Barbed Shocker
Creature — Insect
Trample, haste
Whenever this creature deals damage to a player, that player discards all the cards in their hand, then draws that many cards.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Time Spiral
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #18336
Barbed Shocker forces every opponent to discard their hand and draw four cards on combat damage — massive wheel effect stapled to a creature that costs four mana and has trample and haste. The catch is symmetry: opponents refill too, so it earns its slot only in decks built to punish that refill or benefit from everyone cycling their hand.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Barbed Shocker is a niche role-player in wheel-based decks — it's not a staple, but it's a legitimate threat in Nekusar or Niv-Mizzet shells where each opponent drawing four cards has consequences. In Legacy and Vintage it's unplayable; a four-mana 2/2 that has to deal combat damage to generate value doesn't survive contact with those formats' interaction density. Modern is similarly hostile — it would need to connect at least once to do anything, and four mana is a steep ask against removal-heavy decks. Barbed Shocker's competitive ceiling is Commander, and even there it sits in a specific archetype rather than general red decks.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Barbed Shocker is deep bulk — easy to acquire as a throw-in trade or cheap singles order. Don't expect the price to move; it's too narrow for broad demand, and the wheel archetype has more efficient options that keep Barbed Shocker from ever becoming a chase card.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.