Lingering Death
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
At the beginning of the end step of enchanted creature's controller, that player sacrifices that creature.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Scourge
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #24084
Lingering Death puts a ticking clock on any creature — at the beginning of its controller's upkeep, it gets -1/-1 counters until it dies, with no mana investment beyond the initial one black to cast. It's removal that can't be "countered" by regeneration or indestructible, but it's slow enough that a hasty attacker or sacrifice outlet can dodge the clock entirely.
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, Lingering Death fills a niche: it handles indestructible threats like Blightsteel Colossus that laugh at destroy-based removal, since the -1/-1 counters simply shrink them to zero toughness. The delay is a real liability in a four-player game, though — the target gets at least one full upkeep to deal damage, activate abilities, or be sacrificed before Lingering Death finishes the job. In Pauper, it sees occasional play in black control as budget attrition, but faster formats have moved past it. Legacy and Vintage have access to strictly stronger options, so Lingering Death stays on the bench there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Lingering Death is deep bulk — a throw-in pick from any commons box. There's no realistic ceiling on this price; demand is too niche and supply too abundant for it to appreciably move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.