Heart Healthy! Low Salt Options to Replace Salty Cards

<a href="https://edhrec.com/top/salt">Salt Vote 2026</a> | <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expropriate" href="#" target="_blank">Get Ready to Vote</a>!
On Monday, October 5th, the EDHREC Salt Score polls officially open! This gives players a chance to speak up about the cards that give them the most tilting sodium chloride on the table. It's a fun little project we here at EDHREC conduct every year, and it always yields interesting results.
DISCLAIMER: Salt Score polling is strictly a for-fun endeavor and has no bearing on whether or not a card is deemed banworthy.
So, what data did our polls provide us with last year? Let's take a look!
<h2>Salt Score Polls From 2025</h2>
Last year, the following ten cards provided players with the most salt (numbered accordingly):
<ol>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stasis" href="#" target="_blank">Stasis</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winter Orb" href="#" target="_blank">Winter Orb</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vivi Ornitier" href="#" target="_blank">Vivi Ornitier</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tergrid, God of Fright" href="#" target="_blank">Tergrid, God of Fright</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale" href="#" target="_blank">The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armageddon" href="#" target="_blank">Armageddon</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Static Orb" href="#" target="_blank">Static Orb</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger" href="#" target="_blank">Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a></li>
</ol>
Many of these cards are ones you'll see annually on our list. Heck, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stasis" href="#" target="_blank">Stasis</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winter Orb" href="#" target="_blank">Winter Orb</a> remained the top two saltiest cards for yet another year in a row! Meanwhile, newcomer <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vivi Ornitier" href="#" target="_blank">Vivi Ornitier</a>, a fresh face to the Salt Scores, made #3 saltiest, in part likely due to his standout role in Standard Izzet () decks before an eventual ban. All this goes to show, though, is that no cards are particularly safe from being on our list on the merit of age alone.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stasis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Winter Orb"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vivi Ornitier"></div></div>
<h3>Salty and New</h3>
With so many new cards coming out every year, this just gives players a chance to express their distaste for some of them. So, we took poll data on new cards (out last year specifically) and determined the saltiest cards from that subset as well:
<ol>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vivi Ornitier" href="#" target="_blank">Vivi Ornitier</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Storm, Force of Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Storm, Force of Nature</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadpool, Trading Card" href="#" target="_blank">Deadpool, Trading Card</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ugin, Eye of the Storms" href="#" target="_blank">Ugin, Eye of the Storms</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Soul Stone" href="#" target="_blank">The Soul Stone</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodthirsty Conqueror" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodthirsty Conqueror</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Valgavoth, Terror Eater" href="#" target="_blank">Valgavoth, Terror Eater</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Knuckles the Echidna" href="#" target="_blank">Knuckles the Echidna</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cosmic Spider-Man" href="#" target="_blank">Cosmic Spider-Man</a></li>
</ol>
Of these new cards, most of the salty cards are black-aligned in some fashion, which is interesting. Blue, traditionally a very salty color, shows up less often than red, and white and green only show up on the Top 10 list in <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cosmic Spider-Man" href="#" target="_blank">Cosmic Spider-Man</a>, which has all colors anyway. Does this mean that blue or white are growing more sodium-deficient? That's anyone's guess, but it's still fun to muse about.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Storm, Force of Nature"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deadpool, Trading Card"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ugin, Eye of the Storms"></div></div>
<h3>Even Sets Aren't Safe From Salt</h3>
Meanwhile, we also used the data from our polling to determine the saltiest expansions. Those are (also numbered accordingly):
<ol>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/lci#cards(rex)">Jurassic World</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/bro#cards(bot)">Transformers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/sld">Secret Lair Drop</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/c17">Commander 2017</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/cmm">Commander Masters</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/who">Doctor Who</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/c13">Commander 2013</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/2ed">Unlimited Edition</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/unf">Unfinity</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/c16">Commander 2016</a></li>
</ol>
Frankly, I am not shocked by these rankings. However, I definitely see them as more of a player outcry against the general sensibilities based around Universes Beyond and/or Secret Lair than anything specifically card-centric, for the most part. Not that that's not merited; players, those opinions are valid, as are those opinions opposing them!
<h2>How Does Salt Score Voting Work?</h2>
And that brings us to 2026. When the polls open up, you'll be able to vote for as many cards as you'd like on a scale of 0-4 (in ascending saltiness) on how tilting a given card is for you. Does <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gleaming Splendor" href="#" target="_blank">Gleaming Splendor</a> give you the ick? What about <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a>? Is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stasis" href="#" target="_blank">Stasis</a> as bad as they say it is, and does it deserve the #1 spot for yet another straight year? Monday, October 5th through Friday, October 9th will be your chance to get all of that out with your voting voices!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gleaming Splendor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stasis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Smothering Tithe"></div></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
In the meantime, you can check out all of our Salt Score results from previous years <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/salt?utm_source=edhrec">by clicking here</a>. It should give you some idea of how we run things around these parts.
And now, let's open the floor to you, dear readers! What is the saltiest card you've seen on the table this year? Did you play it, or play against it? Alternatively, what kind of cards tend to frustrate you? Sound off in the comments below!

salt score 2025

Heart Healthy! Low Salt Options to Replace Salty Cards

The Salt Score Polls Are Coming Next Monday!