Cabal Torturer
Creature — Human Minion
, 
: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
Threshold — 
, : Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Activate only if there are seven or more cards in your graveyard.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Torment
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #26290
Cabal Torturer puts a repeatable -1/-1 on any creature at instant speed for one mana and a tap, which is exactly as weak as it sounds — you're spending a card and a body to shave a single toughness. The activated cost requires threshold, a mechanic nobody is actively enabling in 2024, and the baseline effect doesn't justify a deck slot in any format where better options exist.
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 |
Cabal Torturer is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but legal and playable are different things. In Commander, the effect is simply too small — a tap-to-shrink ability competes with removal spells that actually kill creatures, and no commander is building around threshold to make this worthwhile. Pauper is its most plausible home, where the card pool is narrowest and every damage-based interaction gets a second look, but even there the one-toughness reduction rarely closes a game. Legacy and Vintage have no interest in Cabal Torturer at any price.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Cabal Torturer is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not power. That price is stable because demand is essentially zero, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.