Cunning Nightbonder
Creature — Human Rogue
Flash
Spells with flash you cast cost 
less to cast and can't be countered.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BU
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
- Price
- $0.32
- EDHREC rank
- #10144
Cunning Nightbonder makes your flash spells cost one less generic mana and gives them hexproof while on the stack — that combination of discount and protection is rare on a two-mana body. Alela, Cunning Conqueror runs it as a core piece because cheaper, uncounterable flash threats feed her trigger reliably every turn cycle.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Alela, Cunning Conqueror
Alela, Cunning Conqueror triggers whenever an opponent casts a spell during your turn, rewarding you for holding open flash interaction — Cunning Nightbonder makes every one of those flash responses cheaper and harder to interrupt, tightening the whole engine.
Fire Lord Azula
Fire Lord Azula's gameplan leans on flash creatures and instants to maintain reactive pressure, and Cunning Nightbonder's cost reduction plus stack hexproof means those plays connect more consistently and leave more mana open for follow-ups.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Cunning Nightbonder does its best work: flash-heavy strategies are common in blue-black shells, and shaving a generic off every flash spell while blanking counterspells on the stack is a meaningful edge in a format full of interaction. In Modern and Legacy, it occupies an awkward space — the effect is real, but dedicated flash decks rarely exist at competitive density, and a 2/2 body doesn't pressure life totals fast enough to earn a slot. Pioneer is similarly unimpressive; the flash payoffs there aren't concentrated enough to make Cunning Nightbonder worth a deck slot over more proactive two-drops. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander calculus: if your planeswalker and signature spell are both flash-accessible, this is an easy include.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.32 bulk tier
At $0.32, Cunning Nightbonder is firmly bulk, which makes it a zero-friction include for any Commander deck that qualifies. Bulk rares with narrow but genuine synergy tend to stay in this range indefinitely, so there's no urgency — just pick one up whenever you're placing an order.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.