Unstable Obelisk
Artifact
: Add 
.
, , Sacrifice this artifact: Destroy target permanent.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Warhammer 40,000 Commander
- Price
- $0.31
- EDHREC rank
- #4625
Unstable Obelisk is a colorless mana rock that doubles as a universal answer — pay seven mana and sacrifice it to destroy any permanent, no color restrictions attached. That activation cost is steep, but it's the price for putting unconditional removal in a deck that would otherwise have none; Kozilek, the Great Distortion decks run it precisely because colorless has almost no other way to answer enchantments.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kozilek, the Great Distortion
Kozilek, the Great Distortion runs Unstable Obelisk as one of the only tools available to colorless decks for dealing with enchantments and planeswalkers that would otherwise sit on the board unanswered.
Ovika, Enigma Goliath
Ovika, Enigma Goliath is a spell-heavy commander that still needs early mana fixing, and Unstable Obelisk slots in as a ramp piece that converts into a removal spell once the engine is running and the extra mana is no longer needed.
Zhulodok, Void Gorger
Zhulodok, Void Gorger wants as many colorless spells as possible to cascade off, and Unstable Obelisk earns its spot by pulling double duty — ramp early, emergency removal late.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Unstable Obelisk earns its keep: colorless and five-color decks routinely carry it as a safety valve against permanents their color identity can't otherwise touch. In Pauper it's legal and theoretically playable, but the seven-mana activation is brutally slow in a format defined by one- and two-mana interaction, so it rarely sees play there. Legacy and Vintage have it legal by default, but neither format has any reason to run a three-mana rock with an expensive removal clause when faster, cheaper options exist. Unstable Obelisk is a Commander card through and through — the longer games and higher mana totals are the only context where the activation ever becomes realistic.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.31 bulk tier
At $0.31, Unstable Obelisk sits firmly in bulk territory, and there's no pressure driving that price upward — it's widely printed and not a competitive staple anywhere. Pick it up without hesitation; it's one of the cheapest pieces of colorless permanent removal available.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.