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Quietus Spike

Artifact — Equipment

Equipped creature has deathtouch.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, that player loses half their life, rounded up.
Equip {3}

CMC
3
Mana cost
{3}
Color identity
C
Rarity
rare
Set
Planechase 2012
Price
$1.43
EDHREC rank
#2629
Buy on TCGplayer
Quietus Spike card art
Quietus Spike turns any unblocked creature into a halving machine — one hit drops an opponent from 40 to 20, and a second from 20 to 10, compressing games dramatically without requiring damage to scale. Stack it with Wound Reflection and a single connect kills a player outright; slot it into Ramses, Assassin Lord and the first kill trigger ends the game on the spot.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Ramses, Assassin Lord

Ramses, Assassin Lord

50.5% of decks · synergy 0.49

Ramses, Assassin Lord wins the game the moment any opponent dies during your turn, and Quietus Spike is the most efficient way to make that happen — halving life totals means you need one connection, not a full combat math equation.

02
Kelsien, the Plague

Kelsien, the Plague

44.4% of decks · synergy 0.43

Kelsien, the Plague pings creatures for 1 damage and collects experience counters, but the real threat is suiting up Kelsien himself and sending him into a player; Quietus Spike turns that one unblocked swing into a life-total crisis that closes games other tap-to-ping plans never could.

03
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus

Kamiz, Obscura Oculus

37.6% of decks · synergy 0.36

Kamiz, Obscura Oculus makes a creature unblockable each combat and then draws cards off it — Quietus Spike goes on whatever creature Kamiz is targeting, guaranteeing the halving trigger lands every single turn while the deck keeps refueling.

05
Noctis, Heir Apparent

Noctis, Heir Apparent

24.9% of decks · synergy 0.23

Noctis, Heir Apparent pushes multiple creatures through unblocked, and Quietus Spike on any one of them shaves opponents down to range where the rest of the board can finish the job without needing another combat step.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Quietus Spike actually matters — 40 life totals are exactly what makes the halving effect backbreaking, and multiplayer tables mean one unblocked connection can kneecap a threat without burning a removal spell. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; three mana and an equip cost is too slow against combo and force-of-will decks where life totals rarely get tested that way. Oathbreaker shares the 20-life norm with smaller formats, which softens the impact, though spell-based commanders that enable evasion still want it. Quietus Spike is a Commander card through and through.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$1.43 cheap tier

At $1.43, Quietus Spike is straightforwardly cheap for the effect it delivers in Commander — there's no meaningful budget alternative that does the same thing, so you're not overpaying for a substitute. It's been printed enough times to stay in this range, and demand from Ramses, Kelsien, and evasion-heavy commanders gives it a stable floor without much ceiling pressure.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.