Alela, Cunning Conqueror
Legendary Creature — Faerie Warlock
Flying
Whenever you cast your first spell during each opponent's turn, create a 1/1 black Faerie Rogue creature token with flying.
Whenever one or more Faeries you control deal combat damage to a player, goad target creature that player controls.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BU
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Wilds of Eldraine Commander
- Price
- $13.25
- EDHREC rank
- #3397
Alela, Cunning Conqueror turns every opponent's spell into a 1/1 Faerie Rogue with flying on your side of the board, taxing aggression while building a clock. The cost is real — four mana for a 3/3 is not efficient on stats alone — but the political flash-threat angle makes Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor decks and dedicated Faerie builds treat it as a near-auto-include.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor
Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor wants every Faerie token to mean something, and Alela, Cunning Conqueror delivers them passively off opponents' spells — each token enters, draws a card off Tegwyll's trigger, and drains a life.
Obyra, Dreaming Duelist
Obyra, Dreaming Duelist punishes opponents for casting spells on their turn, and Alela, Cunning Conqueror punishes them for casting spells on yours — together they make any turn an opponent taps mana a losing proposition.
Maralen, Fae Ascendant
Maralen, Fae Ascendant builds around the Faerie tribal theme at scale, and Alela, Cunning Conqueror slots in as a reliable token generator that doesn't require any setup beyond sitting on the board.
Alela, Artful Provocateur
Alela, Artful Provocateur already produces Faerie tokens off noncreature permanents, and Alela, Cunning Conqueror stacks a second token-production axis that triggers off opponents' actions rather than your own, covering the gaps.
Talion, the Kindly Lord
Talion, the Kindly Lord bleeds opponents for playing the game, and Alela, Cunning Conqueror converts that same spell-casting into a growing Faerie board — both cards reward doing nothing while opponents act.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the clear home for Alela, Cunning Conqueror — the multiplayer table means three opponents casting spells every round, which translates to a steady stream of Faerie tokens without any effort on your part. The political dimension matters here too: players think twice before targeting you when every spell they cast hands you a blocker. In Legacy and Vintage, Alela, Cunning Conqueror is legal but sees no meaningful play — four mana is a lifetime in those formats, and the token payoff doesn't line up with what those formats want to accomplish. Oathbreaker is a reasonable secondary home if the signature spell supports a Faerie or token strategy, though the compressed game length reduces how many triggers you'll see.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
There is no true budget replacement for what Alela, Cunning Conqueror does specifically — reactively generating tokens off opponents' spells is a narrow, valuable effect. Bitterblossom comes closest as a consistent Faerie token source at a similar or higher price point, but it triggers on your upkeep rather than opponents' actions, so it lacks the political deterrent angle entirely.
Price Context
Current price
$13.25 mid tier
At $13.25, Alela, Cunning Conqueror sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate inclusion, cheap enough that Faerie and token decks should not hesitate. Demand from Tegwyll and Obyra builds keeps a floor under the price, so this is not a card likely to crater without a reprint.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.