Scytheclaw Raptor
Creature — Dinosaur
Whenever a player casts a spell, if it's not their turn, this creature deals 4 damage to them.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #2930
Scytheclaw Raptor punishes every noncreature spell an opponent casts by dealing 6 damage to them — that pressure mounts fast in a game where people are playing interaction, ramp, and draw every turn. The cost is a six-mana creature with no built-in protection, so it needs a shell that either closes quickly or keeps it alive.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed already taxes noncreature spells for 6, and Scytheclaw Raptor stacks that threat on the board — opponents now face 6 damage from the commander and another 6 from the Raptor every time they cast an instant or sorcery, which ends games in two or three spells.
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor turns the Raptor subtype into a tribal engine, and Scytheclaw Raptor contributes both creature count and a punisher effect that discourages opponents from interacting with your board.
Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest
Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest rewards casting creatures with card draw, and Scytheclaw Raptor slots in as a high-threat body that also punishes opponents for the interaction they'd want to fire off against your board.
Zo-Zu the Punisher
Zo-Zu the Punisher's land-play tax and Scytheclaw Raptor's noncreature-spell tax combine into a full-spectrum punishment suite that chips opponents down from multiple angles before they can stabilize.
Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence
Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence converts life loss into +1/+1 counters and pump, and Scytheclaw Raptor guarantees your opponents are taking incremental hits — every counter Blyte picks up off that damage is a direct payoff.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Scytheclaw Raptor is legal across competitive formats but sees essentially zero play outside Commander — six mana for a creature with no immediate board impact is nowhere near the rate Legacy, Modern, or Pioneer demand. In Commander, it earns its slot specifically in punisher and group-slug strategies, where the 6-damage trigger compounds fast across four players each casting multiple noncreature spells per turn. Outside those archetypes, it's too slow and too dependent on opponents' choices to be reliable. Oathbreaker could theoretically support it in a similar punisher shell, but the lower player count reduces how often the trigger fires.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Scytheclaw Raptor is firmly bulk — easy to pick up as a four-of or stuff into every punisher deck you own without a second thought. Bulk rares with narrow homes tend to stay in this range, so don't expect movement unless a punisher deck breaks into a more competitive format.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
- Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
- Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest
- Zo-Zu the Punisher
- Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.