Mana Vortex
Enchantment
When you cast this spell, counter it unless you sacrifice a land.
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a land of their choice.
When there are no lands on the battlefield, sacrifice this enchantment.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Masters Edition III
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #19753
Mana Vortex strips a land from every player's board each upkeep — including yours — and the enchantment only survives if you sacrifice a land when you cast it. In decks built to exploit resource denial or run on fewer lands than opponents, that symmetry becomes asymmetry fast.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Mana Vortex is a prison piece for dedicated land-destruction or stax shells — it pressures all three opponents simultaneously, which is where its power ceiling sits in the format. The catch is that you're equally exposed unless your deck runs land recursion, has a low land count by design, or pairs Mana Vortex with ways to replenish your own mana base. Legacy sees it occasionally as a curiosity in land-denial builds, but faster, cheaper disruption makes it a fringe choice there. Vintage has no practical interest in a slow enchantment-based effect when the format operates on a much shorter clock.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Mana Vortex isn't currently available, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for live listings. Given its narrow application and age, copies tend to move slowly — buy when you find one reasonably priced rather than waiting for a better window that may not come.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.