Cunning Strike
Instant
Cunning Strike deals 2 damage to target creature and 2 damage to target player or planeswalker.
Draw a card.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RU
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Fate Reforged
- Price
- $0.11
- EDHREC rank
- #21521
Cunning Strike deals 2 damage to any target and draws a card for three mana — fine rate on paper, but five mana total if you're casting it fairly makes it a tough sell in most lists. Where it earns its slot is Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot, where the spell type and draw trigger feed directly into her prowess-style engine.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot
Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot rewards casting instants and sorceries and wants cantrips that replace themselves, and Cunning Strike does both while also clearing a small blocker — it's one of the more efficient ways to keep her engine running while advancing the board.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Cunning Strike is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but the format that actually wants it is Commander. In Pauper, the card is theoretically playable, but the format's efficient removal and cantrips outclass a five-mana split effect at common. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer, three mana for two damage plus a draw is simply too slow when those formats demand answers that cost one or two. Commander is the home because 40 life and multiplayer politics lower the bar for inefficient card types — and in spellslinger shells, specifically Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot, Cunning Strike pulls double duty as both removal and card draw without requiring a separate slot for each.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.11 bulk tier
At $0.11, Cunning Strike is deep bulk — you're picking this out of a commons box, not a singles order. Bulk commons rarely move on price unless a breakout deck pushes them, and nothing about this card's rate suggests that's coming.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.