Red Elemental Blast
Instant
Choose one —
• Counter target blue spell.
• Destroy target blue permanent.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Masters Edition IV
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #423
Red Elemental Blast counters or destroys any blue permanent for a single red mana — one of the most efficient answers in the game at its price point. It's a staple in blue-heavy metas and earns its slot in builds like Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom and Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept, where blue is the primary opposition on the stack.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept is a cEDH-level partner pair that needs cheap, dense interaction to protect its lines, and Red Elemental Blast at one mana hits the counterspells and stax pieces that blue decks deploy to shut it down.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce operates in a blue-adjacent color identity where protecting Vial Smasher's triggers matters — Red Elemental Blast punishes the blue decks most likely to answer those triggers on the stack.
Etali, Primal Conqueror
Etali, Primal Conqueror is a haymaker that dies to blue removal and gets countered by blue interaction, so Red Elemental Blast gives Etali pilots a way to clear the path before swinging.
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin runs in aggressive black-red shells that want cheap disruption to protect combo turns, and Red Elemental Blast is the most mana-efficient counter available in that color pair.
Ral, Monsoon Mage
Ral, Monsoon Mage cares about casting instants and sorceries, so Red Elemental Blast does double duty — it counts toward Ral's storm-style triggers while also answering the blue threats most likely to shut the engine down.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Red Elemental Blast is a metagame card — how good it is scales directly with how much blue sits across the table. In blue-saturated metas, it's one of the best pieces of interaction available to red decks at any power level. In Legacy and Vintage, it's a sideboard staple against blue control shells, and in Vintage specifically it answers Ancestral Recall and Force of Will on the same card. Pauper gives it another home, where cheap blue tempo decks are dominant and a one-mana hard counter is a legitimate weapon. It's not legal in Modern, Pioneer, or Standard, which limits its reach but doesn't diminish what it does where it can be played.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Zndrsplt, Eye of WisdomThassa's OracleFrenetic EfreetRed Elemental Blast
Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers; Win the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Red Elemental Blast has been reprinted enough times that copies are widely available, though older printings command a premium for collectors. Check current Scryfall listings for the cheapest in-print version — for a card that answers this much for one mana, any price under a few dollars is a straightforward pickup.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom
- Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
- Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce
- Etali, Primal Conqueror
- Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
- Ral, Monsoon Mage
- Thassa's Oracle
- Frenetic Efreet
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.