Mishra's Command
Sorcery
Choose two —
• Choose target player. They may discard up to X cards. Then they draw a card for each card discarded this way.
• This spell deals X damage to target creature.
• This spell deals X damage to target planeswalker.
• Target creature gets +X/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The Brothers' War Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #9306
Mishra's Command is a four-mode instant that can ping a creature, destroy an artifact, make your opponent sacrifice a permanent, or deal damage directly — all on one card that scales to the board state. The cost is real: four mana is a lot to hold up, and you rarely need all four modes at once. Riku of Many Paths copying it for two additional mana turns that liability into pure upside, which is exactly why the pairing works.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Riku of Many Paths
Riku of Many Paths copies Mishra's Command for just two mana, letting you pick two different modes on the original and two more on the copy — effectively eight lines of text for six total mana. That kind of modal flexibility on a copied instant is the reason Mishra's Command shows up in over a third of Riku decks.
The Emperor of Palamecia
The Emperor of Palamecia rewards casting instants and sorceries, and Mishra's Command's four modes mean it almost always finds a live target regardless of the board state. The Emperor of Palamecia decks lean on exactly this kind of swiss-army interaction to keep the engine fueled while advancing their own gameplan.
Vadrik, Astral Archmage
Vadrik, Astral Archmage reduces the cost of instants based on his power, and Mishra's Command scales down beautifully once Vadrik has a few counters — you can hold up four modes of interaction for one or two mana in the mid-game. That cost reduction is what makes Mishra's Command a fixture rather than a fringe include in Vadrik lists.
Mishra, Claimed by Gix
Mishra, Claimed by Gix has obvious flavor overlap, but the real reason Mishra's Command slots in is the artifact destruction mode — Mishra decks run a lot of artifacts and need ways to blow up opposing hate pieces without losing tempo. The command handles that while doubling as a combat trick or a finisher, which is more than most removal spells offer.
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, Mishra's Command sits comfortably in any Izzet or Grixis shell that wants modal interaction — it rarely blanks because at least one of its four modes is almost always relevant, and that consistency is worth the four-mana ask. In Modern and Legacy, the competition is stiffer: you're comparing it against Cryptic Command and Fire // Ice, and Mishra's Command loses that fight on pure efficiency. Pioneer is the most interesting competitive home — the format has fewer haymakers for four-mana instants to compete with, and the artifact destruction mode has real targets. Oathbreaker mirrors Commander's verdict: strong in the right color pair, especially with a spellslinger planeswalker at the helm.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Mishra's Command isn't currently available, so check Scryfall or your preferred vendor for the current market rate before picking one up. As a multimode rare with competitive-format legality, it tends to hold modest value — but verify before buying.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Riku of Many Paths
- The Emperor of Palamecia
- Vadrik, Astral Archmage
- Mishra, Claimed by Gix
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.