Formation
Instant
Target creature gains banding until end of turn. (Any creatures with banding, and up to one without, can attack in a band. Bands are blocked as a group. If any creatures with banding a player controls are blocking or being blocked by a creature, that player divides that creature's combat damage, not its controller, among any of the creatures it's being blocked by or is blocking.)
Draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Ice Age
- Price
- $0.95
- EDHREC rank
- #22919
Formation lets you change the banding assignment of any blocking creature mid-combat, giving you precise control over how damage gets distributed across your attackers — all for a single white mana. It's a narrow combat trick with a niche mechanic, and outside dedicated banding strategies it rarely earns a slot.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Formation is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but banding is so seldom built around that the card sees virtually no competitive play in any of them. In Commander, Formation occasionally surfaces in white weenie or soldier tribal lists that lean into the banding creature suite, but even there it competes with removal and protection spells that offer broader utility. Legacy and Vintage have no incentive to touch it — the mechanic doesn't interact with anything those formats care about. Oathbreaker is the one place a focused banding package could theoretically emerge, but the card still needs the rest of the infrastructure to function.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.95 bulk tier
At $0.95, Formation sits at the high end of bulk — demand is essentially zero outside collectors and banding enthusiasts. Don't expect that price to reflect playability; it's a relic of an old print run with low supply rather than a card anyone is actively seeking out.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.