Flailing Soldier
Creature — Human Soldier
: This creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Any player may activate this ability.: This creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Any player may activate this ability.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Mercadian Masques
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #25405
Flailing Soldier enters as a 1/1 that loses a counter whenever any opponent plays a creature — in a four-player Commander game, it degrades into a 0/0 and dies before you untap. The cost is a single white mana, which is the only thing recommending it.
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 |
Flailing Soldier is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but legality and playability are different conversations. In Pauper it's theoretically the least punishing — one opponent means one trigger source — but a 1/1 for one white that shrinks on the draw is still outclassed by nearly every other one-drop. In Commander the multi-player environment is a death sentence: three opponents playing creatures means Flailing Soldier is a 0/0 by turn two without ever swinging. Legacy and Vintage have access to so many superior white one-drops that Flailing Soldier never enters the conversation.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Flailing Soldier is deep bulk — the kind of card that fills a dime box. Don't expect that floor to move; there is no competitive demand pulling it up.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.