Cradle to Grave
Instant
Destroy target nonblack creature that entered this turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Planar Chaos
- Price
- $0.08
- EDHREC rank
- #24290
Cradle to Grave destroys a nonblack creature that entered this turn for a single black mana — instant-speed, no questions asked. The restriction to newly entered creatures is real, but one mana is cheap enough that you can hold it up without sacrificing your whole turn.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Cradle to Grave fills a narrow niche: it punishes haste creatures and flash threats the moment they land, which matters most against decks that lean on Craterhoof Behemoth or combat-step finishers. The nonblack clause is the ceiling — it whiffs against Atraxa, Praetors' Voice and any mono-black commander, which limits how reliably you can slot it into removal suites. In Pauper it's a more serious consideration, where cheap instant-speed interaction is the whole game and the format's creature density makes "just entered" far less restrictive. Legacy and Vintage have Fatal Push and Swords to Plowshares doing this job better at every axis, so Cradle to Grave doesn't compete there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.08 bulk tier
At $0.08, Cradle to Grave is deep bulk — you'll find it in a common box or a bulk lot before you'd ever order it individually. Bulk commons with narrow conditions don't appreciate, so there's no reason to stock up beyond the copies you actually intend to play.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.