Judgment Bolt
Instant
Judgment Bolt deals 5 damage to target creature and X damage to that creature's controller, where X is the number of Equipment you control.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Final Fantasy
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #15202
Judgment Bolt deals 10 damage to any target — enough to one-shot most commanders — for three mana if you control a legendary creature or planeswalker, which Cloud, Planet's Champion always satisfies. That condition is nearly free in the decks that want this, making it the most efficient unconditional burn spell available to red at this cost.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Cloud, Planet's Champion
Cloud, Planet's Champion is itself a legendary creature, so Judgment Bolt's condition is live the moment Cloud hits the table — no extra setup required, and 10 damage cleans up any blocker or opposing commander threatening Cloud's combat dominance.
Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms
Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms cares about equipping and attacking with legendary creatures, so the deck is already packed with legendary permanents that satisfy Judgment Bolt's condition — it slots in as a clean answer to anything that would otherwise survive combat.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Judgment Bolt is a premier spot removal spell: 10 damage kills virtually every commander in the format, and any legendary-creature deck meets the condition without bending its gameplan. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern and Legacy, it competes against Lightning Bolt, which costs one mana with no condition — Judgment Bolt's ceiling is higher on toughness but the condition and extra mana make it a liability when you don't control a legendary permanent on turn one or two. Standard and Pioneer offer fewer unconditional burn options, so Judgment Bolt earns a genuine slot in legendary-creature shells there where the condition is reliably met. Across all formats, the verdict is the same: the card is excellent when the condition is online and dead weight when it isn't.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Judgment Bolt is bulk — you're paying almost nothing for a card that regularly kills commanders in the format where it sees the most play. Bulk rares with strong Commander utility tend to hold this floor and drift upward slowly as more legendary-creature commanders enter the format, but the price today makes the decision trivial.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Cloud, Planet's Champion
- Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.