Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern
Legendary Creature — God // Legendary Artifact
Menace
Whenever an opponent sacrifices a nontoken permanent or discards a permanent card, you may put that card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Kaldheim
- Price
- $20.38
- EDHREC rank
- #1534
Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern converts every discard and sacrifice effect your opponents suffer into a permanent you steal — it doesn't grind value, it ends games by dismantling boards and hands simultaneously. The five-mana front face is the payoff; commanders like Tinybones, Trinket Thief that already force discard every turn make Tergrid's trigger fire for free, and Ley Weaver loops that drain opponents' resources become outright theft engines the moment Tergrid hits the table.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tinybones, Trinket Thief
Tinybones, Trinket Thief punishes opponents for having empty hands at end of turn, meaning Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern is collecting stolen permanents on virtually every trip around the table — the two cards form a self-sustaining engine where discard feeds Tergrid and Tergrid's stolen lands accelerate future discard spells.
Malik, Grim Manipulator
Malik, Grim Manipulator forces opponents to sacrifice creatures, and Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern catches every permanent that hits a graveyard through that effect — together they make sacrifice-based removal a one-two punch of clearing threats and immediately redeploying them under your control.
Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal
Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal strips cards from opponents' hands on combat damage, and Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern turns each of those discarded cards into a permanent on your side of the board — the combination means a successful attack does triple duty by dealing damage, emptying a hand, and populating your field.
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger forces discard and life loss every time it attacks or escapes, and Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern converts those forced discards into a stream of stolen permanents that compound the pressure Kroxa already applies to multiple opponents.
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar exiles opponents' cards and lets you cast them, but pairing it with Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern adds a parallel theft layer — whenever opponents discard to hand size or sacrifice in response to your effects, Tergrid is collecting the overflow.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern is most oppressive — three opponents means triple the discard and sacrifice triggers, and a single resolved Tergrid can steal enough permanents in one rotation to put you completely out of reach. The Lantern back face matters here too: three mana to tap, then pay three life or sacrifice a permanent becomes a repeatable soft-lock that forces opponents into impossible choices every turn. In Legacy and Vintage the five-mana front face is too slow for a format defined by one- and two-mana interaction, and the effect doesn't compensate — those formats have better reanimation and theft at lower cost. Modern and Pioneer are the formats where Tergrid sees occasional fringe play in dedicated discard shells, but it tops out as a one- or two-of finisher rather than a centerpiece.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Ley WeaverMaze of IthTergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern
Infinite colored mana; Infinite colorless mana; Infinite lifeloss; Infinite untap of lands you control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Waste Not is the closest budget replacement — it doesn't steal permanents outright, but it converts each discarded card into mana, tokens, or cards depending on type, keeping the discard-payoff engine running for under a dollar. Sangromancer and Geth's Grimoire occupy similar space for specific payoffs, but neither punishes opponents the way Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern does; the honest trade-off is that every budget alternative rewards you for the discard without actually taking anything away from your opponents' boards.
Price Context
Current price
$20.38 premium tier
At $20.38, Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern sits in premium territory — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate inclusion, but justified by its irreplaceable effect in discard and sacrifice strategies. It's a staple in enough high-synergy decks that demand stays steady, making it a stable purchase rather than a price-risk gamble.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Ley Weaver
- Tinybones, Trinket Thief
- Malik, Grim Manipulator
- Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal
- Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
- Tinybones, Bauble Burglar
- Maze of Ith
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.