Dirge of Dread
Sorcery
All creatures gain fear until end of turn. (They can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)
Cycling 
(, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
When you cycle this card, you may have target creature gain fear until end of turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Salvat 2005
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #15990
Dirge of Dread makes all your creatures unblockable for a turn, and cycling it replaces itself if the attack isn't worth it — two usable cards in one slot. It's a narrow combat trick, but that cycling clause lifts it from filler to a reasonable include in decks that need to push damage through.
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 |
In Commander, Dirge of Dread earns its slot almost exclusively in ninjutsu decks where landing unblocked attackers isn't a bonus but a mechanical requirement — Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow lists are the canonical home. In Pauper, it sees occasional play in aggressive black strategies and Ninja tribal, where the cycling clause matters most: the ability to swap it away when the board punishes the attack keeps it from being a dead draw. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient combat tricks and evasion tools, so Dirge of Dread doesn't compete there outside of very specific budget or theme builds. Oathbreaker shares Commander's context, so the same ninjutsu-shell logic applies.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available right now, but Dirge of Dread is a common with narrow appeal, so it typically sits well under a dollar at most retailers and in bulk bins. It's worth picking up a copy if you're building Yuriko or any ninjutsu commander — the low ceiling on its price makes it an easy inclusion.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.