Brush with Death
Sorcery
Buyback 
(You may pay an additional as you cast this spell. If you do, put this card into your hand as it resolves.)
Target opponent loses 2 life. You gain 2 life.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Stronghold
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #27658
Brush with Death drains each opponent for 2 and gains you 6 life in a three-player pod — all for two mana with Surveil 2 stapled on. Shantotto, Tactician Magician turns that Surveil into card selection on top of an already efficient life-swing, making this one of the cleaner role-players in black-based life-drain strategies.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Brush with Death is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker — and Commander is where it does the most work, since three opponents means six life gained and six life drained off a single two-mana spell. In Pauper it's a reasonable role-player in black control shells that want incidental life gain and library manipulation, though the drain is less impactful in one-on-one. Legacy and Vintage have access to faster, more powerful options, so Brush with Death won't compete for slots there. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander math when pods are larger, making it similarly attractive in drain-oriented builds.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Shantotto, Tactician MagicianMind Over MatterEmpowered AutogeneratorBrush with Death
Infinite self-discard triggers; Infinite draw triggers; Infinite looting; Near-infinite storm count; Near-infinite magecraft triggers; Near-infinite colored mana; Near-infinite charge counters on a permanent; Near-infinitely powerful creature until end of turn; Near-infinite lifegain; Near-infinite lifeloss; Near-infinite lifegain triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
The ThingAgatha's Soul CauldronSage of HoursBrush with Death
Infinite turns; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Brush with Death sits firmly in bulk territory — you're picking this up as a throw-in, not tracking it down. Bulk commons with narrow applications rarely climb, so treat it as a freely available role-player rather than anything to stock up on.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Shantotto, Tactician Magician
- Mind Over Matter
- Empowered Autogenerator
- The Thing
- Agatha's Soul Cauldron
- Sage of Hours
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.