Poison-Tip Archer
Creature — Elf Archer
Reach (This creature can block creatures with flying.)
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
Whenever another creature dies, each opponent loses 1 life.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Kaldheim Commander
- Price
- $1.14
- EDHREC rank
- #1642
Poison-Tip Archer turns every creature death into a drain trigger — stack it with Tombstone Stairwell and you're dealing damage to the entire table on each upkeep without touching combat. Four mana for a 2/3 with reach and deathtouch is a fair rate on its own, but the passive drain ability is what puts it in Grismold, the Dreadsower lists at nearly 68% inclusion.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Grismold, the Dreadsower
Grismold, the Dreadsower hands out Plant tokens to opponents each upkeep, so those tokens dying to any board wipe or sacrifice effect becomes guaranteed drain with Poison-Tip Archer in play — the loop is automatic and punishes opponents for the tokens Grismold forces on them.
Lathril, Blade of the Elves
Lathril, Blade of the Elves goes wide with Elves and then sacrifices them for effects, making Poison-Tip Archer a passive drain engine that converts every token trade or sacrifice into life loss across the table.
Ellie, Brick Master // Joel, Resolute Survivor
Ellie, Brick Master // Joel, Resolute Survivor generates creature tokens from a non-green angle, and Poison-Tip Archer picks up all that incidental death — the deathtouch also makes it a credible blocker that protects the planeswalker half of the pairing.
Slimefoot, the Stowaway
Slimefoot, the Stowaway already drains when Saprolings die, and Poison-Tip Archer doubles down on that theme — every Saproling death triggers both, stacking life loss faster than opponents can ignore it.
Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Savra, Queen of the Golgari wants creatures dying constantly to fuel her sacrifice triggers, and Poison-Tip Archer converts that same death stream into chip damage that closes out games Savra's life-drain alone can't finish.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Poison-Tip Archer is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its home is firmly Commander. In 60-card formats it's too slow and too passive — four mana for a static drain trigger does nothing the turn it enters, and competitive Legacy and Modern aren't running aristocrats engines that need a body at this rate. Commander is where the math works: three or more opponents mean every death trigger drains three life simultaneously, and token-heavy metas make the passive damage add up without any additional investment.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Tombstone StairwellPoison-Tip Archer
Near-infinite lifeloss; Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite death triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$1.14 cheap tier
At $1.14, Poison-Tip Archer sits in the budget-staple tier — cheap enough to auto-include in any Golgari or Jund aristocrats build without a second thought. That price is stable; it's a common-rarity effect on an uncommon body with consistent demand from Commander players, so it's not going anywhere dramatic.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Tombstone Stairwell
- Grismold, the Dreadsower
- Lathril, Blade of the Elves
- Ellie, Brick Master // Joel, Resolute Survivor
- Slimefoot, the Stowaway
- Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.