Strangling Soot
Instant
Destroy target creature with toughness 3 or less.
Flashback 
(You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #29856
Strangling Soot kills a small creature immediately and leaves a flashback threat that answers a second one later — two removal spells stapled together for a combined five mana. It's efficient enough to run in any black deck that needs reliable early interaction and doesn't want to spend a slot on a one-shot answer.
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, Strangling Soot punches above its inclusion rate — two removal triggers from one card slot is exactly what 99-card singleton construction rewards, and the flashback means graveyard hate doesn't blank it entirely. Pauper is where it genuinely competes, since the common card pool makes repeatable removal scarce and the three-mana flashback cost is less punishing in slower games. Legacy and Vintage have cheaper, unconditional options that don't care about a creature's power, so Strangling Soot rarely makes those lists. Modern can find better, but budget black decks will run it without embarrassment.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Strangling Soot is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a dollar bin or grabbing a playset for under a dollar. That price is stable; there's no reprint pressure needed on a common, and casual demand alone keeps it from dipping further.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.