Embercleave
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Flash
This spell costs 
less to cast for each attacking creature you control.
When Embercleave enters, attach it to target creature you control.
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has double strike and trample.
Equip 
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Special Guests
- Price
- $12.04
- EDHREC rank
- #1325
Embercleave lands with double strike and trample attached to whatever creature you point it at — and because it costs one less for each attacking creature, a wide board turns a six-mana equip into a two- or three-mana alpha strike closer. If your deck attacks with multiple creatures and needs a way to end games on the spot, Embercleave is the card.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tetsuo, Imperial Champion
Tetsuo, Imperial Champion can attach Equipment for free when he deals combat damage, which means Embercleave can come down, ride Tetsuo into an opponent, and immediately set up the next swing — the cost reduction from attacking creatures makes the initial cast trivial, and the free-attach trigger makes the follow-up free.
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider rewards going wide and attacking, exactly the conditions that discount Embercleave to near-nothing — flash it in at the end of a big swing and the double strike triggers Lara's damage-based draw effects a second time on the same creature.
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale draws a card whenever an equipped creature attacks, and Embercleave's flash means you can snap it onto a Knight mid-combat to squeeze out both the card draw and a lethal double-strike hit in the same turn.
Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms
Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms cares about Equipment and attacking creatures simultaneously, so Embercleave fills both roles at once — the cost reduction keeps it castable even when Gilgamesh's curve is already demanding, and double strike maximizes whatever power bonuses Gilgamesh stacks on.
Captain America, First Avenger
Captain America, First Avenger wants to equip cheap, attack often, and close games fast — Embercleave's flash lets you hold up mana defensively and then pivot into a lethal combat step the moment an opening appears, which is exactly the tempo game Captain America wants to play.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Embercleave is a combat finisher in any deck that can reliably attack with three or more creatures — the cost reduction makes it castable when it matters most, and flash means opponents can't pre-emptively chump block around it. In Pioneer and Modern, it was the backbone of red and white aggressive strategies, particularly Mono-Red Aggro and Gruul Midrange, where a wide battlefield could cast it for one or two mana as early as turn three. Legacy sees it less often because the format's removal is faster and the competition for three- to six-mana slots is brutal, but token strategies and equipment shells still pick it up. Embercleave is not legal in Standard or Pauper, so those formats are off the table entirely.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Fireshrieker gives you double strike on an equipped creature for three mana to cast and two to equip — no trample, no flash, no cost reduction, but the core effect is there for around $0.50. Lizard Blades re-equips for free by recasting when it dies, making it resilient in a way Embercleave isn't, though it demands a blue-red shell and lacks the game-ending burst that makes Embercleave worth the premium.
Price Context
Current price
$12.04 mid tier
At $12.04, Embercleave sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate inclusion, cheap enough that it belongs in any aggro or equipment deck that can use it. It sees consistent demand across multiple formats, so the price is stable rather than speculative.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.