Hell Swarm
Instant
All creatures get -1/-0 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Legends
- Price
- $0.46
- EDHREC rank
- #30564
Hell Swarm hits every opponent for damage equal to the number of creatures you control — in a token-heavy Commander pod, that number gets ugly fast. The cost is that it does exactly one thing and then it's gone, so it earns its slot only in decks that can flood the board reliably.
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 |
Hell Swarm is a bulk rare that sees essentially no competitive play in Legacy or Vintage — formats where the game ends before you've assembled a meaningful board presence. Pauper is its only non-Commander home with any conceivable merit, though even there the card is fringe at best. In Commander, Hell Swarm finds its most plausible home: multiplayer math means hitting three opponents multiplies the damage output, and token strategies can realistically threaten lethal in a single activation. Even so, it competes against finishers that close games more consistently, so it belongs in dedicated go-wide builds rather than general red decks.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.46 bulk tier
At $0.46, Hell Swarm is firmly bulk — you're buying it for the effect, not as any kind of hold. Expect the price to stay flat unless a new token commander breaks it into the spotlight.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.