Spell Syphon
Instant
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 
for each blue permanent you control.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadowmoor
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #20068
Spell Syphon is a two-mana counterspell that taxes the opponent an additional mana for each card in your hand — in a full grip, that's a hard counter for most practical purposes. It's strictly better than Cancel in any deck that reliably holds cards, which makes it a legitimate slot in blue-heavy Commander builds.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Spell Syphon earns its slot in any blue deck that consistently maintains a large hand — the tax scales up fast and by the mid-game it's routinely asking opponents for six or more mana, which most can't pay. In Legacy and Vintage, it doesn't compete with Force of Will, Counterspell, or Daze; hand-size variance is too unreliable in faster, more linear formats to justify a conditional counter. Pauper is its most interesting non-Commander home, since the format lacks many hard counters at common and a full grip is more achievable in slower controlling shells. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander logic — if your planeswalker strategy draws cards, Spell Syphon's ceiling is high enough to run.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Spell Syphon is pure bulk — grab a copy out of any common box without a second thought. The price is unlikely to move meaningfully in either direction; it fills a niche role in Commander and sees virtually no play elsewhere, which keeps demand flat.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.