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Arc Blade

Sorcery

Arc Blade deals 2 damage to any target. Exile Arc Blade with three time counters on it.
Suspend 3—{2}{R} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay {2}{R} and exile it with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{R}{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Future Sight
Price
$0.17
EDHREC rank
#13973
Buy on TCGplayer
Arc Blade card art
Arc Blade deals 3 damage to any target and then shuffles back into your library to do it again — the repeatable threat is real, but the suspend-3 delay means you're waiting three turns before the second trigger lands. In dedicated suspend synergy decks like The Tenth Doctor, that delay becomes an engine rather than a liability.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Arc Blade is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees virtually no competitive play in the non-rotating formats — three damage for three mana is well below rate when faster, permanent answers exist. In Commander, Arc Blade earns its slot only in suspend-matters builds where the repeated removal doubles as free spell triggers; outside that niche, it's outclassed by nearly every instant-speed removal spell in red.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.17 bulk tier

At $0.17, Arc Blade is pure bulk — grab it out of a dollar bin and don't think twice about the cost. Demand is narrow enough that the price isn't going anywhere, so buy exactly as many as your suspend decks need and move on.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.