Phyrexian Vatmother

Creature — Phyrexian Horror

Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
At the beginning of your upkeep, you get a poison counter.

CMC
4
Mana cost
{2}{B}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Mirrodin Besieged
Price
$0.34
EDHREC rank
#13572
Buy on TCGplayer
Phyrexian Vatmother card art
Phyrexian Vatmother puts a 4/5 infect body on the board for four mana and poisons the player who controls it — a liability you can weaponize by donating it with Jon Irenicus, Shattered One, forcing an opponent to eat two poison counters per turn. Run it in that shell and it's a removal-resistant clock; run it anywhere else and you're paying in life for a vanilla beater.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Jon Irenicus, Shattered One

Jon Irenicus, Shattered One

36.9% of decks · synergy 0.36

Jon Irenicus, Shattered One donates Phyrexian Vatmother to an opponent, flipping the cumulative poison drawback into a game-ending threat — the recipient takes two poison counters every upkeep and can't easily attack with a 4/5 infect creature pointed at its own team.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander
legacy
modern
pioneer
standard
vintage
pauper
oathbreaker

In Commander, Phyrexian Vatmother is essentially a Jon Irenicus, Shattered One card — outside that specific donation shell, the poison-counter upkeep cost is a real liability across a long multiplayer game. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but never sees play; infect decks in those formats want one-mana threats that close the game on turn one or two, not a four-mana creature that punishes its own controller. Modern has faster, more consistent infect packages, and Phyrexian Vatmother's rate doesn't compete. Oathbreaker is the one fringe spot where a donation-style strategy could replicate the Commander angle at a smaller table.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.34 bulk tier

At $0.34, Phyrexian Vatmother is bulk — a card whose narrow role keeps demand low and supply permanent. That price is stable for as long as it stays a Jon Irenicus staple rather than a crossover pickup, so don't expect movement in either direction.

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