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Pain 101

Instant

Until end of turn, target creature gains deathtouch and "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control."

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
common
Set
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Price
$0.16
EDHREC rank
#14539
Buy on TCGplayer
Pain 101 card art
Pain 101 lands as a repeatable damage outlet that converts your sacrifice fodder into direct pressure, and Goblin Bombardment already shows how powerful that template is. The cost is real — you need a token or creature engine to back it up — but Super Shredder decks rarely lack for bodies, making this a near-automatic inclusion.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Super Shredder

Super Shredder

11.1% of decks · synergy 0.10

Super Shredder generates the kind of continuous creature flow that makes Pain 101 sing — every token that would otherwise trade into a blocker becomes a point of damage stapled to a sacrifice trigger, turning board stalls into a race the opponent can't win.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Pain 101 is legal across every major format, but Commander is where it actually lives. In 60-card formats, the slot competition from more efficient damage outlets pushes it out of most serious lists. In Commander, the 100-card singleton structure and longer game length reward repeatable engines, and Pain 101 scales with the token density that aggressive and sacrifice-based commanders naturally produce. At four players, that repeated reach adds up in ways a single-use spell never could.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.16 bulk tier

At $0.16, Pain 101 is firmly bulk — you can pick up a playset for less than a dollar. Bulk enchantments with narrow homes rarely spike, so don't expect the price to move meaningfully in either direction.

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Sources

Mentioned

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