Mortality Spear
Instant
This spell costs 
less to cast if you gained life this turn.
Destroy target nonland permanent.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Strixhaven: School of Mages
- Price
- $0.27
- EDHREC rank
- #3558
Mortality Spear destroys any creature or planeswalker and drains the table for 2 life — that's unconditional removal stapled to a life-swing, and it costs four mana with a trivially met life-loss condition in any deck that cares about it. In Dina, Essence Brewer builds, the drain triggers Dina directly, making Mortality Spear do double duty as both interaction and damage.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Dina, Essence Brewer
Dina, Essence Brewer gains life and deals damage whenever you gain life, so Mortality Spear's two-life drain is two free pings on every opponent the moment you cast it.
Dina, Soul Steeper
Dina, Soul Steeper runs the same life-gain-matters engine, and Mortality Spear feeds it reliably — removal that also advances your win condition is exactly what that deck wants.
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch rewards you for sacrificing permanents and paying life, keeping your life total in constant flux; Mortality Spear's life-loss condition is essentially free here, and the drain helps stabilize the deficit.
Beledros Witherbloom
Beledros Witherbloom taxes life payments heavily across the whole game, and Mortality Spear slots in as a removal spell that costs life rather than extra mana — exactly the currency Beledros decks are already spending.
Blech, Loafing Pest
Blech, Loafing Pest decks are built around life-loss triggers and draining opponents, so Mortality Spear's drain clause is a natural fit alongside the rest of the damage-by-attrition game plan.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Mortality Spear is a Commander card through and through — the life-loss rider is negligible in a 40-life format, and the drain scales well against three opponents at once. In Modern and Pioneer, four mana for unconditional removal is a full turn too slow when Fatal Push and Infernal Grasp exist, so Mortality Spear won't see competitive play in those formats. Legacy and Vintage have access to even cheaper interaction, and the life-drain upside doesn't move the needle in those powered environments. Stick to Commander, specifically in Golgari or Sultai life-matters shells where the drain clause is a bonus trigger rather than an afterthought.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.27 bulk tier
At $0.27, Mortality Spear is deep bulk — you're getting unconditional removal with upside for less than the cost of a sleeve. Bulk removal with genuine utility tends to stay cheap unless a commander pushes demand, and right now the Dina-style life-matters commanders are doing exactly that without pushing the price meaningfully.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.