Will-o'-the-Wisp
Creature — Spirit
Flying (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.)
: Regenerate this creature. (The next time this creature would be destroyed this turn, instead tap it, remove it from combat, and heal all damage on it.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Foreign Black Border
- Price
- $38.00
- EDHREC rank
- #16654
Will-o'-the-Wisp is a one-mana black flier that regenerates for one black mana, making it a near-indestructible blocker that demands repeated answers or just sits there taxing your opponents forever. The floor is low, but in decks that care about sacrifice fodder, recursion loops, or aristocrats triggers, the ceiling is surprisingly high.
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 |
In Commander, Will-o'-the-Wisp earns its slot in aristocrats and sacrifice decks where a resilient, repeatable body matters more than raw power — it blocks indefinitely, eats removal, and comes back from near-death as long as you have black mana open. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but rarely want it; the formats move too fast for a 0/1 that does nothing proactive, and there are simply better one-drops for any shell that could theoretically use it. Modern is legal but the same logic applies — Will-o'-the-Wisp is a Commander card wearing a competitive-format jersey it never actually puts on.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Reassembling Skeleton fills a similar role as a cheap, recursion-friendly black creature that keeps coming back, though it costs two mana each time rather than regenerating in place, which matters in combat-heavy scenarios. If the draw is specifically the flying body, Carrier Thrall and other cheap black fliers with built-in value get close, but nothing in the budget tier replicates the exact combination of evasion and in-combat regeneration that Will-o'-the-Wisp offers.
Price Context
Current price
$38.00 premium tier
At $38, Will-o'-the-Wisp sits firmly in the premium tier — a price driven almost entirely by its age and collector demand rather than competitive ubiquity. It's a fine card, but you're paying a significant nostalgia tax, and the price is unlikely to drop as long as the original printings remain the primary supply.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.