there despite the format's discard staples, because a do-nothing 0/1 on the wrong turn is unacceptable at that speed.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.33 bulk tier
At $0.33, Nyxathid is firmly bulk — the kind of card you pick up as a throw-in without thinking twice. It holds that price tier comfortably given its narrow playability; nothing on the horizon suggests demand spikes.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Abigale, Eloquent First-Year
- Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.