Grim Haruspex

Grim Haruspex was originally introduced in the Khans of Tarkir expansion in 2014, designed as a black creature capable of drawing cards whenever another nontoken creature you control dies. It quickly became a staple in black-aligned Commander decks due to its efficiency as a draw engine and its flavor connection to the Sultai Brood, a faction obsessed with necromancy and the manipulation of the dead. The card represents the dark, pragmatic nature of the clan's practitioners who commune with the spirits of the fallen to gain forbidden knowledge.

The version from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate features artwork by Seb McKinnon, an artist renowned for his surreal, atmospheric, and often unsettling aesthetic. For this piece, McKinnon employed his signature painterly style, utilizing muted tones and ethereal, haunting silhouettes to emphasize the grim nature of the haruspex, who practices divination through the entrails of the deceased. His interpretation was widely praised by the player base for elevating the card's unsettling thematic elements beyond traditional fantasy tropes.