Price$5.91 – $10.83
Buy on TCGplayerSnuff Out
Instant
LegalRemovalRank #765
If you control a Swamp, you may pay 4 life rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Destroy target nonblack creature. It can't be regenerated.
Why is this card good?
Snuff Out is premium black interaction precisely because of that free mode. Paying 4 life rather than mana lets you hold up removal while tapping out for your own plays, or fire it off on an opponent's turn without ever leaving up mana. In a format where tempo and protecting your board matter, "free" removal is worth far more than its raw stats suggest.
It's a staple in any black deck running enough Swamps — cEDH and high-power tables especially, where killing a combo creature or a problematic commander at instant speed for zero mana is backbreaking. It pairs beautifully with reanimator, control, and decks that want to interact on the stack while developing their own game.
Downsides: it only hits nonblack creatures, so it's dead against mono-black or heavy-black opponents. The life payment also wants real Swamps, not just black sources — a snow-dual or shockland-only manabase can leave you without one. If your meta is creature-light or black-heavy, run something more flexible.
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Printings (9)
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Played by these commanders
Davros, Dalek Creator100% of 1
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed100% of 2