Splitting Headache
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Target player discards two cards.
• Target player reveals their hand. You choose a card from it. That player discards that card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadowmoor
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #30163
Splitting Headache gives you a choice: make a player discard two cards, or rip a specific card out of their hand — four mana at sorcery speed for either mode. The flexibility is real, but four mana is a steep ask for hand disruption in a format where you share a table with three opponents.
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, Splitting Headache occupies a narrow lane — discard decks helmed by commanders like Tinybones, Trinket Thief or Tergrid, God of Fright are the only shells that actually want it, since targeted discard scales poorly when three opponents are refilling their hands independently. In Pauper it's legal and the modal nature gives it more appeal, but four mana still prices it out of most competitive lists where cheaper discard dominates. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient disruption, so Splitting Headache never sees play there. The card's real home is budget Commander builds leaning into the discard theme, where the named-card mode doubles as soft removal against a problematic combo piece.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Splitting Headache is pure bulk — you're not paying for scarcity, you're paying for cardboard. It's not a card that holds or gains value; pick it up if the effect fits your deck and don't think twice about the cost.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.