Tendrils of Corruption
Instant
Tendrils of Corruption deals X damage to target creature and you gain X life, where X is the number of Swamps you control.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Time Spiral Remastered
- Price
- $0.30
- EDHREC rank
- #8637
Tendrils of Corruption trades a single black instant for removal plus a life swing that regularly hits 10 or more in Swamp-heavy decks — the cost is four mana and a mono-black commitment. Pair it with Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose and that life gain becomes a direct damage trigger; at that point it's doing triple duty for one card slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose turns every point of life gained by Tendrils of Corruption into damage dealt, so a mid-game cast that gains 8 life also drains each opponent for 8 — removal and a win-condition trigger on the same card.
Toshiro Umezawa
Toshiro Umezawa lets you flash back instants from your graveyard whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, meaning Tendrils of Corruption can fire repeatedly over a single combat step and keep restocking your life total each time.
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, Tendrils of Corruption is a reliable role-player in any mono-black deck running 30-plus Swamps — the life gain scales hard enough that it often outperforms comparable removal that costs the same mana. Pauper is where it earns the most respect outside Commander: black control shells lean on it as a primary removal spell because the life buffer it provides extends games long enough to find a closer. In Legacy and Vintage it sees essentially no play; those formats demand interaction that costs one mana and doesn't require a Swamp count to justify the investment. Overall, treat Tendrils of Corruption as a Commander and Pauper card — it's format-appropriate in those two and overcosted everywhere else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.30 bulk tier
At $0.30, Tendrils of Corruption sits firmly in bulk territory and has no realistic reason to climb — it's been widely printed and the effect, while solid, isn't scarce. Pick up copies freely; there's no price pressure here.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
- Toshiro Umezawa
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.