Thought Sponge
Creature — Sponge
Flash
This creature enters with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the greatest number of cards an opponent has drawn this turn.
When this creature dies, draw cards equal to its power.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2019
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #16187
Thought Sponge enters with a hand size equal to the largest hand at the table, which in a four-player Commander game regularly means seven or more cards drawn for four mana. The ceiling is absurd, but the floor — drawing zero against a hellbent table — is a real risk that makes it a conditional payoff rather than a reliable engine.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Thought Sponge actually does something — four players means at least one opponent is usually holding a full grip, and drawing seven or eight cards for four mana is a game-warping swing. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but competes against cantrips and draw engines so efficient that a four-mana sorcery dependent on opponents' hand sizes has no real footing. Oathbreaker is a smaller format where hand sizes are less consistently fat, shrinking the expected draw count and the card's appeal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Thought Sponge is deep bulk — you're paying almost nothing for a card with a genuinely high ceiling in the right shell. Bulk rare prices like this don't tend to hold meaningful value, but the low buy-in means the risk is negligible if the effect fits your deck.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.