Poison Arrow
Sorcery
Destroy target nonblack creature. You gain 3 life.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Portal Three Kingdoms
- Price
- $38.87
- EDHREC rank
- #30466
Poison Arrow deals 4 damage to a creature and puts a -1/-1 counter on it, giving black unconventional reach into the "damage plus debuff" space it usually has to borrow from red or green. At four mana for a sorcery, the rate is mediocre — you're running it because the counter synergy earns the slot, not because the removal is efficient on its own.
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 |
Poison Arrow is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but Legacy and Vintage have no interest in a four-mana sorcery for creature removal. In Commander, Poison Arrow finds its only real home in -1/-1 counter synergy decks — Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons and Yawgmoth, Thran Physician shells specifically — where the counter triggers additional value and the 4 damage handles mid-sized threats. Outside those shells, cheaper black removal does the job without the counter rider, so the card sees narrow but genuine play in the one format that rewards it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Consume Strength and Disfigure are both well under a dollar and put -1/-1 counters on creatures at instant speed for less mana than Poison Arrow, though neither adds the 4 damage component. If the damage clause matters less than the counter trigger, Hapatra's Mark or Lethal Sting are closer functional replacements that keep the counter synergy intact at a fraction of the price.
Price Context
Current price
$38.87 premium tier
At $38.87, Poison Arrow sits in premium territory that is difficult to justify on raw power — you're paying for an old, low-supply printing of a narrow card, not for format-warping impact. Demand is thin enough that the price is driven almost entirely by scarcity, so value is only stable as long as no reprint surfaces.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.