Vile Entomber
Creature — Zombie Warlock
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
When this creature enters, search your library for a card, put that card into your graveyard, then shuffle.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Modern Horizons 2
- Price
- $0.37
- EDHREC rank
- #1867
Vile Entomber enters the battlefield and immediately tutors any card into your graveyard — a reusable Entomb stapled to a 2/2 deathtouch body that trades with anything it blocks. The flash tag is what tips it from good to great, letting you set up a graveyard target at instant speed before The Beamtown Bullies or any reanimation trigger resolves.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Beamtown Bullies
The Beamtown Bullies needs a specific high-power creature in the graveyard on demand, and Vile Entomber delivers it at flash speed the turn you need it — 64% of Bullies builds run it for exactly this reason.
Greasefang, Okiba Boss
Greasefang, Okiba Boss wins by animating a Vehicle from the graveyard, and Vile Entomber is one of the cleanest ways to get Parhelion II or Aethersquall Ancient into the bin at instant speed the turn before Greasefang swings.
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death recurs creatures with power two or less from the graveyard, and Vile Entomber's 2/2 body means Alesha can loop it back — effectively turning the pair into a repeatable tutor-to-reanimate engine.
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist cares about creatures entering the graveyard and rewards stacking specific targets there, making Vile Entomber a premium setup piece that doubles as a flash blocker with deathtouch.
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord runs graveyard-centric recursion that benefits from precise self-mill, and Vile Entomber lets you select exactly which threat hits the bin rather than leaving it to chance.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the format Vile Entomber was built for — flash Entomb on a deathtouch body is tailor-made for reanimator shells that need a specific creature in the bin before a trigger resolves. In Modern and Pioneer, it competes in graveyard-combo decks as a slower but more resilient alternative to Entomb itself, since the body survives board interaction and can be recurred. Legacy has access to the original Entomb at one mana, so Vile Entomber is rarely correct there unless redundancy is the explicit goal. In Standard it's legal but too narrow for most builds, dependent on a graveyard synergy package that has to outweigh paying three mana for the effect.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.37 bulk tier
At $0.37, Vile Entomber is firmly bulk despite being a near-staple in multiple popular Commander archetypes — its price reflects wide print availability, not limited demand. It's a safe pickup at this tier; the effect is too good in reanimator to see a meaningful price drop further.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- The Beamtown Bullies
- Greasefang, Okiba Boss
- Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
- Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
- Zul Ashur, Lich Lord
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.