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Martyrdom

Instant

Until end of turn, target creature you control gains "{0}: The next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature, planeswalker, or player this turn is dealt to this creature instead." Only you may activate this ability.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{1}{W}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
common
Set
Alliances
Price
$0.24
EDHREC rank
#13522
Buy on TCGplayer
Martyrdom card art
Martyrdom redirects any amount of damage from a target creature or player to a creature you control — the play pattern with Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer is to funnel that damage into poison counters, turning a single combat swing into a table-wide threat. The cost is real: you need a body willing to eat the damage, and without a payoff like Arcbond or Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer in play, Martyrdom is just a damage sponge with extra steps.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer

41.8% of decks · synergy 0.40

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer converts damage dealt to your creatures into poison counters on opponents, so Martyrdom's redirect effect becomes a poison delivery system — funnel a big hit onto one of your creatures and Anti-Venom distributes the toxin across the table.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Martyrdom is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but Commander is the only format where it sees any real play. In Legacy and Vintage the effect is too narrow and too slow for the pace of those formats. Pauper legality is a footnote — damage redirection without a dedicated payoff doesn't slot cleanly into any established Pauper archetype. Commander is where Martyrdom finds its niche: the combination of 100-card singleton variance, multiplayer board states, and synergy-driven commanders like Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer creates enough conditions for the redirect to matter.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.24 bulk tier

At $0.24, Martyrdom is deep bulk — the kind of card you pull from a box rather than buy. It's a niche piece that won't appreciate unless Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer decks spike in popularity, so pick it up as a throw-in rather than a deliberate purchase.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.