Death Ward
Instant
Regenerate target creature.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Ice Age
- Price
- $0.09
- EDHREC rank
- #20347
Death Ward saves a creature from destruction for a single white mana at instant speed — the math is simple and the effect is real. It's a fine include in dedicated go-wide or voltron Commander lists that want cheap protection, but in most 99s a reusable option does this job better.
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, Death Ward earns a slot only in decks where protecting one specific creature is critical enough to justify a one-shot spell — think voltron builds or commanders that take a turn to set up and die to removal before they pay off. In Pauper, the format's creature-centric nature and tight mana environment make it a legitimate sideboard option against removal-heavy decks. Legacy and Vintage have access to so many faster and more flexible protection spells that Death Ward doesn't see play. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander — it can protect your planeswalker in a pinch, but one-shot spells are a steep cost at that table.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.09 bulk tier
At $0.09, Death Ward is pure bulk — you're not paying for power, you're paying for cardboard. Bulk protection spells don't gain value, so pick it up for pennies if you need it and don't think twice about it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.