Infernal Medusa
Creature — Gorgon
Whenever this creature blocks a creature, destroy that creature at end of combat.
Whenever this creature becomes blocked by a non-Wall creature, destroy that creature at end of combat.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Legends
- Price
- $6.37
- EDHREC rank
- #26287
Infernal Medusa is a hard lock on combat — creatures that deal damage to it also deal that damage to their controller, turning every attack into a deterrent and every trade into a punishment. Five mana is the honest cost for a static effect this oppressive, and in black that's a fair rate.
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 Infernal Medusa earns its slot — multiplayer tables are full of creature-heavy strategies, and a single copy sitting on board can freeze multiple opponents' combat math simultaneously. It fits naturally into black stax, pillow-fort, and aristocrats builds that want to disincentivize attacks rather than block them. Legacy and Vintage can run it legally, but neither format slows down enough for a five-mana do-nothing-immediately enchantment to see meaningful play. Oathbreaker is the one competitive-adjacent format worth considering, particularly in black control shells that can protect it with disruption.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Infernal Medusa's closest functional analog is Revenge of Ravens, which costs the same amount of mana and similarly punishes each attacking creature — though it only drains one life per attacker rather than reflecting actual damage, which matters against large creatures. For pure combat deterrence at a lower price point, No Mercy does nearly the same job for less on the secondary market and has a longer history of warping combat in black control decks.
Price Context
Current price
$6.37 mid tier
At $6.37, Infernal Medusa sits in the mid tier — not a budget pickup, but not a premium slot either. It's a new card without years of reprint history, so the price reflects initial demand; whether it holds depends on whether stax and pillow-fort strategies adopt it broadly enough to sustain that floor.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.