Relic Putrescence
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant artifact
Whenever enchanted artifact becomes tapped, its controller gets a poison counter.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Scars of Mirrodin
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #17684
Relic Putrescence turns any artifact into a poison delivery system — enchant an opponent's Basalt Monolith and every activation loads them closer to ten counters without a single attack step. The cost is that it does nothing without a target artifact in play, so it belongs in decks like Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon that are already committed to the infect win condition.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon is an infect commander that wants every poison vector available, and Relic Putrescence converts the mana rocks and utility artifacts opponents lean on into liabilities — a Sol Ring activation suddenly reads 'put a poison counter on you.'
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 |
Relic Putrescence is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but it's functionally a Commander card. In 1v1 formats, the payoff is too slow and too conditional — enchanting one artifact to deal one poison counter at a time doesn't close games against a single opponent with a focused gameplan. Commander is where it earns its slot: three opponents running artifact-heavy mana bases means multiple legal targets, and the poison counter accumulation across the table compounds faster than any single player can answer. In Pauper it's technically playable, but infect as a strategy there moves faster with direct damage enablers than with enchantment-based chip damage.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Basalt MonolithRelic PutrescenceStiltzkin, Moogle Merchant
Target opponent loses the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Basalt MonolithRelic PutrescenceCoveted Falcon
Target opponent loses the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Basalt MonolithRelic PutrescenceBazaar Trader
Target opponent loses the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Basalt MonolithRelic PutrescenceZedruu the Greathearted
Target opponent loses the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Relic Putrescence is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not scarcity. It's a niche card with a narrow home, so don't expect price movement unless infect strategies see a significant Commander-level reprint cycle that spikes demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.