Sword of the Ages
Artifact
This artifact enters tapped.
, Sacrifice this artifact and any number of creatures you control: This artifact deals X damage to any target, where X is the total power of the creatures sacrificed this way, then exile this artifact and those creature cards.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Masters Edition III
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #25436
Sword of the Ages lets you sacrifice any number of creatures to deal that much damage to a single target — a built-in, repeatable finisher stapled to an artifact that token and go-wide decks can actually close games with. The catch is the hefty six-mana entry and the fact that it enters tapped, so the first activation is always a turn away.
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 |
Commander is where Sword of the Ages does its best work, specifically in token strategies that generate wide boards and need a way to convert them into lethal damage without swinging through blockers — pointing the trigger at a player's face rather than a creature makes it a political tool as much as a win condition. Legacy and Vintage allow it, but neither format has any reason to run it; the effect is too slow and too narrow against the combo and tempo decks that dominate those environments. Oathbreaker is legal and mirrors the Commander case — a go-wide Oathbreaker deck can use it — but the smaller starting life totals reduce how much you need the burst damage.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Sword of the Ages isn't available in the index, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number — it's an older card with limited reprints, which typically puts older artifacts like this in the $5–$20 range depending on condition and edition, but verify before buying. Whether it's worth picking up comes down to whether you're building the specific token shell that wants it; outside that context, the card has a narrow home.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.