Nightmare Unmaking
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Exile each creature with power greater than the number of cards in your hand.
• Exile each creature with power less than the number of cards in your hand.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Wilds of Eldraine Commander
- Price
- $0.35
- EDHREC rank
- #9869
Nightmare Unmaking exiles every non-land permanent each opponent controls with a converted mana cost equal to the number of cards in their hand — a one-sided board wipe that scales with how full opponents' hands are, and hits indestructible threats because it exiles rather than destroys. At five mana in black, it's the cleanest answer to a stacked board you've never seen in this color at this price point, and Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor decks run it because Faeries draw constantly, guaranteeing the exile count is never trivial.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor
Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor floods hands through its draw-on-death trigger, so Nightmare Unmaking routinely exiles five or more permanents per opponent while leaving your board untouched — a one-sided wipe that gets more efficient the longer the game goes.
Anje Falkenrath
Anje Falkenrath's discard-and-loot engine keeps her hand perpetually stocked, and Nightmare Unmaking converts that card advantage directly into a board clear that scales with every loot activation you've made this turn.
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus runs enough card selection and draw to ensure Nightmare Unmaking hits double digits on exile count, and the Esper color identity means the deck already wants this style of conditional but powerful removal.
Umbris, Fear Manifest
Umbris, Fear Manifest grows every time an opponent's card is exiled, so Nightmare Unmaking pulling five to ten permanents per player isn't just a board wipe — it's a pump spell that can put Umbris into lethal range in one activation.
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 |
Nightmare Unmaking is a Commander card through and through — the hand-size condition is mostly irrelevant in one-on-one formats, but at a four-player table where opponents routinely hold six or seven cards, it consistently exiles six-plus permanents per opponent while leaving your side intact. Legacy and Vintage are legal but uninterested; a conditional five-mana sorcery can't compete in formats where the game is often over by turn two. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander format worth mentioning, where the smaller card pool and hand-sculpting strategies can make Nightmare Unmaking a genuine threat. Stay in Commander — that's where this card does exactly what it promises.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.35 bulk tier
At $0.35, Nightmare Unmaking is bulk pricing for a card that functions as a premium board wipe in the right shell — it's consistently underpriced relative to its actual power level in Commander. Bulk rares with narrow conditions tend to stay cheap, so don't expect movement, but that also means there's no reason not to own a copy if you're running any black deck that regularly holds a full hand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor
- Anje Falkenrath
- Kamiz, Obscura Oculus
- Umbris, Fear Manifest
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.