Attrition
Enchantment
, Sacrifice a creature: Destroy target nonblack creature.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Urza's Destiny
- Price
- $18.07
- EDHREC rank
- #4784
Attrition is a repeatable creature removal engine that costs one black mana and a creature you were planning to sacrifice anyway — the tax is minimal in any deck generating tokens or recurring its graveyard. Commanders like Lucius the Eternal and Gisa, the Hellraiser turn it into a one-sided board-control lock that grinds opponents out of threats over several turns.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gisa, the Hellraiser
Gisa, the Hellraiser generates a constant stream of Zombie tokens on opponents' turns, giving Attrition a steady fuel supply that makes the enchantment effectively free to operate. The result is a loop where Gisa fills the board and Attrition keeps it clear of blockers and threats simultaneously.
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
Every creature Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder casts floods the board with Thrull tokens, and Attrition converts that overflow directly into targeted removal — especially relevant since sacrificing excess Thrulls is already mandatory to prevent Endrek from dying to his own trigger. It's one of the cleanest cost-to-output ratios Attrition finds anywhere.
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker returns every power-1-or-less creature that died under your control at end of turn, which means each Attrition activation costs nothing in the long run — the sacrificed creature comes back. The two cards form a self-sustaining removal loop that opponents need an answer for immediately or they lose the board.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Attrition is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker — and Commander is by far its natural habitat. In Commander, the multiplayer board state rewards a repeatable, low-cost removal effect far more than any 60-card format, and creature-token strategies are ubiquitous enough that the sacrifice cost barely registers. In Legacy and Vintage, Attrition is technically legal but practically irrelevant — the formats move too fast for a three-mana enchantment that requires a board presence to function, and single-use removal or countermagic gets the job done more efficiently. Oathbreaker sits closer to Commander in pace and power, so Attrition can find a home there in the same sacrifice-heavy shells. Everywhere else — Modern, Pioneer, Standard, Pauper — it's not legal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Lucius the EternalPitiless PlundererAttrition
Destroy all nonblack creatures that enter the battlefield under an opponent's control; Destroy all nonblack creatures opponents control; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Plaguecrafter and Fleshbag Marauder both force sacrifice effects on a body that can itself be recycled, approximating Attrition's grind at under $1 each, though they hit once rather than repeatedly. If the goal is a permanent that keeps firing, Viscera Seer plus Bolas's Citadel-style card advantage is a different axis entirely — the closest true analogue to Attrition's repeatable, targeted clause is simply Attrition itself, and no direct replacement exists at a lower price.
Price Context
Current price
$18.07 mid tier
At $18.07, Attrition sits in the mid tier — not a casual impulse buy, but well within the range of a deliberate Commander upgrade. It holds that price because it's a unique, un-reprinted effect with no functional equivalent, and demand from black sacrifice decks is consistent enough to keep the floor stable.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.