Nightbird's Clutches
Sorcery
Up to two target creatures can't block this turn.
Flashback 
(You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Ultimate Masters
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #25419
Nightbird's Clutches taps up to two target creatures and, if its flashback cost is paid, keeps them tapped through the untap step — a two-mana attack opener or blocker-clear that effectively doubles as a second spell. It's a narrow combat trick with legitimate flashback upside, but it belongs only in decks that can exploit the window it creates.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Nightbird's Clutches is a fringe inclusion: the effect is real — tapping two blockers or attackers at instant speed swings a combat — but sorcery speed kills most of its appeal in a format defined by interaction on the stack. Pauper is where it has seen the most competitive consideration, fitting into aggressive red or red-black strategies that need to push through blockers on a budget. In Legacy and Vintage the card is legal but irrelevant; the power ceiling in those formats makes a two-mana tap-two effect vanishingly small. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander read — playable in theory, rarely correct in practice.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Nightbird's Clutches is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not scarcity. Bulk commons don't hold or gain value, so there's no reason to hesitate if the effect fits your deck and no reason to stockpile copies.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.