Scrawling Crawler — Magic: The Gathering card

Scrawling Crawler

{3}
Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Construct

At the beginning of your upkeep, each player draws a card.

Whenever an opponent draws a card, that player loses 1 life.

*It spreads the machine gospel of New Phyrexia, its task incomplete until all surrender to perfection.*

Power/Toughness: 3/2

Set Foundations
Rarity Rare
Mana Value 3
Artist Miro Petrov
Collector # 132
Scryfall

Why Play Scrawling Crawler

Cards that force symmetrical card draw while punishing opponents create powerful pressure engines in multiplayer games. The steady life drain accumulates quickly when multiple opponents are drawing extra cards each turn, making it particularly effective against control decks that rely on card selection and draw spells. Deploy it early to maximize the life loss over time, especially when facing decks that run cards like Rhystic Study or other draw engines.

Format Notes

Commander represents this card's strongest format, where the multiplayer nature amplifies both the card draw and life loss effects significantly. In 60-card formats like Standard and Pioneer, it sees niche play in prison-style strategies or as a sideboard option against draw-heavy matchups. The symmetric draw effect makes it less appealing in competitive 1v1 formats where giving opponents cards often outweighs the incremental damage.

Combos & Synergies

Pairing with Teferi's Puzzle Box creates a devastating lock where opponents constantly lose life from the forced draws each turn. Notion Thief completely breaks the symmetry by giving you all the card draw while opponents still take damage from their attempts. Cards like Consecrated Sphinx and other "whenever an opponent draws" triggers multiply the punishment, turning every draw step into a significant life swing in your favor.

Learn More

Creature Artifact Standard Modern Pioneer