Ad Nauseam
Instant
Reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. You lose life equal to its mana value. You may repeat this process any number of times.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Shards of Alara
- Price
- $30.56
- EDHREC rank
- #1312
Ad Nauseam draws your entire deck in one shot — the cost is that every card revealed deals damage equal to its mana value, so your curve has to be built around surviving the dig. Pair it with Teferi's Protection or a similar damage prevention piece and it becomes the cleanest one-card engine in Commander; Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept runs it in nearly 90% of lists for exactly that reason.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | banned |
Ad Nauseam is legal in Legacy, Modern, and Vintage, where low-curve combo decks have used it as an end-step draw engine under Angel's Grace or Phyrexian Unlife. It's banned in Oathbreaker, where the compressed game state and signature-spell tutoring make a full-grip refuel at instant speed too consistent to tolerate. Commander gives it a pass largely because the 40-life starting total creates a wider margin for the self-damage — a deck built with a low average mana value can flip 20-plus cards and still survive long enough to win on the same turn.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept is the definitive Ad Nauseam commander: Silas Renn enables artifact-based storm lines, Rograkh costs zero which keeps the average mana value of the 99 low enough that Ad Nauseam frequently draws 30+ cards without lethal self-damage.
Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver
Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver plays Ad Nauseam as the late-game refuel in a fast artifact-storm shell where the curve is already compressed to protect Dargo's cost reduction, making the self-damage predictably survivable.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce slots Ad Nauseam into a Grixis storm package where pirate triggers generate treasure and the deck's low-curve artifact suite keeps the damage ceiling manageable.
Maralen of the Mornsong
Maralen of the Mornsong locks opponents out of drawing cards and then uses Ad Nauseam as the one-sided engine to assemble a win while they're stuck searching one card per upkeep.
Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire
Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire tutors Ad Nauseam directly to hand with Boast, then untaps as a blocker while you fire it off at end of an opponent's turn to refuel into a same-turn win.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Nothing fully replaces Ad Nauseam — the instant speed and no-hand-size-limit combination is unique — but Necropotence gets closest at a fraction of the price, trading instant-speed access for a slower, controllable dig at the cost of your draw step. Dark Confidant and Sylvan Library offer incremental card advantage at low mana values, which fits the same low-curve shells that want Ad Nauseam, though neither delivers the same all-in explosive refuel.
Price Context
Current price
$30.56 premium tier
At $30.56, Ad Nauseam sits firmly in the premium tier — expensive enough to feel in a budget, cheap enough that cEDH players don't think twice. It's a staple in a specific archetype rather than a universal include, so the price reflects real demand from competitive Ad Nauseam combo lists rather than casual speculation.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Teferi's Protection
- Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
- Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver
- Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce
- Maralen of the Mornsong
- Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire
- Phyrexian Unlife
- Platinum Angel
- Flare of Fortitude
- Angel's Grace
- Sickening Dreams
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.