Crushing Pain
Instant — Arcane
Crushing Pain deals 6 damage to target creature that was dealt damage this turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Champions of Kamigawa
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #20079
Crushing Pain deals damage equal to the damage already marked on a creature — so against a pinged or blocked target, it frequently one-shots something that would otherwise survive. The catch is that it requires a damaged creature to already exist on board, making it a reactive trick with zero standalone value.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Imodane, the Pyrohammer
Imodane, the Pyrohammer copies instants and sorceries that deal damage to a single target, meaning Crushing Pain hits a creature for its marked damage and then copies that same burst across every opponent — turning a cleanup spell into a game-ending wave.
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, Crushing Pain is a niche instant that earns its slot almost exclusively in damage-doubling shells like Imodane, the Pyrohammer — outside of those, single-target removal needs to do more on its own. In Pauper it competes with removal that doesn't require setup, so it sits at the bottom of the stack unless a specific combo demands it. Legacy and Vintage have no interest in a conditional damage spell at this rate. If you're running Crushing Pain anywhere, Commander with an Imodane trigger is the one context where it overperforms its text.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Crushing Pain is deep bulk — buy a playset without a second thought. Price stability is a non-issue; this is a common with a narrow home, so it stays at the floor.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.