Orcus, Prince of Undeath
Legendary Creature — Demon
Flying, trample
When Orcus enters, choose one —
• Each other creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. You lose X life.
• Return up to X target creature cards with total mana value X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. They gain haste until end of turn.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
- Price
- $0.42
- EDHREC rank
- #8044
Orcus, Prince of Undeath hits the board and immediately threatens either a Wrath effect or a mass reanimation — opponents have to respect both lines from the moment you cast him. The X cost means he scales into the late game, and in a dedicated Demon shell like Raphael, Fiendish Savior, the bodies he returns come back with lifelink and deathtouch stapled on.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Raphael, Fiendish Savior
Raphael, Fiendish Savior turns every Demon Orcus, Prince of Undeath reanimates into a lifelink-deathtouch threat, making the mass-recursion mode an instant board-state problem for opponents rather than a slow rebuild.
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Rakdos, Lord of Riots reduces the cost of large creatures based on damage dealt to opponents, and Orcus, Prince of Undeath — who can deal damage to clear the board before you cast your fatties — feeds directly into that discount engine.
Be'lakor, the Dark Master
Be'lakor, the Dark Master draws a card whenever a Demon enters the battlefield, so the mass-reanimation mode on Orcus, Prince of Undeath can chain into a significant refuel if your graveyard is stocked.
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 |
Commander is the natural home for Orcus, Prince of Undeath — the X cost rewards the large mana pools the format enables, and the choice between wiping the board or refilling it is exactly the kind of flexible threat multiplayer tables have to answer. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer he's legal but barely relevant; a six-mana sorcery-speed creature without an immediate guaranteed impact doesn't compete in those formats where the game is often decided by turn four. Vintage is the same story — legal, ignored. Oathbreaker could find a home for him as a signature spell surrogate in a Rakdos reanimator shell, but the real action is in Commander.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.42 bulk tier
At $0.42, Orcus, Prince of Undeath is firmly bulk, which undersells how much work he does in Demon and reanimator Commander shells. Bulk rares with genuine board impact tend to stay cheap indefinitely unless a high-profile deck spikes demand, so pick him up freely.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Raphael, Fiendish Savior
- Rakdos, Lord of Riots
- Be'lakor, the Dark Master
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.