Altar's Light
Instant
Exile target artifact or enchantment.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Mirrodin
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #21916
Altar's Light exiles any one permanent — no type restriction, no exceptions — for four mana at sorcery speed. That ceiling is real, but sorcery speed and a four-mana price tag put it well behind Path to Exile and Generous Gift in every format where those cards are legal.
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 | legal |
In Commander, Altar's Light competes in the most crowded slot in the format — single-target permanent removal — and loses to cheaper, more flexible options at nearly every turn. Legacy and Vintage have access to a removal suite so efficient that Altar's Light never sees play there. Modern is the same story: four mana at sorcery speed to answer one permanent is simply too slow when the format ends on turn three or four. Altar's Light is legal in Oathbreaker, where the smaller card pool and lower power ceiling make bulk removal slightly more tolerable, but even there better options exist.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Altar's Light is deep bulk — the price reflects its near-zero competitive demand. Don't expect movement; cards in this tier hold their floor and rarely climb without a reprint into relevance or a sudden rules environment that rewards unconditional exile.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.