Samurai of the Pale Curtain
Creature — Fox Samurai
Bushido 1 (Whenever this creature blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
If a permanent would be put into a graveyard, exile it instead.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Champions of Kamigawa
- Price
- $0.47
- EDHREC rank
- #16244
Samurai of the Pale Curtain replaces the graveyard with exile the moment anything dies, shutting down reanimator, flashback, and death-trigger recursion from the moment it enters — all on a 2/2 with bushido for two mana. That's a lot of graveyard hate stapled to a body that can pressure planeswalkers and trade up in combat.
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 |
In Commander, Samurai of the Pale Curtain earns a slot in any white or white-adjacent deck that wants incidental graveyard hate without spending a dedicated card slot on a pure hate piece — the fact that it attacks and blocks makes it nearly free to include. Legacy and Vintage have access to faster, more efficient graveyard hate, so Samurai of the Pale Curtain doesn't see meaningful play there; Death and Taxes adjacent lists occasionally test it, but dedicated hate cards like Rest in Peace do the job more completely. Modern is the one non-rotating format where it could theoretically see fringe play in Samurai-tribal shells, though the competition is stiff. It's a Commander card first and foremost.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.47 bulk tier
At $0.47, Samurai of the Pale Curtain is pure bulk — you're getting a legitimate hate piece for less than a pack of sleeves. It's unlikely to climb; graveyard hate at this rate rarely spikes unless a tribal lord pushes Samurai specifically into competitive relevance.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.