Poison-Blade Mentor
Creature — Human Assassin
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
Whenever this creature attacks, another target Assassin you control gains deathtouch until end of turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Assassin's Creed
- Price
- $0.27
- EDHREC rank
- #11307
Poison-Blade Mentor hands every Assassin you control a free poison counter trigger on hit, which in the right deck translates to a clock that bypasses life totals entirely. The cost is a three-mana 2/3 with no evasion of its own — it needs a board to matter, and it does nothing the turn it lands.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive cares deeply about Assassins connecting, and Poison-Blade Mentor amplifies every successful hit with a poison counter, stacking an infect clock on top of the exile-card win condition so opponents are racing two different loss conditions at once.
Ramses, Assassin Lord
Ramses, Assassin Lord already wants Assassins swinging at opponents, and Poison-Blade Mentor adds a poison-counter layer so every hit does double duty — advancing Ramses's "opponent has been dealt damage this turn" trigger while inching toward a poison-counter kill.
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad rewards Assassins for landing hits with counters and bonuses, and Poison-Blade Mentor piles poison counters on top of that package, giving the deck a secondary axis that forces opponents to respect the board even before Altaïr's own payoffs resolve.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Poison-Blade Mentor is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but Commander is the only format where it's realistically worth a slot. In Legacy and Vintage, Assassin tribal is not a competitive archetype and three mana for a 2/3 with a conditional triggered ability is nowhere near rate. Modern is theoretically legal but the same problem applies — there's no Assassin shell looking for this effect. Commander is where the card lives, specifically in Assassin-tribal builds where it generates cumulative advantage across a long game and the poison-counter angle can close out opponents who've stabilized at high life totals.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.27 bulk tier
At $0.27, Poison-Blade Mentor is bulk, and that price reflects its narrow role — it's only meaningful in dedicated Assassin tribal. For the decks that want it, the low cost means there's no reason not to include it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Etrata, Deadly Fugitive
- Ramses, Assassin Lord
- Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.