Ojutai's Command
Instant
Choose two —
• Return target creature card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
• You gain 4 life.
• Counter target creature spell.
• Draw a card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- UW
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Dragons of Tarkir
- Price
- $0.30
- EDHREC rank
- #14705
Ojutai's Command counters a spell, draws a card, gains four life, or returns a small creature — and at four mana you often stack two of those modes in one response. The Archimandrite decks run it at an 18% clip because the counterspell-plus-draw line is exactly the tempo play a reactive monk tribal shell needs.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Archimandrite
The Archimandrite wants to hold up mana on opponents' turns, and Ojutai's Command rewards that posture cleanly — counter a threat, draw into the next monk, or rebuy a fallen creature without spending an extra card slot on each effect separately.
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, Ojutai's Command earns its slot in Azorius and Esper control shells that want reactive four-mana plays with upside — the life gain mode is marginal in multiplayer, but the draw-a-card and reanimate modes generate real card advantage at instant speed. In Modern and Pioneer it has never cracked mainstream play; Cryptic Command does the same job better for the same mana in formats where that comparison matters. Legacy's card pool makes it strictly outclassed. Ojutai's Command is fundamentally a Commander card — the flexibility is worth more in a singleton format where you can't run four copies of a narrower effect.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.30 bulk tier
At $0.30, Ojutai's Command is deep bulk — pick it out of any dollar bin without hesitation. Flexible instants at this price rarely climb unless they find a breakout competitive home, which this one hasn't, so expect the floor to stay right here.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.