Aura Mutation
Instant
Destroy target enchantment. Create X 1/1 green Saproling creature tokens, where X is that enchantment's mana value.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GW
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2016
- Price
- $2.08
- EDHREC rank
- #2586
Aura Mutation destroys any enchantment on the board and replaces it with a pile of 1/1 Saproling tokens equal to that enchantment's mana value — instant speed, two mana, immediate board presence. Decks running Jinnie Fay, Jetmir's Second convert those tokens into Cats or Dogs on the spot, and even without that upgrade, blowing up a Mayael's Aria and walking away with five bodies is the kind of two-for-one that wins games.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Jinnie Fay, Jetmir's Second
Jinnie Fay, Jetmir's Second turns every Saproling from Aura Mutation into a 2/2 Cat or 3/1 Dog with haste, so destroying a high-mana enchantment immediately floods the board with relevant threats instead of vanilla tokens.
Emmara, Soul of the Accord
Emmara, Soul of the Accord cares about tapping creatures and stacking the board, and Aura Mutation adds several bodies at instant speed — each one a future tap trigger waiting to happen.
Jetmir, Nexus of Revels
Jetmir, Nexus of Revels scales on creature count, and Aura Mutation can swing that count dramatically mid-combat by converting an opponent's enchantment into a wave of Saprolings right when the threshold matters.
Baylen, the Haymaker
Baylen, the Haymaker feeds on token quantity, and Aura Mutation is one of the cheapest ways to spike that count at instant speed while simultaneously answering a problem enchantment.
Ghave, Guru of Spores
Ghave, Guru of Spores consumes Saprolings as raw material for counters and bigger threats, making Aura Mutation a removal spell that also restocks the engine rather than trading down on resources.
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 |
Aura Mutation is a Commander card through and through — the multiplayer table is full of high-value enchantments worth destroying, and the Saproling payoff scales directly with how greedy opponents' enchantment mana costs are. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but essentially unplayed; those formats move too fast for a removal spell whose upside requires your opponent to have an expensive enchantment in play. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander 60-card-adjacent format where Aura Mutation can find a home, particularly in token-centric Selesnya builds where the Saprolings matter.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$2.08 cheap tier
At $2.08, Aura Mutation sits in the sweet spot where it's cheap enough to include without deliberation but not so ubiquitous that it gets reprinted into bulk. For what it does — instant-speed removal plus board presence at two mana — the price is a straightforward yes.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.