Alarum
Instant
Untap target nonattacking creature. It gets +1/+3 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Mirage
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #25326
Alarum untaps a blocking creature during combat, letting it survive a trade or block a second attacker — but it costs two mana and does nothing outside of combat. It's a narrow combat trick with a high opportunity cost, and most decks have better options.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Alarum is nearly unplayable — two mana for a one-turn defensive trick doesn't scale to a four-player game where board states are enormous and card slots are precious. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but have no interest in it; combat tricks at this rate don't compete with the threats and interaction those formats demand. Pauper is the only format where Alarum could theoretically see fringe use in a dedicated white defensive shell, but even there it rarely surfaces.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Alarum is deep bulk — the kind of card that sits in a commons box and never gets picked up. The price reflects the demand accurately, and there's no scenario where that changes.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.