Smogsteed Rider
Creature — Human Wizard
Whenever this creature attacks, each other attacking creature gains fear until end of turn. (They can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Guildpact
- Price
- $0.22
- EDHREC rank
- #23899
Smogsteed Rider makes every creature you control a flying threat by granting intimidate and flying to your whole board — but only until end of turn, and only if you pay three mana and tap it each time. That activation cost is too steep and too slow for most competitive tables, keeping Smogsteed Rider a niche pick rather than a staple.
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, Smogsteed Rider fits narrowest in black-heavy go-wide decks that want a repeatable evasion layer — think Rat Colony or Relentless Rats builds where the board is already wide and you just need to punch through. Outside of that niche, three mana per activation competes with actually playing a spell, and sorcery-speed mass evasion rarely closes games fast enough. In Legacy and Vintage it's a non-starter; those formats end before a tap-activated evasion engine does anything relevant. Smogsteed Rider is effectively a Commander-only card, and even there it needs the right shell to justify a roster spot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.22 bulk tier
At $0.22, Smogsteed Rider sits firmly in bulk territory — easy to pick up, easy to cut without regret. Bulk rares with narrow applications tend to stay at this price floor indefinitely, so there's no urgency either way.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.