Land destruction, in all its forms, has long been a taboo subject in Magic design. Denying players the fundamental resources needed to play the game isn’t very fun, after all, which has led Wizards to print fewer and fewer cards that do so. Every so often, however, a new MTG card like Pox Plague comes along and bucks this trend. Not only is this spell capable of wiping out a huge number of lands at once, but it’s stacked with synergy beyond that, too.
Pox Plague MTG
MTG players have been eagerly awaiting the new Pox card from Secrets of Strixhaven since Mark Rosewater’s teaser article, and Pox Plague doesn’t disappoint. The big draw here is the fact that Pox Plague, unlike its ancestors Pox and Smallpox, affects all permanents with its forced sacrifice.
This means players who rely on artifact and enchantment engines, like The One Ring or Rhystic Study, will be forced to make some truly difficult decisions. This also includes lands, which makes Pox Plague deadly after a board wipe. With no other permanents to sandbag, this can wipe out half of the lands in play, which is unheard of for a 2026 Magic card.
On top of its Staxy applications, Pox Plague can also serve as a surprise win condition. Paired with life loss doublers like Bloodletter of Aclazotz or Wound Reflection, it can wipe out all of your opponents on the spot. While this does require them to be on an even life total, cards like Pestilence can easily push them to that point.
Unfortunately, Pox Plague’s mana cost is a major obstacle to its playability. Costing five mana is rough in itself, but five black pips make it especially difficult to cast outside of Mono-Black decks. For these reasons, the card is very unlikely to see play in any competitive format.
Sinister Synergies
With all of that said, this weakness of Pox Plague shouldn’t stop it from being an absolute banger in Commander. Though it’s solid as a board wipe in a vacuum, it shines particularly brightly in decks that break its symmetry, like Landfall and Aristocrats.
In the former, you can ditch your full mana base to burn players out with Hearthhull, the Worldseed, then nab it all back with Aftermath Analyst. In the latter, sacrificing a bunch of creatures with something like Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER out is a benefit, not a cost.
While that five black mana cost can still be tricky in Commander, the format offers plenty of tools to get around it. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is the best option here, easily tutored up with the likes of Expedition Map or Urza’s Cave. You can also use Treasure generators like Warren Soultrader, or rituals like Culling the Weak, to fix your Pox Plague mana on the double.
With potential as a board wipe, value piece, and combo finisher, Pox Plague is an exciting new MTG card indeed. If they’re going to make them this good, hopefully Wizards doesn’t wait another 20 years to put out their next Pox spell.
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