Netherese Puzzle-Ward
Enchantment
Focus Beam — At the beginning of your upkeep, roll a d4. Scry X, where X is the result.
Perfect Illumination — Whenever you roll a die's highest natural result, draw a card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Forgotten Realms Commander
- Price
- $1.36
- EDHREC rank
- #8333
Netherese Puzzle-Ward replaces itself on entry and puts a ward counter on your commander for free — that's two effects stapled to one card at negligible cost. In Wyll, Blade of Frontiers // Sword Coast Sailor builds, it's essentially a cantrip that also taxes your opponents a card to remove Wyll, making it an easy include at any budget.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Wyll, Blade of Frontiers // Sword Coast Sailor
Wyll, Blade of Frontiers // Sword Coast Sailor runs Netherese Puzzle-Ward in over 90% of decks because the ward counter directly protects Wyll while the card draw keeps the engine moving — it's the deck's most efficient protection piece.
Elminster
Netherese Puzzle-Ward slots into Elminster as free insurance: the ward counter slows down targeted removal while the scry/draw effect feeds Elminster's own card-selection gameplan.
Elrond, Master of Healing
Elrond, Master of Healing benefits from Netherese Puzzle-Ward as a low-cost way to protect the commander while the enter-the-battlefield draw effect triggers any additional value Elrond generates off noncreature spells and life gain.
Galadriel of Lothlórien
Galadriel of Lothlórien wants her commander on the board and attacking, so Netherese Puzzle-Ward's ward counter buys her the extra turn she needs to generate ring tempt triggers without folding to a cheap removal spell.
Myra the Magnificent
Myra the Magnificent's spellslinger engine rewards card velocity, and Netherese Puzzle-Ward delivers a cantrip plus commander protection in one slot — low opportunity cost for a deck that wants every spell to pull double duty.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Netherese Puzzle-Ward earns its keep — the format's singleton rule and commander-centric game plans make ward counters disproportionately valuable, since opponents must commit a card just to answer your most important piece. In Legacy and Vintage, Netherese Puzzle-Ward has no meaningful home: those formats don't operate around a commander zone, so the ward counter has nothing to protect and the cantrip effect is too slow to compete. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander format where it has real upside, since the oathbreaker occupies the same protected role and the same logic applies.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.36 cheap tier
At $1.36, Netherese Puzzle-Ward sits in the cheap tier and is straightforwardly worth it in any deck where it belongs — a card that cantrips and protects your commander has no business costing more than a pack anyway. It's unlikely to spike or crater; demand is narrow but steady among Wyll and Elminster players, so this price is about as stable as bulk rares get.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Wyll, Blade of Frontiers // Sword Coast Sailor
- Elminster
- Elrond, Master of Healing
- Galadriel of Lothlórien
- Myra the Magnificent
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.