The Scorpion God

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The Scorpion God is a 6/5 recursive threat that draws a card whenever a creature with a -1/-1 counter dies and can repeatedly distribute -1/-1 counters for {1}{B}{R}; its self-return-to-hand on death makes it highly resilient and a natural commander for -1/-1 counter strategies. It is a signature inclusion in minus-one-counters shells (Hapatra, Nest of Scarabs) and aristocrats builds that exploit creature deaths for value, but the activated ability's pip-heavy cost and the need to build around the trigger make it a poor fit outside dedicated synergy shells.

• The Scorpion God's return-to-hand trigger fires at the beginning of the NEXT end step after it dies, so if it dies on your opponent's turn it returns at their end step, meaning you have it back in hand for your next turn immediately.

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• Because the card-draw trigger fires when a creature with a -1/-1 counter dies (not just ones you killed), enablers like Hapatra's token snakes (which have 1/1 bodies that die to any -1/-1 counter) create a synergistic two-card engine between The Scorpion God and Hapatra that is far more powerful than either alone.

  tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

• The activated ability {1}{B}{R} targets 'another' creature, so it cannot target The Scorpion God itself — this means you cannot use it to fuel the draw trigger on your own commander.

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• EDHREC rank: #5,438