Poison the Well
Sorcery
Destroy target land. Poison the Well deals 2 damage to that land's controller.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadowmoor
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #28134
Poison the Well deals 2 damage to target player or planeswalker and makes them sacrifice a land — four words of effect for four mana, which is the problem. The damage is irrelevant at Commander tables, and land destruction at sorcery speed for this much mana gets you killed on principle before it gets you ahead.
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 |
Poison the Well is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but legal doesn't mean playable. In Commander it's a four-mana sorcery that trades a land drop for 2 damage — neither half is worth a card slot when your opponents have 40 life and three other players rebuilding around you. Pauper is the one format where budget constraints make bulk commons viable on principle, but even there the effect is too slow and too small to matter. Poison the Well is outclassed in every format it's legal in.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Poison the Well is deep bulk — the price reflects the demand, which is close to zero. It holds its floor because it can't really go lower, not because anyone is actively seeking it out.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.