Inner Struggle
Instant
Target creature deals damage to itself equal to its power.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Shadows over Innistrad
- Price
- $0.07
- EDHREC rank
- #24345
Inner Struggle makes a creature fight itself — dealing damage equal to its own power to itself — which kills any creature with odd power or simply ends anything big enough that the math works out. Four mana at instant speed is the cost, and that's the sticking point: you're paying premium rate for a conditional removal spell that whiffs on zero-power creatures entirely.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Inner Struggle occupies a crowded slot — four-mana instant removal exists in abundance, and most of those options (Swords to Plowshares, Reality Shift, Generous Gift) hit any target unconditionally. Inner Struggle shines narrowest when you want to answer large threats without exiling or bouncing them, since it deals damage rather than removing outright, which matters against commanders you'd rather keep in the zone. In Modern and Pioneer it's too slow and too conditional to compete with efficient point removal. Legacy and Vintage have access to far cheaper interaction, so Inner Struggle never sees those tables.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.07 bulk tier
At $0.07, Inner Struggle is deep bulk — it costs less than a sleeve. There's no pressure to buy in speculatively, and no realistic scenario where demand drives this above bulk pricing given how many unconditional removal options exist at the same mana cost.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.