Manta Ray
Creature — Fish
This creature can't attack unless defending player controls an Island.
This creature can't be blocked except by blue creatures.
When you control no Islands, sacrifice this creature.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Weatherlight
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #23985
Manta Ray is a 3/3 islandwalk creature for three mana that costs you nothing to include but a deck slot — its restriction is that opponents must pay to assign it as a blocker, making it a persistent evasive threat in blue creature shells. The best home by far is Jon Irenicus, Shattered One, where donating it to an opponent turns that blocking tax into their problem.
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 |
Manta Ray is a bulk common that sees essentially no play in Legacy or Vintage despite being legal — three mana for a 3/3 with conditional evasion doesn't compete in formats where the bar for blue creatures starts at Murktide Regent. In Pauper, islandwalk has marginal relevance in mono-blue tempo shells, but Manta Ray's passive blocking deterrent isn't worth the slot when Faerie Miscreant and Delver of Secrets exist. Commander is the only format where Manta Ray finds a plausible niche, specifically in gift-based strategies that want to hand opponents nuisance permanents.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Manta Ray is deep bulk — you'll find it in a common box before you'd ever buy it singles. That price floor is stable simply because demand is near zero and supply is effectively infinite.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.