Boros Charm
Instant
Choose one —
• Boros Charm deals 4 damage to target player or planeswalker.
• Permanents you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
• Target creature gains double strike until end of turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Gatecrash
- Price
- $4.81
- EDHREC rank
- #174
Boros Charm does three meaningfully different things for two mana — deal 4 to the face, make a creature indestructible, or give your team double strike — and any one of them can swing a game. It's a staple wherever red and white overlap, and Boros Reckoner decks in particular abuse the double-strike mode to turn a single blocker into a lethal damage doubler; Olivia, Opulent Outlaw builds want all three modes at various points in a game.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw runs Boros Charm because the indestructible mode protects Olivia herself through board wipes while the 4-damage mode closes games that her Treasure-fueled aggro plan has set up.
General Ferrous Rokiric
General Ferrous Rokiric generates a Golem token for every multicolored spell cast, and Boros Charm is a multicolored spell — so it replaces itself with a 4/4 while still delivering its chosen effect.
Neyali, Suns' Vanguard
Neyali, Suns' Vanguard wants cheap instants that can pivot between protection and offense, and Boros Charm covers both angles while triggering any token-matters payoffs Neyali has built up.
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy cares about creatures dealing combat damage and surviving, making the indestructible mode a key piece of protection; the double-strike mode also lets Wayta trigger fight-based effects twice in a turn.
Narset, Enlightened Exile
Narset, Enlightened Exile can cast noncreature spells from the graveyard when she deals combat damage, so Boros Charm ends up reusable — every attack is a potential free protection spell or second damage punch.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Boros Charm is a fixture in any red-white build with permanents worth protecting — the indestructible mode counters Wrath of God and Cyclonic Rift at instant speed for two mana, which is an absurd rate for a 100-card singleton format where board wipes are omnipresent. In Modern and Pioneer, Boros Charm slots into burn strategies as a direct-damage finisher, where 4 to the dome for RW is competitive with Lightning Bolt math and the double-strike mode adds an aggressive surprise dimension against creature-heavy matchups. Legacy sees it occasionally in aggressive white-red lists, though the format's faster kill conditions limit how often its protection mode matters. It's legal in Vintage but barely played there — the format moves too fast for a two-mana spell without cantrip upside. Pauper is the lone exclusion, which keeps Boros Charm out of a format where it would otherwise be a strong sideboard staple.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Boros ReckonerBoros Charm
Infinite lifegain; Infinite lifegain triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$4.81 cheap tier
At $4.81, Boros Charm sits in the cheap-but-not-bulk tier — reasonable for a card that appears in over 200,000 Commander decks on EDHREC and has multiple printings keeping supply healthy. It holds value well because demand is broad and consistent rather than speculative, making it a safe pickup that's unlikely to spike or crater.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.