Case of the Gateway Express
Enchantment — Case
When this Case enters, choose target creature you don't control. Each creature you control deals 1 damage to that creature.
To solve — Three or more creatures attacked this turn. (If unsolved, solve at the beginning of your end step.)
Solved — Creatures you control get +1/+0.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Murders at Karlov Manor
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #16281
Case of the Gateway Express enters as a 3/3 for three mana and permanently pumps a creature with two +1/+1 counters once you've attacked with three or more creatures — a reasonable rate that turns into a repeatable anthem if you can meet the condition. The problem is that three mana for a conditional enchantment with a delayed payoff competes poorly against cards that simply put a creature on the board or advance your board state immediately.
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 |
Case of the Gateway Express is legal across Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander, but the format where it has any realistic home is aggressive creature-based Commander or Standard go-wide decks. In Standard, the three-mana cost and the attack-with-three requirement are manageable in a token or aggro shell, and the counters payoff rewards the kind of board state those decks build naturally. In Commander, four players and faster tables mean this card is slow — you're spending three mana to eventually put two counters on one creature, which is minimal impact at 100-card scale. Modern, Legacy, and Vintage don't want this at any cost; the effect isn't close to competitive in those formats.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Case of the Gateway Express is deep bulk — you're not paying for it, you're just finding it. That price is accurate to the card's power level and is unlikely to move without a Standard breakout that hasn't materialized.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.