False Cure
Instant
Until end of turn, whenever a player gains life, that player loses 2 life for each 1 life they gained.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Onslaught
- Price
- $12.02
- EDHREC rank
- #16499
False Cure turns any life gain into a kill shot — pair it with Beacon of Immortality targeting an opponent and they lose the game on the spot for two mana. Mister Negative decks run it as a reliable one-card combo threat, but even outside that shell it's a legitimate instant-speed win condition against any lifegain-heavy table.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Mister Negative
Mister Negative's ability to put -1/-1 counters on creatures pairs with False Cure's punishment engine — opponents who gain life to stabilize instead accelerate toward zero, and the deck's natural drain-and-damage gameplan turns False Cure from a gotcha into a closing tool that's live almost every game.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where False Cure earns its slot — multiplayer tables are full of Lifelink creatures, Soul Sisters, and Aetherflux Reservoir triggers, all of which become liabilities the moment this resolves. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but sees no meaningful play; those formats end too fast and too consistently through other means for a reactive two-mana instant to matter. Oathbreaker is the one fringe home outside Commander where it can show up, particularly in life-manipulation builds looking for redundant pieces alongside Beacon of Immortality.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
There's no direct budget replacement for False Cure's instant-speed "life gain kills you" text — the effect is essentially unique at this price point. If the goal is punishing lifegain more broadly, Erebos, God of the Dead and Tainted Remedy each suppress gain rather than weaponize it, which changes the gameplan from combo to soft hate and trades the one-shot potential for more consistent interference.
Price Context
Current price
$12.02 mid tier
At $12.02, False Cure sits in mid-tier territory for a narrow combo piece — steep for what is, in most decks, a one-trick card with limited flexibility. The price is stable rather than rising; it has a small dedicated audience in Mister Negative and Beacon of Immortality shells and is unlikely to spike without a reprint or a breakout Commander release that cares about lifegain punishment.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Beacon of Immortality
- Mister Negative
- Congregate
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.