Whisper of the Dross
Instant
Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- Price
- $0.36
- EDHREC rank
- #3601
Whisper of the Dross puts a -1/-1 counter on every creature an opponent controls for a single black mana at instant speed — that's a board-wide proliferate target stapled to a cheap, responsive spell. In Karumonix, the Rat King builds, it's a one-mana setup for a chain kill rather than a standalone removal piece, and that's exactly what makes it worth the slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Karumonix, the Rat King
Karumonix, the Rat King wins by stacking -1/-1 counters across the board, and Whisper of the Dross seeds every opposing creature with one for a single mana — turning any follow-up proliferate into a mass kill at nearly no cost.
The Scorpion God
The Scorpion God draws a card whenever a creature with a -1/-1 counter dies, so Whisper of the Dross functions as a cheap draw engine trigger: spread counters at instant speed, then let combat or removal cash in the cards.
Massacre Girl, Known Killer
Massacre Girl, Known Killer gives all your spells wither, meaning Whisper of the Dross's counter-seeding stacks with her own ability to shrink the whole table and set up a sweep off any subsequent kill spell.
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon decks are already in the business of landing poison counters fast, and Whisper of the Dross adds board-wide pressure that forces opponents to chump block or die — clearing the path for an infect alpha strike.
Toxrill, the Corrosive
Toxrill, the Corrosive puts a -1/-1 counter on each opponent's creature at each end step, and Whisper of the Dross accelerates that clock by seeding an extra counter the moment it resolves — pushing creatures into kill range a full turn early.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Whisper of the Dross is legal across Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, though it sees meaningful play almost exclusively in Commander. In singleton formats, the instant-speed board-wide counter effect is uniquely powerful because it scales with the number of opponents; in a four-player game, it can seed twelve or more -1/-1 counters for one mana. In competitive 1v1 formats like Modern or Legacy, one counter per creature at sorcery-equivalent impact doesn't clear the bar — you'd run Fatal Push or Infect enablers with direct damage output instead. Pauper is the only non-Commander format where counter-based synergy decks exist at common, but Whisper of the Dross is competing against more efficient pinpoint removal there and rarely makes the cut.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.36 bulk tier
At $0.36, Whisper of the Dross is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a common box or throwing it in a cart filler order. Prices at this tier are stable by gravity rather than demand, so there's no reason to hesitate on buying copies now or to expect any movement.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.