Serpent Assassin
Creature — Snake Assassin
When this creature enters, you may destroy target nonblack creature.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Portal
- Price
- $2.16
- EDHREC rank
- #21883
Serpent Assassin enters and kills a nonblack creature — no targeting, no response window for the opponent to dodge it — but five mana for a 2/3 with a comes-into-play removal stapled on is a steep rate in any powered environment. It's a role-player in reanimator and blink shells that abuse ETBs, a cut candidate everywhere else.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the only format where Serpent Assassin is realistically playable, and even there it needs a blink or reanimation engine to justify the slot — Brago, King Eternal or Yarok, the Desecrated loops make the ETB worth the five-mana investment. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but wholly outclassed; no one is casting a 2/3 for five when Toxic Deluge and Fatal Push exist. Oathbreaker is legal on paper but the same rate problem applies.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$2.16 cheap tier
At $2.16, Serpent Assassin sits in the budget rare tier — you're paying for a niche collectible, not competitive demand. The price is unlikely to climb without a reprint in a product that spotlights ETB synergies, and there's no shortage of cheaper removal that does more.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.