Tragic Slip
Instant
Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
Morbid — That creature gets -13/-13 until end of turn instead if a creature died this turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Eternal Masters
- Price
- $0.24
- EDHREC rank
- #818
Tragic Slip kills almost anything in the game for one black mana — the morbid clause removes the toughness ceiling entirely, making it a clean answer to indestructible commanders and oversized threats that most black removal can't touch. It's one of the best single-mana removal spells in Commander, and Toshiro Umezawa turns every copy into a renewable resource.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Toshiro Umezawa
Toshiro Umezawa's ability lets you flash back instants from the graveyard whenever a creature dies, so a single Tragic Slip can recur throughout the game — kill a token, flash it back, kill the real threat, repeat. The synergy score of 0.62 reflects exactly that engine: Tragic Slip is the card Toshiro Umezawa wants most.
Massacre Girl, Known Killer
Massacre Girl, Known Killer needs cheap removal that triggers off her own death-spiral, and Tragic Slip at one mana with no toughness ceiling under morbid is the cleanest way to start or extend the chain. Massacre Girl, Known Killer runs it in over 78% of lists because it consistently converts a single dying creature into a board wipe.
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch
Baba Lysaga, Night Witch sacrifices her own permanents constantly, so morbid is almost always live — Tragic Slip reliably costs one mana and kills without restriction in this shell. Baba Lysaga, Night Witch values the low cost because her own activated abilities are already mana-hungry.
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker runs a parade of creatures with one power dying and returning every turn, which means morbid is permanently online. Tragic Slip in a Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker deck is effectively unconditional removal for one mana every single turn cycle.
Gisa, the Hellraiser
Gisa, the Hellraiser churns through creatures to produce Zombie tokens, keeping a steady stream of deaths that arm Tragic Slip's morbid clause. In a Gisa, the Hellraiser deck the spell almost never fires at -1/-1 — it's always the full -13/-13 version.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Tragic Slip is a staple — one mana to remove any creature with morbid active, and in a format where creatures die constantly, morbid is rarely hard to trigger. Pauper is where it also earns a consistent slot, since the format is creature-dense and cheap removal at common rarity is at a premium. In Legacy and Vintage it sees fringe play at best; those formats favor removal that works unconditionally without setup, and Fatal Push handles the same role more reliably. Modern similarly has better options, which is likely why Tragic Slip never found a foothold there despite being legal. The card is purpose-built for Commander and Pauper — anywhere else, treat it as a backup.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.24 bulk tier
At $0.24, Tragic Slip is deep bulk — you'll find copies in any dollar-bin box at your local store. That price is stable; this is a common with wide printings and no scarcity pressure, so there's no window to buy in cheaper than you can right now.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.