Thran Spider
Artifact Creature — Spider
Reach
When this creature enters, you and target opponent each create a tapped Powerstone token.
: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal an artifact card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The Brothers' War Promos
- Price
- $0.32
- EDHREC rank
- #10211
Thran Spider puts a +1/+1 counter on any artifact that enters — including itself — which turns cheap activated abilities into a repeatable growth engine across your whole board. The catch is the two-mana activation cost, which Zirda, the Dawnwaker cuts in half and makes the whole machine feel free.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Zirda, the Dawnwaker
Zirda, the Dawnwaker's static ability halves the activation cost on Thran Spider, turning a two-mana tap into a one-mana tap and letting you ping counters onto every artifact that enters without bleeding your whole turn dry. That efficiency is why Thran Spider shows up in nearly a third of Zirda builds.
Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist
Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist generates a steady stream of artifact tokens, and every one of those tokens entering triggers Thran Spider's counter distribution — so the Spider scales directly with how fast Ashnod floods the board.
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 |
Thran Spider is a Commander card through and through — its value compounds over a long game with many artifact triggers, which is exactly the texture of a 100-card multiplayer format. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern or Pioneer it's too slow and too conditional; paying two mana per activation in a format that counts every turn makes this a non-starter outside of a dedicated Zirda shell. Legacy and Vintage have better artifact synergy payoffs at lower costs, so Thran Spider doesn't crack those lists either. Stick to Commander, specifically artifact-heavy builds that can exploit the repeatable counter placement turn after turn.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.32 bulk tier
At $0.32, Thran Spider is firmly bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or out of a bargain bin. Bulk rares with narrow synergy profiles rarely climb unless a popular new commander pushes demand, so don't expect this to appreciate, but at this price it's zero-risk to slot in and test.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.