Lightning Hounds
Creature — Dog
First strike
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Media and Collaboration Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #26545
Lightning Hounds is a 3/1 first striker for four mana — a stat line and rate that were marginal even at printing and haven't aged into relevance. There are better first strikers at lower costs in every format where this is legal, and no unique effect justifies the slot.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Lightning Hounds is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but legal doesn't mean playable. In Commander, a 3/1 for four with no enters-the-battlefield effect, no evasion, and no synergy text is simply below the power floor — the format's card density means you're never short of better options. In Pauper, where commons are the constraint and efficiency matters most, a four-mana 3/1 first striker doesn't clear the bar when creatures like Skeletonize or even basic aggressive one-drops outperform it on rate. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters; Lightning Hounds doesn't exist in those conversations.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for Lightning Hounds, which is consistent with a card that sees essentially no demand. It's a bulk common or uncommon-tier pickup if you need it for a collection or a casual theme deck, but there's no competitive or financial case for seeking it out.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.