Mind Sludge
Sorcery
Target player discards a card for each Swamp you control.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Eighth Edition
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #19345
Mind Sludge empties a single opponent's hand — and in mono-black Commander decks, that often means eight or more cards gone for five mana. The restriction to one target hurts in a four-player game, but in the right shell it's one of the most punishing targeted discard spells available.
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 Mind Sludge earns its slot, specifically in mono-black decks where swamps stack up fast — a turn-five or six cast routinely strips six to ten cards and leaves one opponent helpless for the rest of the game. In Legacy and Vintage it competes against faster, cheaper discard like Thoughtseize and Hymn to Tourach and never sees serious play. Modern is the same story: the five-mana cost is fatal in a format where games end on turn four. Mind Sludge is a Commander-only card in practice, and even there it belongs only in dedicated mono-black builds, not greedy two- or three-color decks that can't reliably fuel it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available at the moment, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate. Mind Sludge has never been a high-demand card, so copies tend to sit in bulk or near-bulk range — it's rarely a significant pickup cost.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.