Puncturing Blow
Sorcery
Puncturing Blow deals 5 damage to target creature. If that creature would die this turn, exile it instead.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Hour of Devastation
- Price
- $0.04
- EDHREC rank
- #26949
Puncturing Blow deals 5 damage to a creature and exiles it if that damage would destroy it — conditional exile stapled to a sorcery for four mana. That condition and that speed make it uncompetitive removal in every format that has better options, which is all of them.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Puncturing Blow is legal in Commander, Pauper, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but being legal and being good are different things. In Commander, four mana at sorcery speed for conditional single-target removal is a steep ask when the table has three opponents and threats keep coming. Pauper is where it comes closest to relevance — the format's removal pool is shallower and the exile clause has real teeth against recursion — but even there, Skred and Terminate outclass it on efficiency. In any eternal format with access to Fatal Push, Lightning Bolt, or Path to Exile, Puncturing Blow doesn't make the cut.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.04 bulk tier
At $0.04, Puncturing Blow is deep bulk — the kind of card that shows up in draft chaff and starter decks. That price reflects its playability ceiling accurately, and there's no pressure scenario that moves the needle on it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.