Death Pits of Rath
Enchantment
Whenever a creature is dealt damage, destroy it. It can't be regenerated.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Ninth Edition
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #18159
Death Pits of Rath turns every source of damage into a kill shot — any creature that takes damage is destroyed, no toughness check required. Five mana is a real ask, but in Kelsien, the Plague decks the payoff is immediate: Kelsien pings for 1, the creature dies, Kelsien gets an experience counter, repeat.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kelsien, the Plague
Kelsien, the Plague deals 1 damage to a creature at the cost of tapping — normally a poke, but Death Pits of Rath converts that into an unconditional removal trigger every single turn, stacking experience counters at a pace the board cannot ignore.
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 |
Death Pits of Rath is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it's a Commander card through and through. In older eternal formats it's too slow and too narrow — five mana enchantments that don't win the game immediately don't compete in Legacy or Vintage. Commander is where the math changes: games go longer, pinger creatures and fight-spell strategies are common, and a single resolved Death Pits of Rath can dominate a table for several turns. Oathbreaker shares enough of that slower tempo that it's viable there too, though the smaller card pool limits synergy density.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Death Pits of Rath isn't available here — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for current market values. It's a niche enchantment with a narrow but devoted audience, so supply from older printings tends to keep it accessible.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.