The First Eruption
Enchantment — Saga
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I — This Saga deals 1 damage to each creature without flying.
II — Add 
.
III — Sacrifice a Mountain. If you do, this Saga deals 3 damage to each creature.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Dominaria
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #22319
The First Eruption hits the board as a three-chapter saga that deals 1 damage to each non-land permanent on chapters one and two, then erupts for X damage to each creature and planeswalker on the final chapter — where X equals the number of Mountains you control. It's a build-around payoff that rewards land-type density, and in the right deck it ends games; in the wrong one it's a slow three-turn process that kills your own tokens and fizzles.
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 |
Commander is where The First Eruption actually lives — the saga's three-turn clock is acceptable in a 40-life multiplayer game, and the final chapter's damage scales absurdly in dedicated Mountain-heavy builds with Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle synergies or Mono-Red / Gruul commanders that flood the board with basic Mountains and Snow-covered Mountains. Competitive formats like Modern and Legacy have no patience for a three-chapter saga that telegraphs its payoff; faster, more direct removal and damage spells make it unplayable there outside the most niche Saga-tribal shells. Pioneer and Oathbreaker sit in the same boat — the card is legal but the setup cost is too steep against a faster field.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, The First Eruption is deep bulk — it costs less than a sleeve and you'll find copies in any common box at your LGS. Bulk rares with niche commander applications rarely move off the floor unless a new commander prints that breaks them wide open, so treat this as a zero-cost pickup for the right Mountain-heavy deck rather than a hold.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.