Magic Missile
Sorcery
This spell can't be countered.
Magic Missile deals 3 damage divided as you choose among one, two, or three targets.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
- Price
- $0.34
- EDHREC rank
- #11960
Magic Missile deals 3 damage divided as you choose among any number of targets and can't be countered — that combination of reach, flexibility, and counter-immunity is the whole case for running it. Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot turns every 1-damage ping into a kill shot, which means Magic Missile's three divisible points of damage become three separate triggers rather than one split effect.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot
Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot's ability to replace any source of exactly 1 damage with a kill shot means Magic Missile's three 1-damage pockets can each resolve as lethal, turning a three-mana spell into three creatures dead at instant speed.
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph adds 2 damage to any source that deals exactly 1 damage to a permanent or player, so each of Magic Missile's distributed points becomes a 3-damage hit — three separate 1-damage assignments triple into a potential 9 damage across three targets.
Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might
Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might replaces red damage sources that would deal less than Ojer's power with Ojer's power instead, so Magic Missile's small pings scale dramatically — each 1-damage point fires at Ojer's full power stat rather than its face value.
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 |
Magic Missile is a Commander card first and foremost — the can't-be-countered clause matters most in a format where counterspell-heavy blue decks can otherwise strand your removal, and the three-target spread is live in a four-player game where small utility creatures are everywhere. In Legacy and Vintage it has no real home; three mana for 3 damage split across targets is well below rate in those formats, and the uncounterable text isn't worth paying for when faster, cheaper options exist. Modern and Pioneer offer more room theoretically, but competitive red decks in those formats want burn that closes games rather than sweeps up tokens, so Magic Missile stays on the fringe. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander logic closely — the flexibility and counter-immunity are real in multiplayer, less relevant in a tighter two-player build.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.34 bulk tier
At $0.34, Magic Missile is true bulk — it costs nothing to include and nothing to replace if the meta shifts. Bulk uncommons at this price point don't appreciate, so pick it up for the slot and move on.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
- Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.