Consuming Ashes
Instant
Exile target creature. If it had mana value 3 or less, surveil 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #16831
Consuming Ashes exiles a creature and drains its controller for 2 life — clean, permanent removal that dodges graveyard recursion. Four mana at sorcery speed is the tax, and in Commander that's a real cost, but the exile clause plus the life drain makes it pull more weight than a vanilla Doom Blade effect.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Consuming Ashes sits in the middle tier of black removal — better than destroy effects against graveyard-heavy metas, worse than instant-speed options like Feed the Swarm or Infernal Grasp. The 2-life drain is largely irrelevant at a 40-life table, so the card lives or dies on the exile clause. In Pauper, where recursive threats are common and the card pool for exile removal is thinner, Consuming Ashes is more competitive. Across other constructed formats — Standard, Pioneer, Modern — it's outclassed by cheaper, faster options and rarely sees play.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Consuming Ashes is deep bulk — easy to throw in a budget black deck without thinking twice. It won't appreciate; it's a functional common that gets the job done when you need exile removal and don't want to spend on Eaten Alive or Crib Swap.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.