Flames of the Blood Hand
Instant
Flames of the Blood Hand deals 4 damage to target player or planeswalker. The damage can't be prevented. If that player or that planeswalker's controller would gain life this turn, that player gains no life instead.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Magic Online Theme Decks
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #23922
Flames of the Blood Hand deals 4 damage that can't be prevented and shuts off life gain for the turn — a clean, targeted answer to both Fog effects and Soul Sisters strategies. Four mana for a one-shot burn spell is a real cost, but the uncounterable damage clause makes it reliable in ways Lightning Bolt isn't when it matters most.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Flames of the Blood Hand occupies a narrow niche: it's the answer you reach for when a lifegain deck is running away with the game or when a player is hiding behind damage prevention. Legacy and Vintage have better rate options for burn, so it doesn't see competitive play there — four mana is simply too much when Fireblast and Chain Lightning exist. Modern offers no competitive home either, since the format has moved past slow burn spells and the life gain hate is better served by Skullcrack at half the mana. Flames of the Blood Hand is fundamentally a Commander card, where the uncounterable clause and the combined damage-plus-hate stapled to one card justify the cost at a casual table.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't currently available for Flames of the Blood Hand, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate. Given its narrow application and age, it tends to sit in bulk-rare territory — worth picking up on the cheap if your Commander meta has a lifegain problem.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.