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Thermopod

Snow Creature — Slug

{S}: This creature gains haste until end of turn. ({S} can be paid with one mana from a snow source.)
Sacrifice a creature: Add {R}.

CMC
5
Mana cost
{4}{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
common
Set
Coldsnap
Price
$0.62
EDHREC rank
#9775
Buy on TCGplayer
Thermopod card art
Thermopod turns any sacrificed creature into a free red mana, making it the grease that keeps token-sacrifice engines running without losing tempo. It earns a slot in Krenko, Mob Boss and Valduk, Keeper of the Flame builds precisely because those decks generate disposable bodies faster than they can spend mana — Thermopod converts the excess directly into action.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

15.5% of decks · synergy 0.14

Valduk, Keeper of the Flame creates a fresh wave of Elemental tokens at each combat that would otherwise evaporate at end of turn anyway, and Thermopod lets you cash those expiring tokens for red mana before they disappear — turning a zero-cost sacrifice into fuel for the next spell.

02
Zurzoth, Chaos Rider

Zurzoth, Chaos Rider

13.8% of decks · synergy 0.13

Zurzoth, Chaos Rider floods the board with Devil tokens that opponents are often happy to block and kill, and Thermopod intercepts that sacrifice trigger to pay for spells on the way out. The result is a consistent mana rebate built directly into a combat-focused gameplan.

03
Cormela, Glamour Thief

Cormela, Glamour Thief

8.7% of decks · synergy 0.08

Cormela, Glamour Thief wants to die and recur, and Thermopod provides the red pip to cast a spell in the same window — keeping the loop tight without needing an extra land open. That single mana can be exactly what bridges Cormela's death to a recast or a following spell.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is Thermopod's home — the format's multiplayer pace and token-generating commanders give it the sustained sacrifice fodder it needs to matter. In Pauper, it's a legal common, but the format's efficient removal and lack of big token swarms means it rarely makes the cut over more reliably impactful options. Legacy and Vintage both have access to it, but at those power levels the bar for a five-mana 4/2 with a conditional mana ability is too high to clear. Thermopod lives and dies in Commander, and within that format it earns its slot in a specific slice of red decks — not every red deck, but the right ones.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

675 decks
Krenko, Mob BossStaff of DominationThermopod

Krenko, Mob BossStaff of DominationThermopod

Infinite creature tokens; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite red mana; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite lifegain; Infinite card draw; Infinite untap of creatures you control; Infinite draw triggers; Infinite mana creatures you control can produce

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

$0.62 bulk tier

At $0.62, Thermopod is firmly bulk — it won't strain any budget, and picking up copies carries essentially no financial risk. Niche combo pieces at this price tier rarely spike unless a new commander pushes them into the spotlight, so treat it as a cheap role-player rather than a spec.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.