Act on Impulse
Sorcery
Exile the top three cards of your library. Until end of turn, you may play those cards. (If you cast a spell this way, you still pay its costs. You can play a land this way only if you have an available land play remaining.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #15229
Act on Impulse exiles three cards off the top and lets you cast any of them until end of turn — three mana for a refill that hits immediately. Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh lists it in over 11% of builds because the card represents direct fuel for her untap triggers, and three mana is a fair rate for that kind of volume.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh needs spells to trigger her untap ability, and Act on Impulse hands you up to three castable cards in one shot — that's enough to flip her in a single turn if the exiled cards cooperate.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Act on Impulse is legal across Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees the most play in Commander where the impulse-draw archetype has a home and the single-use exile clause matters less over a long game. In Modern and Pioneer, three mana for conditional card access sits below the efficiency bar — Wrenn's Resolve and Light Up the Stage do this cheaper and faster. Legacy and Vintage have enough broken card selection that Act on Impulse never competes for a slot. Commander is its real format: red decks that want volume over card quality, particularly storm-adjacent and spellslinger builds, run it as a cheap way to reload mid-game.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Act on Impulse is deep bulk — pick it up in any common bin without thinking twice. Bulk red card-advantage pieces like this rarely spike, so there's no urgency beyond just sleeving it when you need it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.