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Scrap Trawler

Artifact Creature — Construct

Whenever this creature dies or another artifact you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, return to your hand target artifact card in your graveyard with lesser mana value.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{3}
Color identity
C
Rarity
rare
Set
Commander 2021
Price
$1.68
EDHREC rank
#856
Buy on TCGplayer
Scrap Trawler card art
Scrap Trawler turns every artifact death into a recursion chain — when it's on board, losing a Myr Retriever means getting a cheaper artifact back from the graveyard, and that cascade compounds fast. At three mana for a 3/2, the cost is almost irrelevant to how much engine it provides; Imotekh the Stormlord players run it in over 76% of decks for a reason.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Imotekh the Stormlord

Imotekh the Stormlord

76.3% of decks · synergy 0.74

Imotekh the Stormlord's gameplan is built around artifacts dying and generating value, and Scrap Trawler is the card that turns that death into a self-sustaining loop rather than a one-time trigger.

02

Megatron, Tyrant

67.1% of decks · synergy 0.65

Megatron, Tyrant wants artifacts entering and leaving play repeatedly to fuel his conversion ability, and Scrap Trawler ensures that each sacrifice or destruction event climbs back up the mana-cost ladder rather than fading into the graveyard.

03
Imskir Iron-Eater

Imskir Iron-Eater

64.9% of decks · synergy 0.63

Imskir Iron-Eater feeds on sacrificing artifacts for power and toughness, and Scrap Trawler keeps the fuel tank topped off by recursing smaller pieces every time a larger one dies.

04
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp

Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp

67.7% of decks · synergy 0.62

Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp decks cycle Modular counters through repeated artifact deaths, and Scrap Trawler plugs back in the spent pieces so the counter engine never runs dry.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Commander is where Scrap Trawler earns its reputation — 99-card artifact strategies have the density of cheap artifacts needed to make the recursion chain non-trivial, and a single copy on board can turn a wrath into a full board replay. In Modern, it sees occasional play in dedicated artifact combo shells but competes against faster and more redundant options, limiting it to niche status. Pioneer and Legacy are similar stories: legal in both, but the artifact synergy decks in those formats either don't need the recursion or have better tools available. Scrap Trawler is a Commander card that happens to be legal elsewhere.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$1.68 cheap tier

At $1.68, Scrap Trawler is firmly budget despite its combo pedigree — high reprint availability keeps the ceiling low. It's a safe pickup that won't strain any deck's budget, and the price reflects steady supply rather than any lack of demand in artifact strategies.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

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