Obscura Initiate
Creature — Bird Citizen
Flying
: This creature gains lifelink until end of turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BUW
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Streets of New Capenna
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #28946
Obscura Initiate trades board presence for opponent punishment — each connive trigger your opponents activate drains them one life and pads your hand with a card. The cost is playing a 1/1 for three mana that does nothing until your opponents do something, which makes it a liability in fast metas but a quiet engine in grind-heavy pods.
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 |
Obscura Initiate is a Commander card front to back — the connive mechanic exists almost exclusively in that format's card pool, and multiplayer tables guarantee at least one opponent triggering it per turn cycle. In Pauper it's technically legal but finds no home; connive is too sparse in that format's staples to reliably proc the drain. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer offer faster, more consistent engines, so Obscura Initiate doesn't see play there. Stick to Commander, and specifically to decks that can protect a small creature long enough to recoup the three-mana investment.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Obscura Initiate is pure bulk — you're picking it up as a throw-in, not a purchase. That price is stable by default; there's no demand pressure to move it in either direction.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.