Dead Before Sunrise
Instant
Until end of turn, outlaw creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain "
: This creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature." (Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks are outlaws.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander
- Price
- $0.25
- EDHREC rank
- #11280
Dead Before Sunrise kills a creature and leaves a Treasure behind — removal that pays for itself is a real rate. The cost is that it only hits non-Vampires, which matters in the exact decks, led by Olivia, Opulent Outlaw, that most want to run it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw turns every Treasure into a +1/+1 counter and a Blood token on her trigger, so Dead Before Sunrise does double duty — clearing a blocker and feeding her engine simultaneously.
Laughing Jasper Flint
Laughing Jasper Flint cares about having more Treasures than opponents, and Dead Before Sunrise guarantees a Treasure on a removal spell, keeping that count competitive without dedicating a slot to a pure artifact producer.
Vihaan, Goldwaker
Vihaan, Goldwaker animates Treasures into attacking creatures, so Dead Before Sunrise isn't just removal — it's a creature-producer, and the non-Vampire restriction rarely bites in a Treasure-tribal shell that isn't leaning on Vampire synergies.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Dead Before Sunrise is a Commander card through and through — the Treasure upside is most valuable in a 100-card singleton format where mana consistency matters and every piece of incidental acceleration earns its slot. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; those formats don't want three-mana sorcery-speed removal that comes with a string attached. Commander is the only place where the non-Vampire restriction is a meaningful deckbuilding constraint rather than a footnote, specifically in Vampire tribal builds that still want the Treasure payoff.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.25 bulk tier
At $0.25, Dead Before Sunrise is bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or in a package deal. Bulk rares with narrow homes rarely climb unless a new commander spikes demand, so don't expect movement.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.