Inspiring Paladin
Creature — Human Knight
During your turn, this creature has first strike. (It deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.)
During your turn, creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them have first strike.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Foundations
- Price
- $0.07
- EDHREC rank
- #11970
Inspiring Paladin enters and pumps every Knight you control — in a Knight-tribal shell that can field four or five creatures at once, that's a meaningful power and toughness swing stapled to a body. Dion, Bahamut's Dominant decks run it in nearly a quarter of all lists because the +1/+1 counters interact directly with Dion's own counter-distribution engine.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Dion, Bahamut's Dominant
Dion, Bahamut's Dominant rewards stacking +1/+1 counters across your board, and Inspiring Paladin's enters-the-battlefield distribution does exactly that work for free the moment it lands — no additional mana or activations required.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Inspiring Paladin is a role-player, not a generalist — it earns its slot only in Knight-tribal decks where the ETB trigger reliably hits three or more creatures. Outside that context, a 2/2 for three mana with conditional upside doesn't compete for roster space. In 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, Knight tribal sees occasional fringe play, but Inspiring Paladin's ceiling is too low and its rate too poor to displace established three-drops. Pauper is where efficiency policing is strictest, and a conditional pump effect on a vanilla-sized body doesn't clear that bar either.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.07 bulk tier
At $0.07, Inspiring Paladin is deep bulk — you'll find copies in common bins or pick up a playset for pocket change. Bulk commons and uncommons at this price point don't appreciate, so buy exactly as many as you need and don't speculate.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Dion, Bahamut's Dominant
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.