Plague Witch
Creature — Elf Spellshaper
, 
, Discard a card: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Nemesis
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #24300
Plague Witch is a one-mana 1/1 that can sacrifice itself to give a target creature -1/-1 until end of turn — a narrow, low-impact effect that costs you a body to remove a body only temporarily. Unless your deck has a specific reason to want a cheap sacrifice outlet or a -1/-1 counter synergy, there are strictly better options at every slot.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Plague Witch earns a slot almost exclusively in -1/-1 counter decks — think Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons or Yawgmoth, Thran Physician shells — where the sacrifice and the debuff both trigger meaningful payoffs. In Pauper, the one-mana cost and sacrifice outlet are more relevant; aggressive black decks can squeeze value from it in aristocrats-adjacent builds, though it rarely makes the cut over more efficient options. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters — the effect is simply too small for those formats. Plague Witch is a format-dependent role-player, not a staple.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Plague Witch is deep bulk — you'll find it in a common box before you'd bother ordering it. The price reflects the card's narrow role accurately and is unlikely to move without an unexpected reprint-driven spike in -1/-1 counter synergy demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.