Magmatic Core
Enchantment
Cumulative upkeep 
(At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
At the beginning of your end step, this enchantment deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures, where X is the number of age counters on it.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Coldsnap
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #28769
Magmatic Core puts a free 1-damage ping on every upkeep — no mana activation, no attack requirement, just a clock that runs whether opponents interact or not. At three mana for a permanent that pressures the table indefinitely, it earns its slot in any red deck that wants attrition without the overhead.
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 |
Commander is where Magmatic Core actually matters — four opponents means four separate triggers per table rotation, and any deck built around pinging (Torbran, Thane of Red Fell; Vial Smasher the Fierce; Obosh, the Preypiercer) turns that trickle into a real damage engine. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; the formats are too fast for a three-mana enchantment that deals one damage a turn to compete with the card quality available. Modern is the same story — it would need a dedicated pinger shell to see play, and that shell doesn't exist at a competitive level. Stick to Commander, where the grind is long enough for Magmatic Core to matter.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Magmatic Core is deep bulk — pick it up in any common box without thinking twice. Bulk enchantments with persistent upside occasionally tick up if a new commander breaks them open, but at this price the question is never cost, it's just whether the card fits your gameplan.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.