Searing Barb
Sorcery
Searing Barb deals 2 damage to any target. If it's a creature, it can't block this turn. Incubate 1. (Create an Incubator token with a +1/+1 counter on it and "
: Transform this token." It transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- March of the Machine
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #25587
Searing Barb deals 2 damage to each creature target player controls — a sweeper-lite that punishes go-wide boards without costing more than one mana. The floor is real removal, the ceiling is a one-sided board clear in the right shell.
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 |
Searing Barb is a pauper-legal instant that earns its slot most naturally in token-heavy metas, where two damage to every creature one player controls collapses boards that Shock would never touch. In Commander it fits aggressive red strategies punishing a single problematic player — the political targeting angle matters here, since you choose who eats the 2-damage spread. Competitive formats like Modern and Legacy have no interest in it; Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods do the same job without the targeting restriction and see almost zero play themselves. Pauper is where Searing Barb has the most plausible niche, clearing x/2 token floods for a single red mana.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Searing Barb is deep bulk — the kind of card you pull from a common box without thinking twice. The price reflects limited demand rather than limited power, and it's not going anywhere in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.