Pongify
Instant
Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated. Its controller creates a 3/3 green Ape creature token.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Secrets of Strixhaven Mystical Archive
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #158
Pongify answers any creature for one blue mana — the 3/3 Ape token it leaves behind is a real cost, but paying one mana to unconditionally remove a commander or game-ending threat is almost always the right trade. It's a staple in blue decks precisely because it's the format's cheapest hard removal, and Shiko and Narset, Unified decks running spell-copy engines get even more mileage by turning it into repeated answers.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Shiko and Narset, Unified
Shiko and Narset, Unified copies instants and sorceries whenever they cast noncreature spells, which means Pongify can become two removals in one turn for a single blue mana — the deck wants cheap, high-impact instants and this is exactly that.
Omo, Queen of Vesuva
Omo, Queen of Vesuva runs Pongify as straightforward, on-color removal — at one mana it clears problem creatures without slowing down an engine that wants to be developing counters and land types every turn.
Stella Lee, Wild Card
Stella Lee, Wild Card is a spell-copy commander who rewards running cheap instants she can recast or copy for free, and Pongify at one mana is one of the best targets in that role — cheap enough to fire off twice in a turn without straining resources.
Elsha, Threefold Master
Elsha, Threefold Master cares about playing instants and sorceries from the top of the library and gains value for doing so cheaply, making Pongify an efficient piece of interaction that doesn't clog the curve when Elsha is online.
Lord of the Nazgûl
Lord of the Nazgûl decks are Dimir token strategies that need cheap removal to protect the board long enough to go wide, and Pongify slots in as the lowest-mana answer blue can offer to anything blocking that plan.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Pongify is one of the best one-mana creature answers blue has ever had — the 3/3 token drawback matters far less in a format where opponents routinely drop 6/6s and combo creatures that need to die immediately. Legacy and Vintage give it a home in blue tempo and control shells where paying one mana to remove a threat cleanly is a meaningful efficiency gain, though Swords to Plowshares does the job better there by not leaving a body. Modern runs it as a fringe option in decks that want cheap instant-speed removal in blue, but the token is more punishing at that power level where 3/3s actually trade with things. Pongify is not legal in Pioneer, Standard, or Pauper, which cuts off its reach in the formats where budget players most often look for removal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pongify has been reprinted enough times that copies are easy to find at low prices across most retail platforms — check Scryfall's price listings for the cheapest printing currently available. It's a card worth owning multiple copies of for any blue Commander player; the supply is healthy and it sees consistent demand.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.