Tear Asunder
Instant
Kicker 
(You may pay an additional as you cast this spell.)
Exile target artifact or enchantment. If this spell was kicked, exile target nonland permanent instead.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.34
- EDHREC rank
- #883
Tear Asunder exiles — not destroys — any nonland permanent or any land, making it one of the few two-mana instants that answers indestructible threats and Strip Mines in the same card slot. The kicker cost is real, but the floor without it still handles Blightsteel Colossus or Darksteel Forge, which most removal can't say. In Hearthhull, the Worldseed decks, where graveyard recursion is central, exile is the difference between removal and removal that sticks.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hearthhull, the Worldseed
Hearthhull, the Worldseed leans on Tear Asunder because exile answers threats that would otherwise recur alongside Hearthhull's own graveyard engine — destroy effects just delay the problem.
Hazel of the Rootbloom
Hazel of the Rootbloom runs Tear Asunder for the same exile clause that shuts down opposing graveyard synergies, keeping Hazel's own recursion engine the only one at the table.
Teval, the Balanced Scale
Teval, the Balanced Scale plays in a sacrifice-and-recur space where destroying permanents often isn't enough; Tear Asunder's exile mode ensures opposing value pieces don't just come back.
Szarel, Genesis Shepherd
Szarel, Genesis Shepherd decks need removal that doubles as graveyard hate, and Tear Asunder delivers both — exile the threat, deny the recursion, all at instant speed for two mana.
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch curves through unconventional permanents and needs interaction that doesn't discriminate by type; Tear Asunder's ability to hit any nonland permanent, or any land with kicker, covers every angle Lysaga decks face.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Tear Asunder earns its slot because the format is full of indestructible permanents, graveyard loops, and problematic lands — the three things destroy effects can't reliably answer. Two mana at instant speed for unconditional exile on any nonland permanent is a strong baseline; the kicker is a late-game luxury you'll use when a land is actively winning the game. In Modern and Pioneer, the competition is stiffer — Path to Exile, Assassin's Trophy, and Leyline Binding set a high bar — so Tear Asunder is a fringe inclusion there, mostly relevant when exile specifically matters. Legacy has enough broken permanents that the exile clause has genuine upside, though the format generally prefers zero- or one-mana answers. Across all formats where it's legal, Tear Asunder is best evaluated not as a generic removal spell but as a flexible answer to the things your other removal can't touch.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.34 bulk tier
At $0.34, Tear Asunder is bulk, and the price reflects its Commander role accurately — it's a staple-quality card in the right decks, not a format-warping chase piece. Bulk commons and uncommons with genuine utility tend to sit in this range indefinitely, so there's no urgency to buy in volume, but grabbing a copy now costs less than a sleeve.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.