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Ruthless Ripper

Creature — Human Assassin

Deathtouch
Morph—Reveal a black card in your hand. (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for {3}. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When this creature is turned face up, target player loses 2 life.

CMC
1
Mana cost
{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
common
Set
Masters 25
Price
$0.21
EDHREC rank
#12747
Buy on TCGplayer
Ruthless Ripper card art
Ruthless Ripper enters as a 1/1 deathtouch that forces an opponent to lose 2 life the moment it's revealed — a morph trigger that doubles as a combat deterrent and a free life-drain. The cost is exactly what you'd expect from a one-mana body: it folds to any removal and doesn't close games alone, but in Missy or Etrata, Deadly Fugitive shells it earns its slot on synergy alone.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive

Etrata, Deadly Fugitive

56.1% of decks · synergy 0.55

Etrata, Deadly Fugitive cares about spells cast from exile and cards with disguise, and Ruthless Ripper checks both boxes — it hits the board face-down, reveals for a life-drain trigger, and slots neatly into the disguise-matters package that Etrata rewards with extra card advantage.

02
Missy

Missy

42.9% of decks · synergy 0.43

Missy incentivizes running morph and disguise creatures, and Ruthless Ripper is one of the cheapest ways to trigger that density — a one-mana body that pays off immediately on the unmorph and keeps the Missy engine fed.

03
Ramses, Assassin Lord

Ramses, Assassin Lord

16.4% of decks · synergy 0.16

Ruthless Ripper is a legal Assassin, which is all Ramses, Assassin Lord ultimately needs — it contributes to the tribal headcount and the deathtouch makes it a credible blocker that discourages attacks into the entire board.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Ruthless Ripper is a role-player, not a staple — it earns inclusion specifically in morph, disguise, or Assassin-tribal builds where the reveal trigger and creature type matter. In Pauper it competes for space in black aggro and death-touch packages, where a one-mana deathtouch creature with upside is genuinely playable. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer all have access to Ruthless Ripper, but the power floor in those formats is high enough that a 1/1 with a situational reveal trigger doesn't threaten for slots. Outside of Commander synergy shells, it's a card that wins in theme, not raw power.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.21 bulk tier

At $0.21, Ruthless Ripper is deep bulk — you're paying essentially nothing for a card that pulls real weight in the right Commander deck. That price is stable; there's no pressure driving it up, and the supply is wide enough that it won't spike unless a new morph or Assassin commander breaks into the format.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.