Culling Ritual
Sorcery
Destroy each nonland permanent with mana value 2 or less. Add 
or 
for each permanent destroyed this way.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander
- Price
- $1.33
- EDHREC rank
- #580
Culling Ritual wipes every permanent with mana value 2 or less and converts each one into a mana of its color — in the right deck, that's a board clear that immediately fuels another spell. Commanders like Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero treat it as a ritual that also answers the table's mana rocks and tokens, which is a combination most two-mana wraths can't claim.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero
Culling Ritual is nearly ubiquitous here because the Golgari-blue shell leans on fast mana and needs answers to opponents' early rocks; the mana refund lets it chain into Thrasios activations or other combo pieces the same turn.
Dina, Essence Brewer
Dina, Essence Brewer triggers on life loss as well as gain, so Culling Ritual wiping a token-heavy board while generating a burst of mana doubles as a mini-drain event when paired with a life-loss outlet already on board.
Winter, Cynical Opportunist
Winter, Cynical Opportunist cares about opponents losing permanents, and Culling Ritual can erase an entire wave of small threats at once — the mana refund means Winter's controller rarely loses tempo doing it.
Rendmaw, Creaking Nest
Rendmaw, Creaking Nest scales on creatures dying, so Culling Ritual turning a token-flooded board into a pile of Egg tokens is a direct engine refuel rather than just a cleanup spell.
Grismold, the Dreadsower
Grismold, the Dreadsower distributes Plant tokens to opponents and wants to cash them in as quickly as possible; Culling Ritual clears those tokens along with anything else small and converts the field into mana without touching Grismold itself.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Culling Ritual earns its slot — multiplayer tables fill up fast with mana rocks, treasure tokens, and small utility creatures, all at mana value 2 or less, which means the average cast destroys four or more permanents and returns most of the investment. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but effectively absent; the formats move too fast, removal is cheaper, and the sorcery speed is punishing when opponents can answer on your turn. Modern and Pioneer offer more theoretical homes in midrange or ramp shells, but targeted removal and faster clock make a sorcery that asks you to wait for a critical mass of small permanents hard to justify. Oathbreaker plays closer to Commander in density, which makes Culling Ritual viable there for the same reason.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.33 cheap tier
At $1.33, Culling Ritual sits in cheap-bulk territory that undervalues what it does — a two-mana board wipe that pays you back is a meaningful effect, and the price reflects print volume more than power level. It's a safe pickup at this price; the combination of removal and ramp on one card doesn't rotate out of Commander demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero
- Dina, Essence Brewer
- Winter, Cynical Opportunist
- Rendmaw, Creaking Nest
- Grismold, the Dreadsower
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.