Desolation Twin
Creature — Eldrazi
When you cast this spell, create a 10/10 colorless Eldrazi creature token.
- CMC
- 10
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2019
- Price
- $0.54
- EDHREC rank
- #3759
Desolation Twin puts twenty power across two bodies on the board for ten mana — and casting it from hand gives you a free 10/10 token alongside the original. That upside is real, but ten colorless mana is a steep ask outside of dedicated cost-reduction or suspend shells; Jhoira of the Ghitu turns that ask into a non-issue.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Jhoira of the Ghitu suspends Desolation Twin for two mana and four turns, then drops twenty power onto the board for free — the suspend trigger bypasses the cast-from-hand token clause, but the raw threat is still among the biggest payoffs in the deck.
Belbe, Corrupted Observer
Belbe, Corrupted Observer can generate five colorless mana per combat phase, and Desolation Twin is one of the cleanest ways to spend a sudden ten-mana windfall the turn it becomes available.
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Rakdos, Lord of Riots discounts creatures based on damage dealt to opponents, and Desolation Twin's ten-mana cost can collapse to nearly zero after a single swing — making it one of the most efficient finishers in the deck.
Ghired, Conclave Exile
Ghired, Conclave Exile populates tokens, and the 10/10 Eldrazi token that Desolation Twin creates is one of the biggest populate targets in the format — every copy Ghired makes is another free 10/10.
Neera, Wild Mage
Neera, Wild Mage flips spells at random, and hitting Desolation Twin off a wild magic surge is one of the highest-ceiling outcomes possible — twenty power for the cost of whatever spell you originally cast.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Desolation Twin actually lives. The singleton format's slower pace and abundance of ramp give it the runway it needs, and the free token on cast makes it a two-for-one at the top of the curve that demands an answer immediately. In competitive non-rotating formats like Legacy and Modern it has no realistic path — ten mana is an insurmountable ask when the format ends on turn three, and there are no suspend commanders to cheat the cost. Pioneer is the same story: legal on paper, unplayable in practice without a dedicated cheat engine. Vintage has the raw mana acceleration to theoretically deploy it, but there's no reason to when faster win conditions exist.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.54 bulk tier
At $0.54, Desolation Twin is firmly bulk, which makes it an easy pickup for any Commander deck that can use it. Bulk rares with genuine two-for-one upside tend to sit at this price floor indefinitely, so there's no urgency — just grab a copy whenever you're already placing an order.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Jhoira of the Ghitu
- Belbe, Corrupted Observer
- Rakdos, Lord of Riots
- Ghired, Conclave Exile
- Neera, Wild Mage
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.