Harmless Assault
Instant
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn by attacking creatures.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #24515
Harmless Assault makes all creatures unable to deal combat damage this turn — both attacking and blocking — for a single white mana at instant speed. It's a fog that lets attacks happen, creatures die in combat, and triggers still fire, which is a meaningfully different effect than most damage prevention.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Harmless Assault is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but it earns its slot almost exclusively in Commander. In 60-card formats, the effect is too narrow and too situational to displace actual removal or counterspells. In Commander, it finds real homes in combat-trigger decks that want to swing without getting punished — think aristocrats or token strategies where the creatures entering the graveyard matter more than the damage they'd deal. Outside of specific synergy shells, though, a one-mana fog variant is still a fog, and most decks want interaction that advances their own game plan rather than just buying one turn.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Harmless Assault is deep bulk — a throw-in, not a purchase. It's unlikely to appreciate unless a high-profile Commander build breaks the effect wide open, so pick it up as a casual include without a second thought.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.