Headstrong Brute

Creature — Orc Pirate

This creature can't block.
This creature has menace as long as you control another Pirate.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{2}{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
common
Set
Ixalan
Price
$0.15
EDHREC rank
#23843
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Headstrong Brute card art
Headstrong Brute is a 3/3 for two mana that swings in unblocked as long as you control another Pirate — a real rate in any dedicated Pirate build. Outside of that tribal context, it's a vanilla 3/3 for two, and that's not where you want to be in 2024.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander
legacy
modern
pioneer
standard
vintage
pauper
oathbreaker

Headstrong Brute lives and dies by Pirate density. In Commander, it earns a slot in Pirate tribal decks — Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator and Breeches, Brazen Plunderer shells run enough Pirates to turn on the evasion reliably, and a repeatable unblockable threat that also triggers combat-based payoffs is genuinely useful. In Pauper, aggressive Pirate synergies exist but the competition at two mana is stiff enough that Headstrong Brute rarely makes the cut. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer, it's outclassed — formats fast enough that a conditional 3/3 isn't closing games.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.15 bulk tier

At $0.15, Headstrong Brute is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not the card. That price is stable because demand is narrow; Pirate tribal brewers will pick up a copy without thinking twice, but there's no broader demand pushing it anywhere.

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