Armed Response
Instant
Armed Response deals damage to target attacking creature equal to the number of Equipment you control.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Fifth Dawn
- Price
- $0.03
- EDHREC rank
- #26123
Armed Response deals damage equal to the number of artifacts you control to target creature or player — a payoff that scales hard in artifact-dense shells but does nothing the turn you're behind on board. It's a fine closer in the right list, a dead card in the wrong one.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Armed Response earns a slot in artifact-go-wide decks that can routinely control eight or more artifacts — at that point it's a one-sided Lightning Bolt that might read as ten or fifteen damage. Outside of those shells it's too conditional to justify the spot. In Pauper it's a legal option at common, but burn and removal staples at the same mana cost are more reliable without the artifact prerequisite. Legacy and Vintage have no interest — those formats demand answers that don't require setup. Armed Response is a Commander card in practice, and only for a specific archetype within that format.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.03 bulk tier
At $0.03, Armed Response is deep bulk — pick it up from any commons bin or throw it in a trade as filler. Bulk commons with narrow applications don't appreciate, so there's no reason to acquire more than the copies you'll actually sleeve up.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.