Price of Betrayal
Sorcery
Remove up to five counters from target artifact, creature, planeswalker, or opponent.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- War of the Spark
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #21630
Price of Betrayal removes up to five counters from any permanent or player — experience counters, loyalty, charge counters, poison, whatever is breaking the game — for a single black mana. At one mana, it answers problems that cost three to five to deal with otherwise, and no comparable effect exists at this price point.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Price of Betrayal earns its slot, because the threats it answers are endemic to the format — planeswalkers ticking toward ultimates, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice doubling every counter type in sight, poison strategies closing out games in the red zone. In competitive pods, it's a clean answer to experience counters on commanders like Meren of Clan Nel Toth or Breya, Etherium Shaper that no other single-mana spell touches. Outside Commander, Price of Betrayal sees virtually no play — Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer have more efficient answers to the narrow problems it solves, and the counter-removal niche rarely comes up in those formats.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Price of Betrayal is bulk by any measure, and given how narrow its effect is there's no pressure driving the price up. Pick it up freely whenever you need it — there's no risk of regret at this price point.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.