Torment of Scarabs
Enchantment — Aura Curse
Enchant player
At the beginning of enchanted player's upkeep, that player loses 3 life unless they sacrifice a nonland permanent of their choice or discard a card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Historic Anthology 4
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #8535
Torment of Scarabs locks an opponent into a permanent lose-lose every upkeep — sacrifice a nonland permanent, discard a card, or take 3 damage — for four mana and zero ongoing investment. Outside of a dedicated curse shell like Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor, that rate is too slow and too single-target to matter in Commander.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor
Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor redistributes curses on death and draws cards off them, turning Torment of Scarabs into a reusable pressure piece that jumps between opponents and keeps the card advantage flowing.
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 |
Torment of Scarabs is a Commander card, full stop — the multiplayer table gives the slow attrition enough time to matter, and curse-tribal commanders make the enchantment type relevant. In 1v1 formats like Modern, Pioneer, or Legacy, four mana for a do-nothing-until-their-upkeep enchantment that targets a single player is unplayable; your opponent just ignores it until they can answer it or wins before it accumulates pressure. Oathbreaker is legal but faces the same 1v1 problem. Stick to 100-card multiplayer.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for Torment of Scarabs right now — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market price. Historically it's been a bulk rare, so expect a low entry cost if you're building a curse deck.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.