Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Legendary Creature — Ogre Warrior
Vigilance, reach
Ruric Thar attacks each combat if able.
Whenever a player casts a noncreature spell, Ruric Thar deals 6 damage to that player.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GR
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Pioneer Masters
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #4563
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed hits the table as a 6/6 vigilance, reach threat that punches players for 6 every time they cast a noncreature spell — in most pods, that clause ends the instants-and-sorceries conversation immediately. The cost is a six-mana investment into a creature that dies to the removal spells it was suppressing, so it demands a deck built entirely around creatures to avoid dealing yourself the damage; Nikya of the Old Ways is exactly that deck.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Nikya of the Old Ways
Nikya of the Old Ways already forbids noncreature spells from its controller, so Ruric Thar, the Unbowed is pure upside — an additional 6-damage deterrent aimed squarely at opponents trying to answer the board with wraths and counterspells.
Alena, Kessig Trapper // Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood
Alena, Kessig Trapper // Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood is a creature-centric Gruul value engine that wants high-power bodies to convert into mana, and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed qualifies on both counts — a 6/6 that Alena immediately profits from and that discourages the instant-speed interaction that would break up the pair.
Mayael the Anima
Mayael the Anima cheats fatties into play at instant speed, and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed is a clean hit at power 6 that punishes the table for firing removal or countermagic in response to her activations.
Klothys, God of Destiny
Klothys, God of Destiny runs a punisher-style gameplan that taxes opponents through incidental damage, and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed layers a second, much larger tax on noncreature spells — the two together can make even a single turn of spellcasting prohibitively expensive.
Yurlok of Scorch Thrash
Yurlok of Scorch Thrash is a mana-burn deck that wants opponents to hemorrhage life from every angle, and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed adds a consistent 6-life swing each time an opponent reaches for a sorcery or instant — synergy that compounds fast.
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 |
Commander is where Ruric Thar, the Unbowed does its best work: a 120-life pod full of planeswalker-heavy, spell-slinging decks turns the 6-damage trigger into a genuine clock, and the political weight of its presence reshapes the table even if it never connects in combat. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but effectively unplayable — six mana is an eternity in formats that end games on turn two, and Pyroblast handles it for one. Modern is the same story; Ruric Thar, the Unbowed is too slow and too color-intensive to compete against a field of streamlined, interactive decks. Pioneer is technically legal but offers no realistic home. Oathbreaker can support it in a creature-heavy Gruul shell, though the smaller starting life total blunts the threat's impact compared to the Commander experience.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Ruric Thar, the Unbowed isn't available in this page's dataset — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for live market rates. Historically it's been a bulk-to-budget rare, so expect a low entry point if you're picking one up for a Nikya or Mayael build.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Nikya of the Old Ways
- Alena, Kessig Trapper // Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood
- Mayael the Anima
- Klothys, God of Destiny
- Yurlok of Scorch Thrash
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.