Darksteel Reactor
Artifact
Indestructible (Effects that say "destroy" don't destroy this artifact.)
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a charge counter on this artifact.
When this artifact has twenty or more charge counters on it, you win the game.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Historic Anthology 1
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #3971
Darksteel Reactor is a slow, indestructible win condition that demands 20 upkeep triggers to fire — the cost is real, but commanders like Inspirit, Flagship Vessel and Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought can stack charge counters fast enough to make the clock terrifying. Run it in a dedicated proliferate or counter-doubling shell; in any other context, it's too slow to justify the slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Inspirit, Flagship Vessel
Inspirit, Flagship Vessel shows up in over 67% of its decks with Darksteel Reactor because its ability to generate and proliferate counters at scale turns a 20-turn countdown into something opponents have to answer immediately.
Kilo, Apogee Mind
Kilo, Apogee Mind's proliferate-on-demand engine accelerates Darksteel Reactor's counter accumulation far beyond the natural one-per-upkeep rate, making the win condition genuinely threatening rather than theoretical.
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus doubles every proliferate trigger, which means Darksteel Reactor can go from zero to twenty counters in a fraction of the turns it would otherwise take.
Obeka, Splitter of Seconds
Obeka, Splitter of Seconds can take additional turns and stack extra upkeep triggers, which directly translates to extra charge counters on Darksteel Reactor without needing any proliferate support at all.
Zimone, Paradox Sculptor
Zimone, Paradox Sculptor's extra-turn and counter-manipulation lines give Darksteel Reactor enough redundant upkeep triggers to close games that would otherwise stall out.
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 where Darksteel Reactor actually belongs — the multiplayer clock is slower, proliferate synergies are abundant, and the indestructibility matters because opponents have three full turns to find removal before they lose. In Legacy and Vintage it's a curiosity at best; the formats move too fast for a 20-counter win condition that does nothing the turn it lands. Oathbreaker is a marginal home if the planeswalker supports proliferate, but the two-player speed usually exposes how clunky Darksteel Reactor is outside a dedicated shell.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Dawnsire, Sunstar DreadnoughtDarksteel ReactorResourceful Defense
Win the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Donatello, Mutant MechanicEternity VesselDarksteel Reactor
Win the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Darksteel Reactor isn't available in this snapshot, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number. Given that it sees Commander-only play in fairly narrow proliferate builds, it's historically sat in budget-to-mid range territory — worth confirming before you trade for one.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.