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Shambling Ghast

Creature — Zombie

When this creature dies, choose one —
• Target creature an opponent controls gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
• Create a Treasure token. (It's an artifact with "{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.")

CMC
1
Mana cost
{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
common
Set
Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
Price
$0.38
EDHREC rank
#3288
Buy on TCGplayer
Shambling Ghast card art
Shambling Ghast dies and immediately taxes an opponent or generates a Treasure — two distinct forms of value stapled to a one-mana 1/1 that was never supposed to survive anyway. In recursive shells built around Chthonian Nightmare or Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker, that death trigger fires over and over, turning a throwaway body into a repeating drain or mana engine.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker

Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker

56.7% of decks · synergy 0.51

Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker returns every creature with power 1 or less that dies under its watch, and Shambling Ghast qualifies perfectly — each recursion cycle drains an opponent or banks a Treasure before the Ghast comes straight back.

02
Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder

Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder

42.2% of decks · synergy 0.40

Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder cares about sacrifice and Treasure generation, and Shambling Ghast supplies a cheap, self-replacing body that produces a Treasure on death without requiring any additional infrastructure.

03
Dargo, the ShipwreckerTymna the Weaver

Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver

34.6% of decks · synergy 0.34

Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver leans on cheap sacrifice fodder to reduce Dargo's cost, and Shambling Ghast earns its slot by fueling that reduction while leaving behind a Treasure or an opponent's tempo loss.

04
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

28.6% of decks · synergy 0.23

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord rewards repeated creature deaths, and Shambling Ghast is exactly the kind of expendable one-drop that keeps the death count climbing while generating incremental value on the way out.

05
Braids, Arisen Nightmare

Braids, Arisen Nightmare

26.9% of decks · synergy 0.21

Braids, Arisen Nightmare asks opponents to sacrifice or pay a tax at the start of each turn, and Shambling Ghast pairs by adding its own death-trigger tax — doubling the pressure on opponents to bleed resources every turn.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Shambling Ghast is a Commander card at heart — its death trigger scales with recursive engines and sacrifice loops that simply don't exist at the same density in other formats. In Pauper it sees occasional play as cheap fodder in aristocrats-adjacent shells, where the Treasure or drain option gives it flexibility over vanilla sacrifice bait. Modern and Pioneer have access to the card but rarely want it; one-drops in those formats need immediate board presence or interaction, and a 1/1 with a conditional death trigger doesn't clear that bar. Legacy and Vintage are too fast for it to matter. Commander is where Shambling Ghast earns every copy — the long game, the recursive commanders, and the political value of the tax-or-Treasure choice all converge to make it a staple in the right builds.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

2,145 decks
Liliana, Untouched by DeathShambling GhastCarrion Feeder

Liliana, Untouched by DeathShambling GhastCarrion Feeder

Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite storm count

View on Commander Spellbook ↗
1,328 decks
Liliana, Untouched by DeathShambling GhastAshnod's Altar

Liliana, Untouched by DeathShambling GhastAshnod's Altar

Infinite colorless mana; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite storm count

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

$0.38 bulk tier

At $0.38, Shambling Ghast is bulk by any measure, and that price is unlikely to move — it's widely available and sees enough print spread to stay cheap indefinitely. Grab it without hesitation; the cost is negligible relative to the work it does in the right shell.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

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