Qasali Ambusher
Creature — Cat Warrior
Reach
If a creature is attacking you and you control a Forest and a Plains, you may cast this creature without paying its mana cost and as though it had flash.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Shards of Alara
- Price
- $0.48
- EDHREC rank
- #15697
Qasali Ambusher drops a 2/3 reach into combat for free whenever you control a Forest and a Cat — the ambush is the point, not the body. Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant decks run it as a zero-cost way to trigger Tadeas on the attack while keeping mana open for interaction.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant
Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant rewards attacking with creatures that have no power, and Qasali Ambusher enters with 2 power — but the zero-mana flash play means you hold up mana for counterspells or removal and still land a blocker or attacker without telegraphing anything.
Arahbo, Roar of the World
Arahbo, Roar of the World pumps Cats that attack, and Qasali Ambusher is a free body that slots into that tribal synergy without costing a turn's worth of mana — flash makes it a combat trick that leaves a permanent behind.
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, Qasali Ambusher does exactly what the format rewards: it costs nothing under the right conditions, which means it doesn't eat up a turn when a threatening board state demands you keep mana open. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but rarely need a 2/3 reach for free when faster engines exist — it surfaces occasionally in Cat-tribal or Death and Taxes shells as a free threat. Modern is its most competitive non-Commander home, where the combination of reach, flash, and zero cost lines up against aggro decks that want to swing into you. Qasali Ambusher is fundamentally a Commander card, though: the casual pace and creature-heavy boards make the free-cast trigger fire consistently enough to matter.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.48 bulk tier
At $0.48, Qasali Ambusher is bulk — easy to pick up as a one-of and unlikely to move much without a Cat-tribal spike in competitive play. It holds steady value as a functional, niche free-spell in a format that rewards exactly that kind of efficiency.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.