Sadistic Obsession
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has "
, 
: Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature."
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Modern Horizons
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #20032
Sadistic Obsession is a black enchantment that permanently strips a target creature of all abilities and sets its power and toughness to 1/1 — for three mana at instant speed, that is a clean answer to any threat regardless of size or text box. The cost is that it doesn't remove the creature from the board, so a neutralized 1/1 sticks around to chump or be sacrificed.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Sadistic Obsession occupies a narrow lane: it answers commanders and other creatures whose abilities matter more than their stats, stripping something like a Yuriko or Zur down to an irrelevant 1/1 body. The instant speed is real upside, letting you respond to an attack or an enter-the-battlefield trigger. Outside Commander, it's legal in Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but those formats have cleaner answers — Fatal Push, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile — that actually remove the creature, so Sadistic Obsession rarely competes there. It's a Commander-specific tool, and even in that format it's mostly for decks that can't reliably remove creatures outright.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Sadistic Obsession is firmly bulk — you're paying almost nothing for a highly situational effect. It won't hold or gain value; pick it up if the effect fits your build, but don't expect it to appreciate.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.