Is Damnation good in Commander?

Damnation in Commander — Combos, Decks & Price

Damnation clears every creature on the board for four mana with no regeneration escape hatch — that's the whole pitch. Black had no unconditional answer to Biorhythm or a resolved fatty until this card existed, and commanders like Nicol Bolas, the Ravager run it precisely because the effect is clean and the cost is fair.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

39.9% of decks · synergy 0.32

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager is a Grixis value engine that wants the board clear so its discard and recursion effects pull ahead unopposed — Damnation does that job cleanly for four mana without asking for white.

02

Carth the Lion

38.8% of decks · synergy 0.32

Carth the Lion's planeswalker-loyalty gameplan stalls out if creatures keep connecting, so Damnation buys the turns needed to tick up and ultimate without white in the color identity.

03

Kotis, the Fangkeeper

35.0% of decks · synergy 0.27

Kotis, the Fangkeeper rebuilds from a reset better than most commanders, making Damnation an asymmetric tool that clears rival boards while Kotis's own engine reloads faster.

04

Phage the Untouchable

45.5% of decks · synergy 0.25

Phage the Untouchable can't afford a wide board of blockers stalling out a lethal attack, and Damnation wipes them away without the regeneration tricks that would let key threats survive.

05

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

43.1% of decks · synergy 0.23

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse wants opponents low on life and low on resources — Damnation removes the creatures that would otherwise chump-block or race back, letting Sheoldred's drain triggers finish the job.

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

Commander is the natural home for Damnation: four mana is the right price for a board wipe at a table of three opponents, and the no-regeneration clause answers Persist creatures and other regeneration-based problem cards that cheaper wraths miss. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but rarely played, since those formats end before a four-mana sorcery resolves cleanly and Toxic Deluge does more work when you're already spending black mana. Oathbreaker runs it for the same reasons Commander does — wide boards, limited removal density, and planeswalkers that need creatures out of the way. Pioneer and Standard have never had access to Damnation, and Pauper's rarity restrictions keep it out entirely.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

187 decks

BiorhythmDamnation

Draw the game; Each opponent loses the game

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Crux of Fate and Toxic Deluge are the closest functional replacements below $5 — Crux costs one more mana but offers selective destruction in Dragon-heavy metas, while Toxic Deluge costs life instead of extra mana and hits indestructible creatures Damnation cannot. Neither is a strict upgrade over Damnation, but if the price is the barrier, Toxic Deluge is the pick for decks that can pay the life, and Crux is the pick for Dragon commanders who want to keep their own board intact.

Price Context

Current price

$15.09 mid tier

At $15.09, Damnation sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a purchase decision but not a barrier the way a $40 staple is. Multiple reprints have kept the price from climbing higher, and the card sees enough consistent demand across Commander, Legacy, and Oathbreaker that $15 is roughly where it settles.