Bane of Progress
Creature — Elemental
When this creature enters, destroy all artifacts and enchantments. Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature for each permanent destroyed this way.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2013
- Price
- $3.11
- EDHREC rank
- #1233
Bane of Progress enters and immediately wipes every artifact and enchantment on the board, then grows by +1/+1 for each permanent it destroys — in a typical Commander game, that's a 6/6 or larger walking into an empty table of rocks and stax pieces. The six-mana cost is steep, but the swing is so lopsided that Nikya of the Old Ways decks, which run zero noncreature spells themselves, treat it as a free win condition.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Nikya of the Old Ways
Nikya of the Old Ways forbids noncreature spells, so the deck naturally has nothing to lose when Bane of Progress hits — opponents lose their mana rocks and enchantments while Nikya's board is untouched and the Bane lands as a massive creature.
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed punishes every noncreature spell an opponent casts, and Bane of Progress extends that punishment retroactively by destroying the artifacts and enchantments those spells already produced — the combination dismantles the infrastructure that lets spell-heavy decks function.
Ashling, the Limitless
Ashling, the Limitless cares about dumping +1/+1 counters onto creatures, and Bane of Progress arrives pre-loaded with counters scaled to how artifact- and enchantment-dense the table is, making it a natural fit for the counters-matter engine.
Ygra, Eater of All
Ygra, Eater of All converts creature deaths into life gain, and Bane of Progress pairs with that by arriving as a large creature that can later be sacrificed or traded into combat — it also clears the enchantments and artifacts opponents use to protect their own life totals.
Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
Henzie "Toolbox" Torre discounts big creatures through blitz, and Bane of Progress is exactly the kind of high-impact enter-the-battlefield body that justifies the toolbox approach — blitzing it in still destroys every artifact and enchantment, then draws a card on the way out.
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 |
Commander is where Bane of Progress is genuinely powerful — multiplayer games mean more artifacts and enchantments on the table, and each one destroyed makes the Bane larger, so a six-mana investment routinely produces an 8/8 or bigger alongside a one-sided board wipe. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; six mana is an eternity in those formats and there are faster, cheaper ways to answer permanents. Oathbreaker shares Commander's singleton, multiplayer structure, so the same logic applies — if your Oathbreaker shell is creature-heavy and your opponents are artifact-reliant, Bane of Progress pulls its weight there too.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$3.11 cheap tier
At $3.11, Bane of Progress sits in the budget staple tier — inexpensive enough to slot into any green creature-based Commander deck without a second thought. It sees consistent demand as a one-sided board wipe in creature-heavy metas, so the price is stable rather than a deal waiting to evaporate.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Nikya of the Old Ways
- Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
- Ashling, the Limitless
- Ygra, Eater of All
- Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.