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Sulfuric Vortex

Enchantment

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, this enchantment deals 2 damage to that player.
If a player would gain life, that player gains no life instead.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{1}{R}{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
rare
Set
Conspiracy
Price
$0.92
EDHREC rank
#2707
Buy on TCGplayer
Sulfuric Vortex card art
Sulfuric Vortex hits every opponent for 2 each upkeep and shuts off life gain — three mana for a clock that runs itself. Pair it with Zo-Zu the Punisher or Transcendence and the table is racing a timer they can't heal through.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Zo-Zu the Punisher

Zo-Zu the Punisher

72.4% of decks · synergy 0.64

Zo-Zu the Punisher and Sulfuric Vortex are the two pillars of the same prison — one punishes lands entering, the other drains life every upkeep, and together they make every turn a losing proposition for opponents who can't close the game themselves.

02
Kratos, God of War

Kratos, God of War

63.3% of decks · synergy 0.55

Kratos, God of War wants opponents dead fast, and Sulfuric Vortex provides a persistent damage source that ticks down life totals regardless of board state — relevant when Kratos is clearing creatures and leaving everyone vulnerable.

03
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell

Torbran, Thane of Red Fell

60.9% of decks · synergy 0.53

Torbran, Thane of Red Fell bumps every red source's damage by two, which means Sulfuric Vortex's upkeep trigger hits for four instead of two — the enchantment goes from a slow bleed to a legitimate clock in a single commander drop.

04
Solphim, Mayhem Dominus

Solphim, Mayhem Dominus

57.1% of decks · synergy 0.49

Solphim, Mayhem Dominus doubles noncombat damage to opponents, turning Sulfuric Vortex's two-damage trigger into four per player each upkeep — at four opponents that's sixteen damage a turn cycle before anything else resolves.

05

Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might

56.3% of decks · synergy 0.48

Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might replaces small red damage instances with its power, so Sulfuric Vortex's two-damage trigger becomes a five-or-more damage hit per opponent — the enchantment stops being chip damage and starts threatening to end games on its own.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Sulfuric Vortex is a staple for mono-red and Rakdos prison strategies — the life gain suppression alone justifies the slot in metas where Soul Warden effects and Oloro, Ageless Ascetic are common. Legacy sees it as a sideboard option in burn-adjacent red shells where shutting off Batterskull and Uro activations closes otherwise unwinnable games. Vintage is legal but the format is too fast and broken for a three-mana enchantment to matter. Sulfuric Vortex is not legal in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, or Pauper, so Commander and Legacy are where it earns its keep.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.92 bulk tier

At $0.92, Sulfuric Vortex sits firmly in bulk territory despite being a genuine role-player in multiple Commander archetypes. It's a safe pickup — demand from prison and burn builds keeps it from sinking further, and you're not overpaying for the effect.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.