Splintering Wind
Enchantment
: This enchantment deals 1 damage to target creature. Create a 1/1 green Splinter creature token. It has flying and "Cumulative upkeep ." When it leaves the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to you and each creature you control. (At the beginning of its controller's upkeep, that player puts an age counter on it, then sacrifices it unless they pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Alliances
- Price
- $0.52
- EDHREC rank
- #27886
Splintering Wind generates a stream of 1/1 flying tokens over multiple turns, but the cumulative upkeep in green mana and the 1 damage per missed payment make it collapse fast without a mana engine like Phyrexian Altar to subsidize the cost. It's a build-around, not a staple — rewarding in the right shell, embarrassing outside it.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Splintering Wind is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees essentially no play in Legacy or Vintage where cumulative upkeep enchantments can't compete on speed or efficiency. Commander is the only realistic home, specifically in green token or sacrifice decks that can generate enough mana to sustain the upkeep chain past the first few turns. Even there, Splintering Wind demands dedicated support — it's a build-around that wins in a narrow archetype and sits dead in hand everywhere else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Splintering WindPhyrexian AltarBlessed SanctuaryZirda, the Dawnwaker
Infinite damage to creatures; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Splintering WindVigorPhyrexian AltarZirda, the DawnwakerAshes of the Abhorrent
Infinite damage to creatures; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite +1/+1 counters on creatures you control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.52 bulk tier
At $0.52, Splintering Wind is firmly bulk — the price reflects its near-zero competitive demand and narrow Commander application. It's cheap enough to pick up on spec for a dedicated tokens build, but don't expect the price to move meaningfully in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Phyrexian Altar
- Blessed Sanctuary
- Zirda, the Dawnwaker
- Vigor
- Ashes of the Abhorrent
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.