Lava Burst
Sorcery
Lava Burst deals X damage to any target. If Lava Burst would deal damage to a creature, that damage can't be prevented or dealt instead to another permanent or player.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Masters Edition II
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #20436
Lava Burst deals damage that can't be prevented — that's the whole reason to consider it over a generic burn spell. The catch is that it only hits players, not creatures, which locks it out of the removal role and limits its ceiling to pure reach.
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 |
In Commander, Lava Burst is fringe at best — 40-life totals make single-target burn spells a poor investment, and the creature-exclusion means it pulls zero double duty as removal. Pauper is where Lava Burst has the most plausible home, since life totals are 20 and damage prevention is relevant against Fog and Circle of Protection effects that do see play. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient burn, so Lava Burst doesn't make the cut in either format competitively. Oathbreaker sits closer to Commander in life total and threat density, so the same logic applies — pass unless your meta is stuffed with prevention effects.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Lava Burst isn't currently available, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number. Given that it's a narrow, older burn spell with no competitive demand, expect it to sit in bulk or near-bulk range.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.