Song of Totentanz
Sorcery
Create X 1/1 black Rat creature tokens with "This token can't block." Creatures you control gain haste until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Wilds of Eldraine Promos
- Price
- $1.82
- EDHREC rank
- #2055
Song of Totentanz dumps a board of Rats onto the table equal to the mana you pour into it, and every one of those Rats enters with haste — that's the whole story. Totentanz, Swarm Piper turns each of those bodies into a drain trigger and a sacrifice engine, which means this spell frequently ends games the turn it resolves.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Totentanz, Swarm Piper
Song of Totentanz is the centerpiece spell in Totentanz, Swarm Piper decks — a single cast floods the board with hasty Rats that immediately trigger the commander's drain-on-attack ability and fuel sacrifice payoffs, often closing the game the same turn.
Wick, the Whorled Mind
Wick, the Whorled Mind copies instants and sorceries when you cast them, so Song of Totentanz becomes two mass-token spells for one activation — the resulting Rat flood is nearly impossible to race.
Magnus the Red
Magnus the Red reduces the cost of spells with ten or more power on the battlefield, and Song of Totentanz can itself supply that threshold in a single cast, creating a self-reinforcing loop that snowballs hard from the mid-game onward.
Thromok the Insatiable
Thromok the Insatiable devours creatures to grow proportionally, and Song of Totentanz is one of the cleanest ways to produce a disposable army of Rats on demand — cast it, feed the pile to Thromok, swing lethal.
Akul the Unrepentant
Akul the Unrepentant rewards swarming the board and sacrificing fodder, and Song of Totentanz delivers both in one spell — a wide Rat token board that can attack immediately or feed Akul's graveyard-exile payoff.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Song of Totentanz scales with the late-game mana pools the format enables — casting it for six or more is routine, and haste on every token means you don't need to untap to cash in. Competitive non-Commander formats are less welcoming: token strategies in Modern and Pioneer want efficient, low-to-the-ground payoffs, and a sorcery that demands heavy mana investment rarely slots in over faster token generators. Standard is the one constructed environment where it sees genuine play, specifically in Rat tribal shells built around Totentanz, Swarm Piper. Legacy and Vintage are legal but irrelevant — the card simply isn't in that conversation.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.82 cheap tier
At $1.82, Song of Totentanz sits comfortably in the cheap tier — low enough to include without deliberation in any deck that wants it. It's the engine card of a specific commander archetype, so demand is real and steady; don't expect it to crater.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Totentanz, Swarm Piper
- Wick, the Whorled Mind
- Magnus the Red
- Thromok the Insatiable
- Akul the Unrepentant
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.