Brightling
Creature — Shapeshifter
: This creature gains vigilance until end of turn.: This creature gains lifelink until end of turn.: Return this creature to its owner's hand.
: This creature gets +1/-1 or -1/+1 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #22249
Brightling is a five-ability Swiss Army knife — lifelink, flying, vigilance, bounce-itself, and a pump — on a 3/3 body for three mana that dodges removal by returning to hand on your terms. The ceiling is genuinely high in fair creature strategies, but three generic mana locks it out of the fastest Commander shells.
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 |
In Commander, Brightling earns its slot in white-heavy creature decks that want a resilient, self-protecting threat — the bounce ability means targeted removal almost never resolves against it, which matters more in a four-player game full of it. Legacy is where Brightling has seen real competitive consideration, slotting into Death and Taxes and similar fair white strategies as a threat that demands an answer every single turn. Vintage and Oathbreaker are both legal but largely irrelevant — the card isn't powerful enough for Vintage's broken-spell metagame, and Oathbreaker tables rarely call for a three-mana generalist. Modern, Pioneer, Standard, and Pauper are all off the table.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Brightling is firmly bulk — a former Battlebond mythic that has cratered with age and limited demand. It's a safe pickup for the price, but don't expect the floor to move; casual Commander interest keeps it from hitting true bulk-bin zero, but it won't recover meaningful value without a reprint or a format breakthrough.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.