Monk of the Open Hand
Creature — Elf Monk
Flurry of Blows — Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
- Price
- $0.22
- EDHREC rank
- #16891
Monk of the Open Hand puts a counter on itself every time you cast your second spell in a turn — a straightforward payoff that snowballs fast in multicast strategies. The one-mana entry point is the whole argument: Alisaie Leveilleur // Alphinaud Leveilleur decks trigger it constantly, and a 1/1 that grows for free demands an answer before it gets out of hand.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Alisaie Leveilleur // Alphinaud Leveilleur
Alisaie Leveilleur // Alphinaud Leveilleur is built around casting multiple spells per turn, which means Monk of the Open Hand is picking up a counter nearly every turn cycle — it's one of the most natural includes in the deck, showing up in over 15% of lists for good reason.
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, Monk of the Open Hand slots cleanly into any Azorius or multicolor spellslinger build that regularly chains two spells in a turn — the density of cantrips and interaction in the format makes the trigger reliable. Modern and Legacy have the spell density to fire it every turn, but a vanilla 1/1 that grows slowly competes against far more explosive one-drops, so it rarely makes those cuts. Pioneer is its best constructed home outside Commander, where White Weenie and spellslinger hybrids occasionally want a cheap threat that scales without spending more resources. Vintage has the horsepower to trigger it on turn one, but Monk of the Open Hand doesn't come close to matching the format's ceiling.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.22 bulk tier
At $0.22, Monk of the Open Hand is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a commons box, not a singles binder. Bulk rares with narrow synergy profiles tend to stay at this price unless a breakout deck pushes demand, so buy it for the deck and don't expect movement.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Alisaie Leveilleur // Alphinaud Leveilleur
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.