Lavacore Elemental
Creature — Elemental
Vanishing 1 (This creature enters with a time counter on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, put a time counter on this creature.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Planar Chaos
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #26177
Lavacore Elemental enters as a 6/3 for four mana — above-rate stats — but the tradeoff is a removal-bait body that evaporates at end of turn unless you've attacked with another creature first. The condition isn't hard to meet in aggro or token shells, but in Commander it's trivially punished: one instant at the wrong moment and you've spent four mana on nothing.
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, Lavacore Elemental is fringe at best — a four-mana 6/3 is not a threat in a format where opponents start at 40 life and boards fill with blockers fast. The "attacked with a creature" clause is easy enough to satisfy, but the body offers no ETB value, no evasion, and no protection, making it a poor return on investment compared to creatures that do something beyond being large. In Legacy and Vintage, it's strictly outclassed by threats that win the game outright at similar or lower mana costs. Modern is the most plausible competitive home, specifically in aggressive red shells that can consistently attack before casting it on turn four, though even there it faces stiff competition from creatures with built-in resilience or immediate impact.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Lavacore Elemental is deep bulk — the price reflects the demand, which is low. It won't appreciate unless a specific combo or synergy brings it into a competitive spotlight, and nothing on the horizon suggests that's coming.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.