Sadistic Skymarcher
Creature — Vampire Soldier
As an additional cost to cast this spell, reveal a Vampire card from your hand or pay 
.
Flying, lifelink
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Rivals of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #23269
Sadistic Skymarcher enters the battlefield and drains each opponent for 1 life while gaining you 1 — a free two-point life swing per player the moment it lands. Flying body included, but the ETB trigger is the whole reason to run it.
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 |
In Commander, Sadistic Skymarcher scales unusually well — hitting three or four opponents means three or four life drained on the spot, which adds up fast in dedicated life-gain or aristocrats builds. Competitive non-rotating formats like Modern and Legacy have zero interest in a three-mana 2/1 flyer with an ETB that only matters at large table sizes; it simply doesn't trade efficiently in one-on-one games. Pioneer is the same story — the card is legal but irrelevant against faster, higher-impact options. Sadistic Skymarcher is a Commander-only card in practice, and it earns its slot specifically in white-black strategies that either blink ETBs repeatedly or reward each life-gain trigger.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Sadistic Skymarcher sits firmly in bulk territory — easy to acquire and easy to cut without financial regret. Bulk commons and uncommons at this price rarely move unless a new Commander product puts them in the spotlight, so don't expect the number to change.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.