Surgical Skullbomb
Artifact
, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.
, Sacrifice this artifact: Return target creature to its owner's hand. Draw a card. Activate only as a sorcery.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.11
- EDHREC rank
- #13279
Surgical Skullbomb replaces itself on death and can bin a creature from any graveyard — two effects on one card that costs nothing extra when you're already sacrificing it. Under Ashnod the Uncaring, the triggered ability fires twice, turning a zero-cost enabler into a repeatable source of card advantage.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Ashnod the Uncaring
Ashnod the Uncaring doubles every triggered ability on artifacts you sacrifice, so Surgical Skullbomb draws two cards and hits two graveyard targets instead of one — the value floor nearly doubles for free.
Mm'menon, the Right Hand
Mm'menon, the Right Hand cares about artifacts entering and leaving the battlefield in volume, and Surgical Skullbomb's zero-cost sacrificeability lets it slot into that churn without ever clogging your hand on the way out.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Surgical Skullbomb earns its slot as a free sacrifice outlet that replaces itself — exactly the kind of zero-cost glue that artifact and graveyard synergy decks need without dedicating a real card slot. In Pauper, it sees genuine play as a cheap cantripping artifact for Affinity and artifact-matters strategies where every colorless piece that replaces itself is worth counting. Modern and Legacy have more efficient options for both graveyard hate and cantripping artifacts, so Surgical Skullbomb rarely makes the cut in those formats outside of very specific combo shells. Pioneer sits in a similar position — legal but largely outclassed.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.11 bulk tier
At $0.11, Surgical Skullbomb is deep bulk — grab a playset without thinking about it. Demand from Commander and Pauper isn't enough to push that price meaningfully, so it's stable at the bottom.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Ashnod the Uncaring
- Mm'menon, the Right Hand
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.