Piper of the Swarm
Piper of the Swarm: Creature - Human Warlock, Forgotten Realms Commander. Rats you control have menace. Printings, prices, and format legality on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {1}{B}
- Mana value
- 2
- Type
- Creature - Human Warlock
- Colour identity
- Black (B)
- Power / toughness
- 1/3
- Rarity
- Rare
- Set
- Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC)
- Released
- 2021-07-23
- Collector number
- 106
- Artist
- Irina Nordsol
- Commander rank
- 2,985 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
Build around this card with Grover
About Piper of the Swarm
Piper of the Swarm is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare black creature from Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC), a Commander product released in July 2021. It is collector number 106 in that set, with art by Irina Nordsol. It costs {1}{B} (one generic and one black mana) to cast, for a mana value of 2. It is a 1/3 creature. Its colour identity is black. It is legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Historic, Timeless, Gladiator and Penny Dreadful. It has been printed in 5 sets, from Throne of Eldraine (2019) to Forgotten Realms Commander (2021). The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $1.48 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-03).
Card text
Rats you control have menace.
{1}{B}, {T}: Create a 1/1 black Rat creature token.
{2}{B}{B}, {T}, Sacrifice three Rats: Gain control of target creature.
"If it has ears, it will dance to my tune."
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $1.48 (as of 2026-11-03).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Piper of the Swarm by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Pioneer | Legal |
|---|---|
| Modern | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
Other printings of Piper of the Swarm
Piper of the Swarm has been printed in 5 sets. The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Secret Lair Drop (SLD) #7074 | Rare | 2026 |
| Magic Online Promos (PRM) #78862 | Rare | 2019 |
| Throne of Eldraine (ELD) #100 | Rare | 2019 |
| Throne of Eldraine (ELD) #355 | Rare | 2019 |
| Throne of Eldraine (ELD) #392 | Rare | 2019 |
| Throne of Eldraine Promos (PELD) #100p | Rare | 2019 |
| Throne of Eldraine Promos (PELD) #100s | Rare | 2019 |
Official rulings
One official ruling applies to Piper of the Swarm.
- The control-change effect of Piper of the Swarm's last ability lasts indefinitely. It doesn't wear off during the cleanup step, and it doesn't expire if Piper of the Swarm leaves the battlefield. In a multiplayer game, it does expire if you leave the game.
Similar cards
Other creature cards with a black colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.
Mentioned in these guides
These guides mention Piper of the Swarm.