Backlash
Instant
Tap target untapped creature. That creature deals damage equal to its power to its controller.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Invasion
- Price
- $1.09
- EDHREC rank
- #12507
Backlash turns the biggest threat on the board into a life-swap event — tap an untapped creature and its controller takes damage equal to its own power, which against a 10/10 commander is effectively a one-card knockout. The cost is instant-speed at three mana in black-red, which makes it a clean answer that Queen Marchesa decks have always wanted.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Queen Marchesa
Queen Marchesa runs a politics-and-punishment gameplan that rewards pointing damage at whoever is overextending, and Backlash is the cleanest expression of that philosophy — it neutralizes the biggest attacker at the table while dealing damage scaled to the threat itself.
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 home for Backlash — three players means three potential targets, and the format's inflated power stats make the damage clause punishing in a way it never would be in 1v1. Legacy and Vintage are technically legal, but a three-mana instant that doesn't advance your own board has no competitive role in either format. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander: the effect is real, but you're competing against two-mana interaction at every slot, so Backlash slots into decks that specifically want the damage component rather than pure removal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.09 cheap tier
At $1.09, Backlash sits in the bulk-rare tier — cheap enough that you're not weighing cost against effect, just effect against alternatives. It's a niche card with a narrow enough application that the price is unlikely to move significantly in either direction.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.