MagicTheGathering.fyi

Exsanguinate

Sorcery

Each opponent loses X life. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{X}{B}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Foundations
Price
$0.38
EDHREC rank
#293
Buy on TCGplayer
Exsanguinate card art
Exsanguinate ends games: cast it for X=10 with three opponents and you drain 30 life while gaining 30, turning any insurmountable board position into irrelevance. The cost is real mana — this card does nothing until you can reliably pour six or more into it — but Rowan, Scion of War slashes that requirement to near zero by converting life paid for black spells into cost reduction, making Exsanguinate a one-mana lethal threat in the right shell.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Rowan, Scion of War

Rowan, Scion of War

80.7% of decks · synergy 0.70

Rowan, Scion of War's static ability converts life lost each turn cycle into generic mana reduction, routinely making Exsanguinate castable for one or two mana while still resolving at a lethal X value — 80% of Rowan decks run it for exactly this reason.

02
Witherbloom, the Balancer

Witherbloom, the Balancer

76.0% of decks · synergy 0.67

Witherbloom, the Balancer generates repeated life-swing triggers through its sacrifice and drain engine, and Exsanguinate doubles as both a drain finisher and a way to push that life-total manipulation to a table-ending scale.

03
Teval, Arbiter of Virtue

Teval, Arbiter of Virtue

67.7% of decks · synergy 0.60

Teval, Arbiter of Virtue accumulates life aggressively, and Exsanguinate converts that stockpile into a closing threat — the bigger the life total gap, the more credible the drain win becomes.

04
Zaxara, the Exemplary

Zaxara, the Exemplary

65.9% of decks · synergy 0.58

Zaxara, the Exemplary creates a 2/2 Hydra token for every X spell cast, so Exsanguinate pulls double duty: it drains each opponent and drops a sizable creature onto the battlefield in the same cast.

05
Yurlok of Scorch Thrash

Yurlok of Scorch Thrash

63.3% of decks · synergy 0.58

Yurlok of Scorch Thrash forces mana burn and rapid life loss across the table, compressing opponents into range where a modest Exsanguinate finishes the job without needing an enormous mana investment.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Exsanguinate lives — hitting three opponents simultaneously multiplies its efficiency in a way no 60-card format can match, and infinite-mana combos that are commonplace in the format turn it into a one-shot win condition. In competitive Commander specifically, it pairs with fast mana and X-cost payoff loops to close games on the spot. In Modern and Pioneer it's a legal curiosity at best: paying large amounts of mana for a sorcery-speed drain that only hits one opponent is too slow and too low-impact against aggressive and combo-oriented fields. Legacy and Vintage give it the same cold shoulder — the formats move faster than any X-spell can keep up with. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander venue where Exsanguinate sees real play, since the format's lower life totals and faster games mean X=5 or X=6 can close things out in a way that feels realistic.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.38 bulk tier

At $0.38, Exsanguinate is firmly bulk — easy to pick up in any trade binder or as a throw-in, with no financial barrier to inclusion. Given its ubiquity in Commander and its near-universal inclusion in the commanders that want it, that price is unlikely to move unless a high-profile reprint drives it even lower.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.