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Flicker of Fate

Instant

Exile target creature or enchantment, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
common
Set
Theros Beyond Death
Price
$0.33
EDHREC rank
#2136
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Flicker of Fate card art
Flicker of Fate blinks a permanent you control and returns it immediately — same turn, same phase — which means enter-the-battlefield triggers fire again for two mana at instant speed. In decks built around that axis, like Preston, the Vanisher or Abigale, Eloquent First-Year, that's not a cute trick; it's a core piece of the engine.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

02
Abdel Adrian, Gorion's WardCandlekeep Sage

Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward // Candlekeep Sage

63.9% of decks · synergy 0.59

Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward // Candlekeep Sage exiles your own permanents to create blockers, and Flicker of Fate lets you reset Abdel himself to re-trigger that exile effect and rebuy any ETB value already on board.

03
Zidane, Tantalus Thief

Zidane, Tantalus Thief

55.7% of decks · synergy 0.54

Zidane, Tantalus Thief copies spells when creatures enter, so Flicker of Fate doubling up an ETB on a key creature is also doubling up whatever Zidane copies off it.

04
Mister Negative

Mister Negative

52.0% of decks · synergy 0.49

Mister Negative stacks poison counters on your own permanents to power up abilities, and Flicker of Fate resets a permanent that has already been poisoned — clearing counters or refreshing eligibility depending on the line.

05
Preston, the Vanisher

Preston, the Vanisher

54.0% of decks · synergy 0.49

Preston, the Vanisher creates a token copy whenever a nontoken creature phases in or blinks, so Flicker of Fate on any creature in the deck is a two-mana token generator that also rebuts a removal spell or resets a used ETB.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Flicker of Fate is legal across Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Pauper, Vintage, and Oathbreaker — it has broad access but narrow relevance. Commander is where it actually does work: the singleton format rewards ETB redundancy, games go long enough for incremental value to compound, and the instant speed matters when you need to protect a key permanent from targeted removal. In Pauper it's a legal option for blink shells, though two mana at common for a delayed blink faces real competition. Everywhere else — Modern, Legacy, Pioneer — the effect simply isn't efficient enough; competitive formats demand either a cheaper rate or a more impactful payoff than Flicker of Fate delivers.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

5,787 decks
Preston, the VanisherFelidar GuardianFlicker of Fate

Preston, the VanisherFelidar GuardianFlicker of Fate

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite landfall triggers; Infinite blinking of permanents; Infinite mana lands you control that enter the battlefield untapped can produce; Exile all nonland permanents opponents control; Infinite mana lands you control can produce

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

$0.33 bulk tier

At $0.33, Flicker of Fate is bulk — pick it up without thinking about it if you're running any ETB-centric Commander deck. Bulk instant-speed blink spells with broad permanent targeting don't typically spike unless a commander breaks the mechanic wide open, so expect the price to stay in this range.

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Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.