Arcane Subtraction
Instant
Target creature gets -4/-0 until end of turn.
Learn. (You may reveal a Lesson card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand, or discard a card to draw a card.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Strixhaven: School of Mages
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #25250
Arcane Subtraction draws a card and sets an opponent's creature's power to 0 until end of turn — useful disruption stapled onto a cantrip. Three mana for that effect is one mana too many in most contexts, and it won't make the cut outside of decks that specifically want to abuse power-matters mechanics.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Arcane Subtraction finds a home almost exclusively in decks that care about creatures having zero or reduced power — think Doran, the Siege Tower mirrors or Norin the Wary-style chaos builds that trigger on combat oddities. In Pauper it's legal but outclassed by cheaper disruption that doesn't ask you to spend three mana to neutralize one attacker for a single turn. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer have enough efficient interaction that Arcane Subtraction never competes. The cantrip stapled on keeps it from being unplayable, but three mana is a real cost in any 60-card format.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Arcane Subtraction is deep bulk — buy a playset for a quarter and never think about the price again. Bulk commons rarely move unless a new commander pushes a very specific mechanic, and there's no current demand driver to expect otherwise.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.