Virulent Swipe
Instant
Target creature gets +2/+0 and gains deathtouch until end of turn.
Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.24
- EDHREC rank
- #18754
Virulent Swipe grants deathtouch until end of turn for a single black mana, turning any creature into a lethal blocker or a combat threat that trades up. It's a one-mana spell that changes combat math immediately — exactly what aggressive and voltron strategies want.
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, Virulent Swipe earns its slot in decks that want cheap combat tricks — infect, voltron, and aristocrats shells all have uses for instant-speed deathtouch on demand, and the rebound means you get a free second cast on your next upkeep. In Pauper, it's a legitimate combat trick at common that sees occasional play in black aggro and infect lists. Legacy and Vintage have no realistic home for it — the formats move too fast for a one-mana tempo trick without a cantrip attached. Oathbreaker treats it the same as Commander: fine in the right shell, invisible in everything else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.24 bulk tier
At $0.24, Virulent Swipe is firmly bulk — you're paying almost nothing for genuine functional value. Bulk rares and commons with rebound rarely spike, so expect this price to stay flat indefinitely.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.