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Vindictive Lich

Creature — Zombie Wizard

When this creature dies, choose one or more. Each mode must target a different player.
• Target opponent sacrifices a creature of their choice.
• Target opponent discards two cards.
• Target opponent loses 5 life.

CMC
4
Mana cost
{3}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Secret Lair Drop
Price
$3.90
EDHREC rank
#7228
Buy on TCGplayer
Vindictive Lich card art
Vindictive Lich hits the table and immediately forces an opponent to sacrifice a creature, discard three cards, or lose 5 life — and in the right deck, you trigger all three effects at once. The cost is a five-mana 4/1 body that dies to a stiff breeze, so you're playing it for the enters-the-battlefield trigger, not the stats; Araumi of the Dead Tide and Rot Hulk both make that tradeoff trivially worth it.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Araumi of the Dead Tide

Araumi of the Dead Tide

45.7% of decks · synergy 0.45

Araumi of the Dead Tide's Encore ability creates three tokens of Vindictive Lich at end of turn, pointing each copy at a different opponent and stripping all three simultaneously — it's the most efficient single-card use of the trigger in the format, which is exactly why 46% of Araumi of the Dead Tide decks run it.

02
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

19.8% of decks · synergy 0.18

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord wants Liches in the deck by design, so Vindictive Lich earns its slot on tribal grounds alone before the ETB trigger even comes up.

03
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist

Inalla, Archmage Ritualist

13.2% of decks · synergy 0.13

Inalla, Archmage Ritualist pays one mana to copy Vindictive Lich's enter-the-battlefield trigger the moment it resolves, forcing two opponents to eat a sacrifice, discard, or life-loss effect from a single cast.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is the only format where Vindictive Lich performs at its ceiling — three opponents means three separate trigger targets, turning a five-mana creature into a three-for-one that can strip a hand, clear a blocker, and drain life in the same turn. In Legacy and Vintage, where it's technically legal, it's a non-starter: five mana for a 4/1 with a one-time ETB trigger doesn't compete in those environments. Oathbreaker is the one exception worth noting — two opponents still means two trigger targets, which is respectable value if your spellbook supports sacrifice loops.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$3.90 cheap tier

At $3.90, Vindictive Lich sits in comfortable budget range for what it does, and the price reflects steady demand from Araumi and reanimator builds rather than speculative hype. It's unlikely to spike dramatically, but it's also not the kind of card that falls to bulk — the ETB trigger is genuinely powerful enough in multiplayer that it holds its floor.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.