Lich's Caress
Sorcery
Destroy target creature. You gain 3 life.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Core Set 2019
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #23158
Lich's Caress kills a creature and drains two life, but five mana at sorcery speed is a steep price for an effect that costs three or four in most other black removal spells. Unless you're specifically rewarding life gain or discard synergies, better options exist at every price point.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Lich's Caress occupies the bottom tier of black removal — playable in precon-level or budget builds where the life drain matters, but outclassed by cheaper, instant-speed options the moment you upgrade. Pauper is the one format where it sees occasional consideration, since the removal suite at common is genuinely constrained and the life swing can matter in a damage race. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer the card is legal but irrelevant — competitive black removal in those formats costs one or two mana and does more. Lich's Caress is a bulk common that found its audience among new players and casual Commander tables, and that's exactly the context where it's acceptable.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Lich's Caress is pure bulk — you're not buying it so much as finding it at the bottom of a draft chaff box. It will hold that floor price indefinitely; there's no scarcity or demand driver that would move it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.