Curse of Exhaustion
Enchantment — Aura Curse
Enchant player
Enchanted player can't cast more than one spell each turn.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Dark Ascension
- Price
- $0.36
- EDHREC rank
- #8943
Curse of Exhaustion locks a player to one spell per turn — stapled onto an enchantment that Eriette of the Charmed Apple can turn into a life-drain engine, that restriction becomes a soft stax piece with upside. The four-mana cost is the ceiling; you're paying enchantment-tax for an effect that only pressures one opponent at a time, so it wins most cleanly when paired with Knowledge Pool to make that one spell per turn effectively zero.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Eriette of the Charmed Apple
Eriette of the Charmed Apple drains life equal to the number of Auras an opponent is cursed with, so Curse of Exhaustion isn't just stax — it's a recurring life-loss trigger stapled to a spell-speed throttle.
Mathas, Fiend Seeker
Mathas, Fiend Seeker wants opponents targeted and disadvantaged; Curse of Exhaustion fits cleanly into that political curse package, slowing a threat player down while Mathas's bounty counters generate card advantage for the table.
Iroh, Tea Master
Iroh, Tea Master rewards enchantment density with card draw, and Curse of Exhaustion is a cheap-enough curse to slot into the constellation-adjacent shell while meaningfully taxing an opponent's game plan.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Curse of Exhaustion occupies a narrow stax role — most effective in dedicated curse builds or alongside Knowledge Pool, where the one-spell-per-turn clause becomes a near-total lockout. Outside of those shells, it's too slow and too single-target to pull weight in a four-player pod. In Legacy and Vintage, it's legal but irrelevant; those formats move too fast for a four-mana enchantment that doesn't affect the board immediately. Oathbreaker is the only non-Commander 60-card variant where a curse package is occasionally viable, and even there Curse of Exhaustion is a fringe include.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Knowledge PoolCurse of Exhaustion
Exile all spells target opponent casts from their hand; Target opponent can only cast one spell per turn; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.36 bulk tier
At $0.36, Curse of Exhaustion is deep bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or from a discount bin without any budget concern. It's a narrow enough card that price pressure is unlikely; demand stays low outside dedicated curse lists.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Knowledge Pool
- Eriette of the Charmed Apple
- Mathas, Fiend Seeker
- Iroh, Tea Master
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.