Bladebrand
Instant
Target creature gains deathtouch until end of turn.
Draw a card.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Ravnica Allegiance
- Price
- $0.07
- EDHREC rank
- #8592
Bladebrand gives a creature deathtouch until end of turn and draws a card — two meaningful effects stapled together for two mana. Outside of Horobi, Death's Wail decks where targeting a creature kills it outright, this is a combat trick that replaces itself, and that floor is high enough to justify the slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Horobi, Death's Wail
Horobi, Death's Wail turns any targeting effect into a kill spell, so Bladebrand becomes a two-mana unconditional removal spell that replaces itself — that's the engine, and it's why over 26% of Horobi decks run it.
Tor Wauki the Younger
Tor Wauki the Younger deals damage whenever you cast an instant or sorcery, so Bladebrand both triggers that ping and replaces itself, fitting cleanly into a deck that wants cheap instants stacking up every turn.
Kelsien, the Plague
Kelsien, the Plague needs creatures to die to its damage to collect experience counters, and Bladebrand grants deathtouch so Kelsien's one damage becomes a guaranteed kill — the cantrip means running it costs nothing in card equity.
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 |
Commander is where Bladebrand does its best work, specifically in decks that care about targeting or deathtouch as a keyword. In Pauper it's a legal cantripping combat trick at common, which is a real rate — deathtouch tricks trade up and the card draw softens the tempo loss. Modern and Pioneer have enough cheap interaction that a two-mana sorcery-speed effect rarely makes the cut outside of dedicated combo shells. Legacy and Vintage are simply too fast for this effect to matter. Bladebrand is a Commander card first, a Pauper option second, and mostly irrelevant everywhere else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.07 bulk tier
At $0.07, Bladebrand is pure bulk — grab a copy out of any commons box without thinking about it. The price reflects wide print availability and narrow competitive demand, not the card's actual utility in the right Commander shell.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.