Death Spark
Instant
Death Spark deals 1 damage to any target.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this card is in your graveyard with a creature card directly above it, you may pay 
. If you do, return this card to your hand.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Alliances
- Price
- $0.26
- EDHREC rank
- #24232
Death Spark deals 1 damage for one mana and returns itself from the graveyard whenever a creature dies on your upkeep — making it a persistent, repeating ping on boards where creatures die constantly. The ceiling is real in sacrifice-heavy Commander pods; the floor is a one-damage spell that does almost nothing.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Death Spark is a bulk rare in Legacy and Vintage — formats where one damage is irrelevant and the recursion condition is too slow and narrow to matter. Pauper is its only competitive home, where it can chip in as a recursive threat in sacrifice shells, though even there it rarely makes the cut over more efficient options. Commander is where Death Spark finds its most interesting niche: aristocrats decks with commanders like Prossh, Skyraider of Kher or Korvold, Fae-Cursed King generate constant creature deaths, letting it recur every upkeep and accumulate meaningful damage over a long game. Still, one damage per turn cycle is a low rate even in the most creature-death-saturated pods.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.26 bulk tier
At $0.26, Death Spark is deep bulk — buy it for pennies if an aristocrats build genuinely wants the recursion, but don't expect the price to move in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.