Slaughter the Strong
Sorcery
Each player chooses any number of creatures they control with total power 4 or less, then sacrifices all other creatures they control.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Rivals of Ixalan Promos
- Price
- $1.68
- EDHREC rank
- #2376
Slaughter the Strong wipes the board of every creature with power 4 or greater while leaving small defenders untouched — a one-sided sweep for three mana that most white decks would kill for. Felothar the Steadfast in particular treats this as a staple, but any deck built around low-power utility creatures runs it to clear out the threats that would otherwise end the game.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Felothar the Steadfast
Felothar the Steadfast's entire strategy revolves around low-power creatures, so Slaughter the Strong is functionally one-sided — your board survives while every oversized threat your opponents control goes to the graveyard.
Arcades, the Strategist
Arcades, the Strategist wins by deploying high-toughness, zero-power walls, meaning Slaughter the Strong almost never touches a single friendly creature while clearing every attacker and threat across the table.
Doran, Besieged by Time
Doran, Besieged by Time cares about toughness over power, so its creatures naturally cluster at low power values — Slaughter the Strong slots in as a board wipe that the deck's own gameplan practically immunizes it from.
Betor, Kin to All
Betor, Kin to All builds around small, synergistic creatures that stay well under the power threshold, making Slaughter the Strong a reliable asymmetric reset that preserves the engine while eliminating larger threats.
Plagon, Lord of the Beach
Plagon, Lord of the Beach goes wide with tokens and low-power creatures, so Slaughter the Strong punishes opponents who've developed beefy boards while leaving Plagon's army fully intact.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Slaughter the Strong earns its keep — multiplayer boards regularly feature oversized threats that three-mana wraths struggle to answer cleanly, and this one does it while leaving low-power utility creatures alive. In competitive formats like Modern, Legacy, and Pioneer it's legal but rarely played; those formats move too fast for a conditional sorcery that costs three mana and doesn't guarantee a clean board state when the opponent is playing Thoughtseize and Ragavan rather than a Craterhoof Behemoth. Vintage has access to better options and more broken things to do with three mana. Slaughter the Strong is a Commander card, full stop — built for exactly the kind of table where someone has a 7/7 and you have a board of 1/4s.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.68 cheap tier
At $1.68, Slaughter the Strong sits in the budget-staple tier — cheap enough to include without a second thought in any deck that wants it. Demand is steady given its high inclusion rate in toughness-matters and small-creature strategies, so the price is unlikely to crater.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Felothar the Steadfast
- Arcades, the Strategist
- Doran, Besieged by Time
- Betor, Kin to All
- Plagon, Lord of the Beach
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.