Obelisk Spider
Creature — Spider
Reach
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a creature, put a -1/-1 counter on that creature.
Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Amonkhet Remastered
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #5001
Obelisk Spider turns every -1/-1 counter you place into a life-swing — opponents lose 1, you gain 1 — which adds up fast in a counter-heavy shell. In Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons decks specifically, that triggered drain fires alongside every Snake token Hapatra produces, making a three-mana 1/4 reach do a surprising amount of work.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons is the deck Obelisk Spider was built for — every infect hit, every Wither trigger, every counter placed by the commander herself also fires the Spider's drain, stacking life loss across the table while Hapatra floods the board with Snakes.
Auntie Ool, Cursewretch
Auntie Ool, Cursewretch distributes -1/-1 counters as part of her curse-spreading gameplan, and Obelisk Spider converts each of those placements into incremental life drain that accelerates the attrition Auntie Ool is already engineering.
The Reaper, King No More
The Reaper, King No More cares about creatures dying with counters on them, and Obelisk Spider ensures that the process of loading those counters onto opposing creatures also costs opponents life before the death trigger ever resolves.
Shelob, Child of Ungoliant
Shelob, Child of Ungoliant gives Spider creature type relevance thematic overlap, but the real draw is that Shelob's deathtouch-sharing and Food generation keep the board locked down while Obelisk Spider drains opponents out of combat damage that goes through.
Volrath, the Shapestealer
Volrath, the Shapestealer can copy Obelisk Spider to become a 1/4 with reach and the drain trigger, then pivot to something else next turn — it's a toolbox inclusion that lets Volrath access the drain engine without dedicating the permanent slot long-term.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Obelisk Spider is a Commander card through and through — the drain trigger rewards the kind of sustained counter-placement that unfolds over a multiplayer game, and three opponents losing life simultaneously makes the math much more threatening than it looks in a duel. In competitive 1v1 formats like Modern or Pioneer, it's too slow and too passive; a 1/4 reach for three mana that pings for one isn't keeping pace with those formats' threats. Legacy and Vintage have the card legal but no reason to run it — nothing there is building around -1/-1 counters at that power level. Oathbreaker can find room for it in a Hapatra or Auntie Ool shell if the planeswalker supports that strategy. Treat it as a Commander-only piece and evaluate it accordingly.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Hapatra, Vizier of PoisonsYawgmoth, Thran PhysicianObelisk Spider
Near-infinite lifeloss; Near-infinite lifegain triggers; Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers; Near-infinite card draw; Near-infinite draw triggers; Destroy all creatures opponents control; Destroy each creature that enters the battlefield under an opponent's control; Infinite -1/-1 counters; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Channeler InitiateSinking FeelingObelisk Spider
Infinite lifegain; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite lifeloss
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for Obelisk Spider at the moment, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for current listings. Given that it's a casual Commander staple rather than a competitive constructed piece, it has historically sat in the bulk-to-under-a-dollar range — worth picking up as a low-risk grab for any -1/-1 counter deck.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.