Cryptic Command
Instant
Choose two —
• Counter target spell.
• Return target permanent to its owner's hand.
• Tap all creatures your opponents control.
• Draw a card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $6.61
- EDHREC rank
- #1656
Cryptic Command is four modes on one card — counter, bounce, tap, draw — and the flexibility to pick two of them at instant speed is what makes it a control staple rather than a situational tool. The triple-blue cost is the real barrier, but in any deck that can reliably cast it, Cryptic Command does more work than almost any single spell at its price point.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Riku of Many Paths
Riku of Many Paths copies instants, so Cryptic Command becomes eight modes for six mana — an absurd rate that lets Riku decks answer two threats or counter and draw simultaneously while leaving a copy in the stack.
Hylda of the Icy Crown
Hylda of the Icy Crown's ability triggers off tapping opponents' creatures, and Cryptic Command's tap-all-creatures mode is one of the cleanest ways to trigger Hylda of the Icy Crown at instant speed while simultaneously protecting the board or replacing itself.
Eluge, the Shoreless Sea
Eluge, the Shoreless Sea rewards casting instants, and Cryptic Command is exactly the kind of flexible, multi-purpose instant that Eluge, the Shoreless Sea wants to chain — counter something, draw into the next answer, repeat.
Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Gandalf of the Secret Fire triggers off instant and sorcery casts, and Cryptic Command's two-mode structure means every resolution is advancing Gandalf of the Secret Fire's game plan while keeping the opponent off-balance.
Baral, Chief of Compliance
Baral, Chief of Compliance reduces the cost of every counterspell, which brings Cryptic Command down to a manageable three mana — at that rate, Baral, Chief of Compliance decks run it without hesitation and rarely regret the slot.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Cryptic Command is a control staple: the format's slower pace means you have time to hit triple blue, and the modal flexibility rewards the long games the format naturally produces. In Legacy and Vintage, it sees play but competes with faster, cheaper interaction, so it tends toward slower control shells that can afford four mana without falling behind. Modern is where Cryptic Command made its name outside Commander — it was a format-defining card for years in control and midrange decks, and it remains playable today in builds that can support the color requirements. Pioneer and Standard are off the table, and Pauper is irrelevant by rarity.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Reject Bogle and Mystic Confluence are the closest replacements — Mystic Confluence in particular hits three modes and scales with mana, trading Cryptic Command's hard ceiling for flexibility at higher investments. If you just need the counter-and-draw half, Dismiss costs the same four mana and does exactly that, losing the bounce and tap options but costing under a dollar.
Price Context
Current price
$6.61 mid tier
At $6.61, Cryptic Command sits in mid-tier pricing — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate slot but not a chase card by any measure. It has been printed multiple times, which keeps the floor stable, and the consistent demand from Commander and Modern players means this price is unlikely to crater.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.