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Ob Nixilis, Unshackled

Legendary Creature — Demon

Flying, trample
Whenever an opponent searches their library, that player sacrifices a creature of their choice and loses 10 life.
Whenever another creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Ob Nixilis.

CMC
6
Mana cost
{4}{B}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Magic 2015
Price
$3.67
EDHREC rank
#3721
Buy on TCGplayer
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled card art
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled punishes every search effect with a 10-life tax and a +1/+1 counter on itself, turning tutors into liabilities the moment it hits the battlefield. The cost is six mana for a 4/4 — steep enough that you need a reason to run it, and that reason is almost always Maralen of the Mornsong locking opponents into searching every turn, or Animation Module converting those counters into a token army.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Maralen of the Mornsong

Maralen of the Mornsong

56.9% of decks · synergy 0.54

Maralen of the Mornsong forces every player to search each turn, which means Ob Nixilis, Unshackled is draining 10 life from each opponent on a predictable schedule — the two cards form one of the most punishing two-card locks in mono-black Commander.

02
Ardyn, the Usurper

Ardyn, the Usurper

41.9% of decks · synergy 0.39

Ardyn, the Usurper accumulates counters and pressures life totals by design, and Ob Nixilis, Unshackled slots in as a redundant drain engine that punishes the fetch lands and tutors opponents lean on to answer a growing threat.

03
Athreos, God of Passage

Athreos, God of Passage

33.0% of decks · synergy 0.32

Athreos, God of Passage already forces opponents into a life-loss decision every time a creature dies, and Ob Nixilis, Unshackled layers on additional life-loss whenever anyone searches — two separate taxes that compound quickly in longer games.

04
Massacre Girl

Massacre Girl

33.7% of decks · synergy 0.31

Massacre Girl's wipes clear the board of small creatures while leaving Ob Nixilis, Unshackled's must-answer body intact, and the life-loss trigger punishes the tutors opponents cast to rebuild after a sweeper.

05
Be'lakor, the Dark Master

Be'lakor, the Dark Master

27.5% of decks · synergy 0.26

Be'lakor, the Dark Master draws cards off every Demon that enters the battlefield, and Ob Nixilis, Unshackled qualifies while also growing from search triggers — it fills a flex threat slot that incidentally shuts down a core part of how Commander decks function.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Ob Nixilis, Unshackled actually matters — the format is built on fetch lands, tutors, and Cultivate effects, so the search-punish trigger fires constantly and the 10-life tax is existential in a 40-life game. In Legacy and Vintage it's unplayable; six mana is a non-starter in formats where the game can end on turn one, and there's no reliable way to force opponents to search on your schedule. Modern and Pioneer are the same story — the format's pace leaves no room for a six-drop that does nothing the turn it arrives. Oathbreaker is a fringe case where it works in the same Maralen shell that makes it powerful in Commander, just with a smaller card pool to support it.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$3.67 cheap tier

At $3.67, Ob Nixilis, Unshackled sits in the cheap tier — fair for a card with a narrow but dedicated home in Commander search-punishment builds. The price is stable; it doesn't spike because most decks don't want it, but the Maralen demand floor keeps it from bottoming out.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.