Rift Elemental
Creature — Elemental
, Remove a time counter from a permanent you control or suspended card you own: This creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Modern Masters
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #11224
Rift Elemental converts suspended cards into direct damage — every time a time counter is removed from a permanent you control, you can pay one red mana to remove an additional counter, turning Jhoira of the Ghitu's long-game setup into an accelerant and a win condition simultaneously. The cost is real: it's a fragile 1/1 that does nothing without a suspension engine already running, and Rousing Refrain is the only card that naturally generates its own counter pile outside of that engine.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Jhoira of the Ghitu is the definitive home — Rift Elemental's ability was essentially designed for this deck, letting you burn through suspended spells two to four turns ahead of schedule while Jhoira of the Ghitu keeps the suspension pipeline full.
The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler
The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler generates adventure counters and puts cards in exile with counters, giving Rift Elemental enough raw material to fire repeatedly in a deck that already wants to manipulate those counters for other payoffs.
Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Gandalf of the Secret Fire cares about instant and sorcery spells and can suspend cards itself, so Rift Elemental slots in as an acceleration piece that collapses the wait time on your biggest threats while still progressing Gandalf of the Secret Fire's spell-count gameplan.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the only format where Rift Elemental earns a regular roster spot — the suspend synergies that make it worthwhile are deep enough to build around only in a 100-card singleton context with a dedicated commander. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but competes with a card pool that makes paying one mana to shave a single counter laughably slow. Pauper is the one other format worth mentioning: suspend is a viable common-level mechanic, but Rift Elemental's payoff is too narrow to justify the slot in a focused aggro or control shell. Treat it as a Commander-specific piece and move on.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Rousing RefrainRift Elemental
Infinitely powerful creature until end of turn; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite red mana; Infinite storm count
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Titania, Nature's ForceUnderworld BreachPhyrexian AltarRift Elemental
Infinite self-mill; Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers; Near-infinite storm count
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Rift Elemental is deep bulk — a pickup cost that's essentially free in the context of any deck order. Demand is narrow enough that the price has nowhere meaningful to go; buy the copies you need and don't hold extras.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Rousing Refrain
- Jhoira of the Ghitu
- The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler
- Gandalf of the Secret Fire
- Titania, Nature's Force
- Underworld Breach
- Phyrexian Altar
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.