Phyrexian Vivisector
Creature — Phyrexian Human
Whenever a creature you control dies, scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Dominaria United
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #15802
Phyrexian Vivisector trades a Phyrexian mana activation and a -1/-1 counter placement for a 4/4 flying trample body — the rate is real if your deck already wants to distribute -1/-1 counters. The cost is that the creature it targets must have a -1/-1 counter on it first, so Phyrexian Vivisector does nothing without infrastructure to support it.
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 |
In Commander, Phyrexian Vivisector slots into -1/-1 counter synergy decks — Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons and Yawgmoth, Thran Physician shells both generate the counters needed to unlock the activation repeatedly. In Pauper, a 4/4 flyer with trample is a meaningful threat, but the conditional activation limits it to dedicated counter-centric builds rather than generic black midrange. Phyrexian Vivisector is legal in Modern, Legacy, and Vintage, but those formats offer more efficient threats at the same slot, so it sees essentially no play there. The card's ceiling is squarely in Commander, where synergy density makes the activation condition trivially easy to meet.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Phyrexian Vivisector is deep bulk — you're paying essentially nothing for a role-player that punches above its price in the right shell. Bulk rares rarely appreciate unless a new commander pushes their synergy into the spotlight, so pick up copies because you want to play it, not to sit on them.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.