Dawnray Archer
Creature — Human Archer
Exalted (Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, that creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
, 
: This creature deals 1 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- UW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Shards of Alara
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #21690
Dawnray Archer trades one damage dealt to a player for a card — an effect that looks modest until you realize Rafiq of the Many is swinging for commander damage and drawing you cards in the same combat. The cost is real: you need exalted triggers firing and opponents taking hits, which means the card earns nothing in a stalled board state.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Rafiq of the Many
Rafiq of the Many's exalted stacks make a single attacker connect reliably, and Dawnray Archer converts each of those hits into a card — turning the combat step into a draw engine without spending additional mana.
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 |
Dawnray Archer lives almost exclusively in Commander, where Rafiq of the Many decks and other exalted-heavy builds can trigger its ability every turn cycle. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant — a three-mana 1/1 with a conditional draw trigger is nowhere near the rate those formats demand. Oathbreaker is the one fringe case where an exalted-focused spellbook could squeeze value out of it, but the card pool there makes even that a stretch.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Dawnray Archer is deep bulk — the kind of card you pull from a common box rather than buy. Don't expect that to change; demand is narrow and reprint risk is nonexistent simply because there's nothing to protect.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.