Thirsting Axe
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +4/+0.
At the beginning of your end step, if equipped creature didn't deal combat damage to a creature this turn, sacrifice it.
Equip 
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Eldritch Moon
- Price
- $0.08
- EDHREC rank
- #26454
Thirsting Axe gives a creature +2/+1 and first strike for one mana to equip, then punishes you by forcing a sacrifice at end of turn if that creature didn't deal combat damage. The upside is real on aggressive or evasive threats; the downside is a hard tax that makes it nearly unplayable on anything that gets blocked or sits on defense.
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 |
Thirsting Axe is a niche role-player in Commander, where the sacrifice clause matters most — your opponents control the blocks, so landing combat damage is never guaranteed, and losing a creature at end of turn for a +2/+1 swing is a poor trade at any table. In Modern and Legacy it competes against equipment that costs nothing to equip and doesn't threaten to eat your creature, so it sees essentially no play. Pioneer is the same story. The one context where Thirsting Axe is worth a serious look is aggressive Commander builds — think Voltron or combat-centric decks — running a commander with evasion or trample baked in, where connecting with combat damage is the default rather than the exception.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.08 bulk tier
At $0.08, Thirsting Axe is deep bulk — you're not paying for it so much as finding it in a common box. It won't hold or gain value, but for the narrow shell that wants it, the price is zero obstacle.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.