Cancel
Instant
Counter target spell.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Magic Player Rewards 2010
- Price
- $2.77
- EDHREC rank
- #2010
Cancel counters any spell, no questions asked — the problem is that three mana is a steep ask when Counterspell does the same job for two. Baral, Chief of Compliance can discount it to two mana and turn it into a cantrip, which is the only context where Cancel earns its slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Baral, Chief of Compliance
Baral, Chief of Compliance reduces Cancel to two mana and replaces it with a card on resolution, transforming a mediocre counterspell into a live piece of the spell-looting engine — it's genuinely good here.
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Talrand, Sky Summoner turns every instant into a 2/2 Drake, so Cancel isn't just interaction — it's a threat, and the deck wants enough cheap-enough counterspells to consistently flip on Talrand's trigger.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Cancel is a fallback option — playable if you've already filled your counterspell slots with Counterspell, Arcane Denial, and Dovin's Veto and still need more interaction, but it should be slot eight or nine, not slot three. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern and Legacy, Cancel simply doesn't see play; the format speed makes three-mana interaction unacceptable when two-mana and one-mana options are abundant. Pauper is the one format where Cancel shows up meaningfully, since Counterspell is legal there too but budget and redundancy matter at common density. Standard legality comes and goes, and Cancel occasionally fills the role of generic counterspell when the format lacks better common options.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$2.77 cheap tier
At $2.77, Cancel sits at the expensive end of what should be a bulk rare — it's a common with dozens of printings, and most copies are available for under $0.50 if you shop around. Don't pay $2.77 for it; a reprint copy from any large set will do the same job for a quarter.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.