Banshee
Creature — Spirit
, 
: This creature deals half X damage, rounded down, to any target, and half X damage, rounded up, to you.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Chronicles Foreign Black Border
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #27898
Banshee converts colorless mana into direct life loss through a repeatable activated ability, letting you ping any target for X at the cost of X colorless mana and tapping — drain effects that bypass combat entirely. The setup cost of five mana and the tap requirement make it slow enough that it rarely wins races on its own, but in shells that untap artifacts repeatedly or generate enormous mana, it becomes a legitimate kill condition.
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 |
Banshee is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees virtually no competitive play in any of them. In Commander, the five-mana entry point and tap-to-activate structure leave Banshee perpetually behind the curve — you need both mana and repeated untap effects to make it threatening across multiple opponents, and most artifact-centric or colorless commanders have more efficient win conditions available. Legacy and Vintage have access to degenerate mana and untap loops, but those same environments offer combo pieces that close games faster without occupying a five-mana slot. Oathbreaker's compressed life totals theoretically make drain effects more relevant, though Banshee still faces stiff competition for that role.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Banshee isn't available in this context, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the latest figures. Given its age, narrow application, and minimal competitive presence, it typically trades at bulk-rare territory — worth picking up only if you have a specific use case in mind.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.