Phalanx Formation
Instant
Strive — This spell costs 
more to cast for each target beyond the first.
Any number of target creatures each gain double strike until end of turn. (They deal both first-strike and regular combat damage.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Journey into Nyx
- Price
- $0.09
- EDHREC rank
- #23959
Phalanx Formation doubles your damage on a single creature until end of turn while granting it lifelink — a combat trick that can close games outright when stapled onto a commander with high power or a live Voltron build. Two mana at instant speed is a fair rate for that swing, but the effect is narrow enough that it belongs in focused go-wide or Voltron decks, not as a generic include.
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, Phalanx Formation earns its slot in decks built around a single powerful attacker — the instant-speed double strike plus lifelink can redirect a game-winning combat step opponents didn't see coming. In Modern and Pioneer, it competes against a deeper pool of combat tricks and pump spells that either cost less or do more, so it rarely makes the cut outside of dedicated Heroic or Aura strategies where targeting your own creature matters. Legacy and Vintage move too fast for a two-mana trick without the raw efficiency those formats demand, leaving Phalanx Formation firmly in the casual-to-focused-Commander tier.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.09 bulk tier
At $0.09, Phalanx Formation is pure bulk — you're acquiring it out of a commons box, not tracking it on a buylist. Bulk combat tricks don't appreciate unless they find a dominant Standard home, which isn't on the table here, so treat it as a free inclusion rather than an asset.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.