Unscythe, Killer of Kings
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has first strike.
Whenever a creature dealt damage by equipped creature this turn dies, you may exile that card. If you do, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
Equip 
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BRU
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Alara Reborn
- Price
- $1.83
- EDHREC rank
- #17591
Unscythe, Killer of Kings turns every creature kill into a potential free Zombie — that's a real battlefield effect for a four-mana equip-two axe that also pumps for +3/+0 and first strike. The catch is the cost: eight mana to deploy and equip the first time is a steep ask outside of dedicated Grixis shells, though Eternal Scourge loops and Tetsuo, Imperial Champion's built-in equip synergy bring that ceiling down considerably.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tetsuo, Imperial Champion
Tetsuo, Imperial Champion can destroy target creatures using equipped creatures — meaning Unscythe, Killer of Kings doesn't just sit on a beatstick, it turns Tetsuo's removal trigger into a Zombie factory, converting every kill into board presence without spending a second card.
Thraximundar
Thraximundar wants opponents sacrificing creatures constantly, and Unscythe, Killer of Kings closes that loop: creatures that die to Thraximundar's attack triggers can be exiled and replaced with Zombies, compounding the sacrifice pressure while feeding Thraximundar's own +1/+1 counter engine.
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 |
Commander is where Unscythe, Killer of Kings actually sees play — the long game gives you time to recoup the mana investment, and Grixis commanders that care about death triggers, Zombies, or equipment make the card earn its slot. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant: eight mana total to equip is a non-starter in formats where games end on turn two or three. Oathbreaker is theoretically viable with the right planeswalker-plus-signature-spell shell, but the equipment's ceiling there is lower without the multiplayer attrition economy that makes Unscythe, Killer of Kings worth running.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Eternal ScourgeAshnod's AltarUnscythe, Killer of KingsMarauding Raptor
Infinite colorless mana; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite storm count
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$1.83 cheap tier
At $1.83, Unscythe, Killer of Kings sits comfortably in budget territory — you're not paying a premium to try it. It's a narrow enough card that demand is unlikely to spike it meaningfully, so picking one up now or later makes little practical difference.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.