Daunting Defender
Creature — Human Cleric
If a source would deal damage to a Cleric creature you control, prevent 1 of that damage.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Onslaught
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #28317
Daunting Defender gives every Cleric you control +0/+1 and prevents all damage dealt to Clerics by spells and abilities — a static defensive layer that turns your whole board into a wall against targeted removal and burn. The cost is three mana for a 2/2 that contributes nothing offensive, so you run it purely because you're building around the tribe.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Daunting Defender is a Cleric-tribal piece and nothing else — outside of a dedicated tribal shell it has no home, but inside one it punches above its mana cost by blanket-protecting every creature you control. Pauper is where Daunting Defender has the most room to breathe, since the common card pool rewards efficient tribal synergies and protection effects are at a premium. Legacy and Vintage are both legal but irrelevant — the power floor is too high for a three-mana 2/2 to see a single game there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Daunting Defender is deep bulk — the kind of card you pick up in a bundle or out of a dollar box without thinking twice. Bulk commons with narrow tribal applications don't appreciate, so treat this as a zero-cost inclusion rather than anything to track.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.