March of Swirling Mist
Instant
As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may exile any number of blue cards from your hand. This spell costs 
less to cast for each card exiled this way.
Up to X target creatures phase out. (While they're phased out, they're treated as though they don't exist. Each one phases in before its controller untaps during their next untap step.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Magic Online Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #1513
March of Swirling Mist phases out any number of your creatures for free if you're willing to exile blue cards from hand to pay the cost — a mass protection spell that scales with how much you're holding. Under Hinata, Dawn-Crowned, each target costs one less, making this one of the most efficient ways to protect a wide board in blue.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned reduces the cost of March of Swirling Mist by one mana per target, so protecting four creatures can cost as little as a single blue pip — that efficiency is why 74% of Hinata decks run it.
Zimone, Infinite Analyst
Zimone, Infinite Analyst decks often go wide with tokens and value creatures that can't afford to eat a board wipe, and March of Swirling Mist phases out the whole team at instant speed while dodging standard counterspell tax.
Magnus the Red
Magnus the Red builds around big sorceries and wide boards that attract removal, and March of Swirling Mist gives the deck a reactive safety valve without breaking the spell-slinger theme.
Vadrik, Astral Archmage
Vadrik, Astral Archmage scales spell costs based on power, and March of Swirling Mist can become effectively free late in the game — cheap protection that also triggers any instant-matters payoffs in the 99.
Katara, Waterbending Master
Katara, Waterbending Master synergizes with instants and rewards keeping mana open, making March of Swirling Mist a natural fit as a multi-target protection spell that advances the deck's reactive gameplan.
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 |
In Commander, March of Swirling Mist earns its slot as a scalable protection spell — phasing is better than blinking because phased-out permanents return with counters and auras intact, and the ability to target multiple creatures at once separates it from single-target options. In Modern and Pioneer, it sees fringe play in tempo and control shells that want to protect a key threat while keeping interaction open, though the pitch cost competes with other free-spell options. Legacy and Vintage have stronger free protection available, so March of Swirling Mist rarely makes the cut there outside of very specific blue-heavy brews. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander appeal — commanders die a lot, and phasing yours out before a wipe resolves is cleaner than recasting from the command zone.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for March of Swirling Mist isn't available in the current feed, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number. Given its inclusion in tens of thousands of Commander decks, it tends to hold modest but stable value — pick it up if you're building Hinata, Dawn-Crowned or any blue spell-slinger where the pitch cost is manageable.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Hinata, Dawn-Crowned
- Zimone, Infinite Analyst
- Magnus the Red
- Vadrik, Astral Archmage
- Katara, Waterbending Master
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.