Vampiric Touch
Sorcery
Vampiric Touch deals 2 damage to target opponent or planeswalker and you gain 2 life.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Portal
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #28893
Vampiric Touch drains each opponent for 2 and gains you 2 life per opponent — in a four-player Commander pod that's 6 damage dealt and 6 life gained for three mana. It's a fine rate in life-matters shells and a bulk-bin inclusion everywhere else.
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 |
In Commander, Vampiric Touch scales with headcount — three opponents turns a modest drain spell into a meaningful life swing, which makes it a genuine consideration for Orzhov life-drain commanders like Oloro, Ageless Ascetic or Evelyn, the Covetous. In Pauper it's legal but competing against more efficient burn and drain at common, so it rarely makes cuts. Legacy and Vintage are legal on paper, but a three-mana sorcery that deals 2 to a single opponent doesn't register in those formats. Vampiric Touch lives and dies in Commander, and even there it needs the right shell to earn its slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Vampiric Touch is deep bulk — easy to pick up in any commons bin or throw into an order as a filler inclusion. Bulk drain spells rarely move in price, so don't expect this to appreciate; just grab one if the deck calls for it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.