Viridian Emissary
Creature — Phyrexian Elf Scout
When this creature dies, you may search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Duel Decks: Mirrodin Pure vs. New Phyrexia
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #9294
Viridian Emissary trades its body for a basic land when it dies, which means every sacrifice outlet, every combat, and every removal spell your opponent aims at it becomes ramp. The cost is a 2/1 body for two mana that does nothing on the board until it dies — but in any deck that wants creatures in the graveyard or controls when things die, that's a feature, not a liability. Baba Lysaga, Night Witch decks in particular run it because a creature that rewards dying is exactly the engine piece Lysaga wants.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch's ability to sacrifice creatures repeatedly turns Viridian Emissary into an engine — each death fetches a basic, and Lysaga wants a stocked graveyard anyway, so the two goals reinforce each other rather than compete.
Meren of Clan Nel Toth
Meren of Clan Nel Toth gets Viridian Emissary back from the graveyard for free once experience counters stack up, turning a single copy into repeatable ramp that triggers every time Meren recurs and re-sacrifices it.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Viridian Emissary is a niche but honest role-player — it belongs in sacrifice-heavy green decks that have enough death triggers to guarantee the land fetch rather than hoping to trade it in combat. Pauper is where it sees the most concentrated use outside Commander, since the commons card pool makes a guaranteed-land-on-death body genuinely competitive for creature-based ramp slots. In Legacy and Vintage, Viridian Emissary is strictly outclassed by faster mana acceleration and never sees play. Modern has better options at two mana even in creature-based ramp shells, so it doesn't register there either.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for Viridian Emissary right now, but as a common with multiple printings it has historically sat well under $1 and is easy to find in bulk. Check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for current listings — it's rarely worth paying more than a few cents for a copy.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.