Aftershock
Sorcery
Destroy target artifact, creature, or land. Aftershock deals 3 damage to you.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Jumpstart 2022
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #16809
Aftershock destroys an artifact, creature, or land and deals 3 damage to you — raw flexibility at the cost of a life payment that most red decks ignore. Outside of dedicated self-damage builds like Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence, that 3 life is a drawback with no upside, and three mana for a single-target removal spell is already below the bar in Commander.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence
Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence scales her power and toughness off life loss, so the 3 damage Aftershock deals to you isn't a cost — it's a trigger, turning a modal removal spell into a pump effect stapled to interaction.
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, Aftershock is a fringe inclusion that only earns its slot in decks that want to lose life on purpose — otherwise Chaos Warp and Feed the Swarm do more for the same or less mana. Pauper is where Aftershock has historically seen the most legitimate play: land destruction is a viable axis in that format, and hitting artifacts, creatures, or lands on one card gives aggressive red decks real reach. Legacy and Vintage both have access to far more efficient interaction, so Aftershock doesn't register in those formats. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander — niche self-damage synergy only.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Aftershock is firmly bulk — pick it up without thinking twice if the deck calls for it. Bulk commons with narrow applications don't tend to move, so don't expect the price to change in either direction.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.