Dawn's Truce
Instant
Gift a card (You may promise an opponent a gift as you cast this spell. If you do, they draw a card before its other effects.)
You and permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn. If the gift was promised, permanents you control also gain indestructible until end of turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Bloomburrow
- Price
- $12.12
- EDHREC rank
- #379
Dawn's Truce freezes combat for both players until your next turn — a one-sided breathing room effect when your board can exploit the window better than your opponents can. At whatever cost it enters play, it's a niche tool that earns its slot specifically in Mabel, Heir to Cragflame builds that need to untap safely before swinging for lethal.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Mabel, Heir to Cragflame
Mabel, Heir to Cragflame is the primary home for Dawn's Truce — the truce buys Mabel a clean untap step to accumulate equipment triggers and swing without racing an opponent's combat threat. Nearly half of all Mabel decks run it, and the synergy score backs that up.
Zoraline, Cosmos Caller
Zoraline, Cosmos Caller runs Dawn's Truce to protect a fragile board state while setting up the next big spell sequence — the combat freeze keeps blockers at home while Zoraline's engine develops. Over a third of Zoraline decks include it.
Kastral, the Windcrested
Kastral, the Windcrested uses Dawn's Truce to lock down ground combat and force opponents through the air on Kastral's terms. The effect aligns cleanly with a commander that rewards controlling when and how combat happens.
Ms. Bumbleflower
Ms. Bumbleflower leans on Dawn's Truce as a tempo piece — freezing the board while the token or buff engine accelerates lets Ms. Bumbleflower's wide lines grow without absorbing an attack step. The inclusion rate above 30% signals it's a known role-player in that shell.
Finneas, Ace Archer
Finneas, Ace Archer reaches for Dawn's Truce to neutralize opposing ground threats that would otherwise trade unfavorably into the Archer lineup. The combat lock extends the window to pick off key creatures before anyone can swing back.
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 |
Commander is unambiguously where Dawn's Truce belongs — the multiplayer environment means freezing combat hits three or more opponents simultaneously, multiplying the tempo swing in ways a 60-card duel never replicates. In one-on-one formats like Modern, Pioneer, or Legacy, a single-turn combat lock at sorcery speed is close to unplayable; opponents just wait and swing the following turn with full information. Standard-legal status means it could theoretically show up in limited environments where tempo swings are more decisive, but constructed play in 60-card formats has little use for it. Vintage and Oathbreaker follow the same logic — the effect is too narrow and too easily played around outside of multiplayer.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Fog effects like Obscuring Haze or Defend the Hearth cost pennies and stop a single combat step for less mana, though they lack Dawn's Truce's multi-turn freeze and don't scale the same way across multiple opponents. If the goal is simply surviving a dangerous attack rather than locking combat for a full round, those one-mana instants cover most of the same ground at a fraction of the price.
Price Context
Current price
$12.12 mid tier
At $12.12, Dawn's Truce sits in the mid tier — noticeable but not budget-breaking for a single utility piece. It's a narrow enough effect that the price reflects new-card demand rather than enduring competitive value, so expect it to soften as supply catches up.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.