MagicTheGathering.fyi

Cathodion

Artifact Creature — Construct

When this creature dies, add {C}{C}{C}.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{3}
Color identity
C
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Mirrodin
Price
$0.20
EDHREC rank
#9166
Buy on TCGplayer
Cathodion card art
Cathodion is a 3/3 for three that deposits three mana into your mana pool when it dies — a stat line and a death trigger that combo engines are built around. Nim Deathmantle loops and sacrifice outlets love it; Herigast, Erupting Nullkite decks run it as a core piece. The cost is a body that does nothing unless it dies, so you need a reliable way to cash it in.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Herigast, Erupting Nullkite

Herigast, Erupting Nullkite

37.7% of decks · synergy 0.37

Cathodion shows up in over 37% of Herigast, Erupting Nullkite decks because the death trigger generates exactly the colorless mana Herigast wants, and the two cards form the backbone of infinite mana loops with a sac outlet in the command zone.

02
Oswald Fiddlebender

Oswald Fiddlebender

19.7% of decks · synergy 0.19

Oswald Fiddlebender sacrifices artifacts to tutor other artifacts onto the battlefield, and Cathodion is one of the cleanest fodder pieces in the format — you sac it, net three mana from the trigger, and fetch something more expensive than the three mana you spent casting it.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Cathodion actually matters — the death trigger fuels infinite mana loops that are too slow for competitive Constructed but perfectly calibrated for a 40-life multiplayer table. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; three mana for a 3/3 with a conditional payoff doesn't compete when those formats have access to far more efficient threats and combo pieces. Pauper is the one non-Commander home worth considering, where artifact synergies and sacrifice loops occasionally put Cathodion to work at common rarity. Pioneer and Standard don't have it, but that's a moot point — the card's ceiling is in Commander and it's already doing its best work there.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.20 bulk tier

At $0.20, Cathodion is deep bulk — a card you pick up as a throwaway addition or pull from a dollar bin without thinking twice. Given its role as a named piece in several popular combo lines, that price is unlikely to spike meaningfully, but it's also not going anywhere; bulk combo commons and uncommons tend to stay cheap unless a breakout deck emerges in a more competitive format.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.