Assassinate
Sorcery
Destroy target tapped creature.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Planechase 2012
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #15939
Assassinate kills any tapped creature unconditionally — no power cap, no color restriction, no exceptions. Three mana at sorcery speed for a conditional removal spell is a bad rate in 2024, and the tapped restriction means it sits dead in hand more often than it fires.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Assassinate competes against instant-speed, unconditional removal like Swords to Plowshares and Beast Within — it loses that comparison badly. The tapped requirement means you can't answer a creature the turn it attacks unless combat has already resolved, which is exactly when you least need the answer. In Pauper, the commons pool is shallower and Assassinate is at least legal, but Vendetta and Grasp of Darkness are both cheaper and more reliable. Across Legacy and Vintage, it's technically legal and practically invisible — no competitive shell wants a conditional sorcery at three mana. Skip it in every format where you have better options, which is every format.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Assassinate sits firmly in bulk territory — cheap enough to sleeve on a whim, not cheap enough to excuse the slot. The price reflects the demand accurately: this is a placeholder card you run until something better shows up, not a staple you seek out.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.