Deadly Riposte
Instant
Deadly Riposte deals 3 damage to target tapped creature and you gain 2 life.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Ravnica: Clue Edition
- Price
- $0.09
- EDHREC rank
- #18785
Deadly Riposte kills an attacking creature and puts a +1/+1 counter on one of your blockers for two mana — that's a two-for-one tempo swing at instant speed. It's a solid combat trick in Limited but faces stiff competition for slots in any Constructed format where unconditional removal exists.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Deadly Riposte is a fringe inclusion — the condition of having a blocking creature limits its reliability in a format where flying and trample are everywhere, and most decks want removal that doesn't ask permission from combat. In Standard and Pioneer, it occupies the low end of the playable combat tricks tier: the counter upside is real, but two mana at instant speed is a crowded price point. Pauper is where Deadly Riposte has the most credible case, since the card pool is narrower and tempo tricks carry more weight. Across Legacy and Vintage, it simply doesn't register.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.09 bulk tier
At $0.09, Deadly Riposte is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not scarcity. Bulk commons at this price point don't appreciate unless they spike in a competitive context, and nothing about this card's design suggests that ceiling exists.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.