Sarkhan the Mad
Legendary Planeswalker — Sarkhan
0: Reveal the top card of your library and put it into your hand. Sarkhan deals damage to himself equal to that card's mana value.
−2: Target creature's controller sacrifices it, then that player creates a 5/5 red Dragon creature token with flying.
−4: Each Dragon creature you control deals damage equal to its power to target player or planeswalker.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- The List
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #17785
Sarkhan the Mad enters with no loyalty counters and no plus ability — his entire value is front-loaded into two minus abilities and an ultimate that doubles as a win condition on arrival. Run him when you need a dragon token factory or a board-wide anthem finisher, not as a planeswalker you expect to protect across multiple turns.
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 |
Commander is where Sarkhan the Mad earns his slot, specifically in dragon tribal decks that can flood the board and cash in his zero-loyalty ultimate the same turn he enters. In Legacy and Vintage he's legally playable but competes with faster, more resilient threats — no competitive player is registering him there. Modern follows the same logic: five mana for a planeswalker who dies to the first attack is a tough sell in a format that ends games on turn four. Oathbreaker is the sleeper home for him, where he can serve as the signature spell's planeswalker slot in a dragon-heavy build and threaten an immediate ultimate without needing to survive.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for Sarkhan the Mad at the moment — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for current buylist and market rates. Given his narrow tribal niche and the absence of competitive play, he typically sits in budget-to-mid territory and is worth picking up if you're building dragons.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.