Relentless Skaabs
Creature — Zombie
As an additional cost to cast this spell, exile a creature card from your graveyard.
Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #27233
Relentless Skaabs enters as a 4/3 with ward 2 that proliferates when it attacks — a recurring source of counter spread that demands two mana just to target. The additional cost of exiling a creature from your graveyard is real, but in any deck already leaning on the bin, Denry Klin, Editor in Chief style counter synergies make that exile an investment, not a tax.
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 |
Relentless Skaabs is a Commander card — the proliferate trigger is cumulative value that compounds over a long game, and graveyard-matters themes are deepest in the 100-card format. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; a five-mana 4/3 with a graveyard tax doesn't come close to the efficiency those formats demand. Modern has enough Zombie synergy to make it theoretically playable, but it still competes against a format where five mana is a closing condition, not a tempo play. Stick to Commander, where the ward 2 actually slows down removal and the proliferate snowballs into something opponents have to answer.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Denry Klin, Editor in ChiefRelentless SkaabsAshnod's Altar
Infinite colorless mana; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite death triggers; Infinite sacrifice triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Champion of the WeirdRelentless SkaabsDross Harvester
Infinite -1/-1 counters; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite death triggers; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite sacrifice triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Champion of the WeirdRelentless SkaabsVein Ripper
Infinite -1/-1 counters; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite death triggers; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite lifeloss; Infinite sacrifice triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightShilgengar, Sire of FamineRelentless Skaabs
Infinite Blood tokens; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite death triggers; Infinite sacrifice triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightYahenni, Undying PartisanRelentless Skaabs
Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite death triggers; Infinite sacrifice triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Relentless Skaabs is deep bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or bulk bin find. Bulk rares with narrow appeal rarely climb unless a commander printing pushes their specific synergy into the spotlight, so don't expect movement.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Denry Klin, Editor in Chief
- Ashnod's Altar
- Champion of the Weird
- Dross Harvester
- Vein Ripper
- Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of Twilight
- Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
- Yahenni, Undying Partisan
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.