Spellpyre Phoenix
Creature — Phoenix
Flying
When this creature enters, you may return target instant or sorcery card with a cycling ability from your graveyard to your hand.
At the beginning of each end step, if you cycled two or more cards this turn, return this card from your graveyard to your hand.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2020
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #18352
Spellpyre Phoenix recurs itself every time you cast your second spell in a turn, turning a cycling-heavy or cantrip-dense shell into a self-replenishing threat that demands repeated answers. The cost — needing two spells per turn to keep it active — is trivial in Gavi, Nest Warden, where cycling cards count as free spell triggers.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gavi, Nest Warden
Gavi, Nest Warden makes the second-spell requirement nearly automatic: free cycling triggers off Gavi's cost reduction stack alongside cheap cantrips, so Spellpyre Phoenix is returning from the graveyard almost every turn with minimal extra investment.
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 |
Spellpyre Phoenix is a Commander card — its recursion condition rewards decks that naturally cast two spells per turn, which happens organically in cantrip-heavy or cycling builds but rarely lines up in Legacy or Vintage, where the competition at three mana is steep and board presence matters less than raw efficiency. In Commander, it earns its slot as a resilient attacker that punishes opponents who spend removal on it without disrupting your spell flow. Legacy and Vintage leave it on the shelf; the formats are legal but the card simply doesn't compete with what those formats are doing at the same mana investment.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Spellpyre Phoenix sits firmly in bulk territory — easy to pick up as a throw-in or from a bargain bin. Bulk rares with narrow synergy homes rarely climb without a spike in competitive interest, so treat this as a cheap role-player to slot in and forget about, not a spec target.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.