Pillar of Flame
Sorcery
Pillar of Flame deals 2 damage to any target. If a creature dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Friday Night Magic 2012
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #19377
Pillar of Flame deals 2 damage to a creature or player and exiles instead of sending to the graveyard — that exile clause is the entire reason to run it over Lightning Bolt variants. One mana for two damage is a fair rate; the payoff is shutting off undying, persist, and graveyard recursion at instant-adjacent sorcery speed.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Pillar of Flame is a niche inclusion — 2 damage rarely kills anything relevant at a 40-life table, and sorcery speed limits its defensive utility. Where it earns a slot is in dedicated graveyard-hate packages, particularly against undying or persist commanders where exiling the creature on the way down disrupts the whole engine. In Pauper, it sees more legitimate play as cheap removal in red aggro shells where the exile clause occasionally matters against recursive threats. Modern and Legacy have long since moved past it — those formats offer instant-speed exile removal at the same cost or better, so Pillar of Flame doesn't make the cut competitively.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pillar of Flame is a bulk rare in practice, typically available for well under $0.50 at most retailers. At that price it's a low-risk pickup if you need the exile effect in a budget red build, but don't expect it to appreciate — supply is high and demand is narrow.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.