Blood Reckoning
Enchantment
Whenever a creature attacks you or a planeswalker you control, that creature's controller loses 1 life.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Magic 2013
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #11874
Blood Reckoning taxes every attacker that swings at you — each opponent loses 1 life per creature they send your way, which generates card draw off Sygg, River Cutthroat and discourages the cheap alpha strikes that kill pillowfort decks before they stabilize. Four mana for a static deterrent is on the slow side, but the effect compounds across a full table.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sygg, River Cutthroat
Sygg, River Cutthroat draws a card whenever any opponent loses 2 or more life in a turn, and Blood Reckoning turns every combat step pointed at you into a triggered draw — a two-creature attack against you satisfies Sygg's threshold by itself.
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 |
Blood Reckoning is a Commander-only card in practice — the effect is too slow and too passive to compete in Legacy, Vintage, or Modern, where games end before a static life-drain matters. In Commander it fills a specific lane: pillowfort and group-slug decks that want to punish wide aggro while generating incidental value. It won't end the game on its own, but stacked alongside Ghostly Prison effects it raises the cost of attacking you to a point where opponents look elsewhere. Outside Commander, don't bother.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Blood Reckoning is deep bulk — you'll find it in any dollar box. The price reflects its narrow role; it's not a card that crosses over into competitive formats, so there's no meaningful upward pressure to expect.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.