Sarkhan's Catharsis
Instant
Sarkhan's Catharsis deals 5 damage to target player or planeswalker.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- War of the Spark
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #24851
Sarkhan's Catharsis deals 5 damage to target player or planeswalker for five mana — that rate is too slow for Constructed and only passable in Commander. Run it if your deck specifically rewards casting Dragons or needs redundancy in a dragon-tribal shell; otherwise, there are better options at this cost.
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 |
In Commander, Sarkhan's Catharsis is a role-player in dragon-tribal decks that want any spell with the word "dragon" in the text box to trigger lords or payoffs — the damage itself is incidental. Outside that niche, five mana for 5 damage to a player doesn't advance a board state and won't close a multiplayer game. In Pauper it's legal but unplayed; direct damage at this cost loses badly to Lightning Bolt and its relatives. Legacy, Vintage, and Modern have no interest in a five-mana sorcery that draws no cards and leaves nothing permanent behind.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Sarkhan's Catharsis is deep bulk — you're buying it for pennies as a dragon-tribal enabler, not for the damage. Bulk commons and uncommons at this price point are stable; there's no reason to expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.