Excavation Explosion
Sorcery
Excavation Explosion deals 3 damage to any target. Create a tapped Powerstone token. (It's an artifact with "
: Add 
. This mana can't be spent to cast a nonartifact spell.")
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- The Brothers' War
- Price
- $0.09
- EDHREC rank
- #19502
Excavation Explosion deals 4 damage to any target and scrys 2 — a clean two-for-one on impact at four mana. It's a role-player in formats with cheap card selection and a budget staple in Commander, but it never competes with premium three-mana removal.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Excavation Explosion earns its slot in decks that want repeated scry effects or ping synergies, but four mana for a single removal spell is a high ask at a table of four. Pauper is where Excavation Explosion is most competitive — the scry 2 is meaningful card selection in a format with fewer cantrips, and the flexible targeting covers both creatures and players. In Modern and Pioneer it's essentially unplayable; those formats run instant-speed removal that costs one or two mana with comparable or better impact. Legacy and Vintage ignore it entirely. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander read: fine in a budget build, outclassed when the card pool opens up.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.09 bulk tier
At $0.09, Excavation Explosion sits firmly in bulk — it's a pickup you throw in a cart to hit free shipping, not a card you hunt down. Bulk commons rarely move unless a format shift breaks them, and nothing on the horizon suggests Excavation Explosion is that card.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.