Phyrexian Archivist
Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Construct
Reach
, 
: Put target card from a graveyard on the bottom of its owner's library.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- March of the Machine
- Price
- $0.07
- EDHREC rank
- #21939
Phyrexian Archivist taps to let each player draw a card and discard a card — a symmetrical loot effect on a 2/3 body for three mana. The symmetry is the cost: you're paying full retail for an effect you share with the table, which limits it to decks that actively profit from the looting more than opponents do.
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 |
Phyrexian Archivist is a Commander card in practice — the symmetrical loot is only interesting when the table dynamic makes giving opponents a draw-discard acceptable or exploitable. In Pauper it's technically legal but competes with strictly more efficient commons that don't hand opponents resources. Legacy, Vintage, and Modern all move too fast for a tapped 2/3 that requires mana investment every activation to matter. Commander is the one format where its ceiling exists: wheel-and-punishment commanders, madness synergy shells, and draw-trigger generals can all turn the symmetry asymmetric, which is the only context where Phyrexian Archivist earns its roster spot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.07 bulk tier
At $0.07, Phyrexian Archivist is deep bulk — you're paying essentially nothing to acquire it. The price is unlikely to move; symmetrical looting on a creature body has a narrow enough home that demand stays low even in its best Commander shells.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.