Active Volcano
Instant
Choose one —
• Destroy target blue permanent.
• Return target Island to its owner's hand.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Masters Edition III
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #18009
Active Volcano destroys a target land if you return a basic Mountain to your hand — clean, permanent removal at instant speed for one red mana. It's a narrow tool: useless outside red-heavy builds and dead against non-blue opponents who never touch Islands.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Active Volcano occupies a niche role in mono-red or heavy-red builds that want cheap, instant-speed land removal — typically to knock out opposing Cabal Coffers, Dark Depths, or utility lands before they generate value. The cost of bouncing one of your own Mountains is real but recoverable, especially if you're running land-drop payoffs or have extra lands in hand. In Legacy and Vintage, it historically saw sideboard consideration as an Island answer against blue-heavy decks, but dedicated land destruction has far more efficient options available at those power levels. Pauper is the most plausible competitive home, where cheap permanent removal is scarcer and the one-mana ceiling matters more.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Active Volcano isn't currently available, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for current market listings. Given its narrow application and age, expect it to sit in bulk-to-low-value territory unless demand from a specific Commander archetype pushes it up.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.