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Savage Beating

Instant

Cast this spell only during combat on your turn.
Choose one —
• Creatures you control gain double strike until end of turn.
• Untap all creatures you control. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
Entwine {1}{R} (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{R}{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
rare
Set
Darksteel
Price
$7.80
EDHREC rank
#3051
Buy on TCGplayer
Savage Beating card art
Savage Beating ends combat before opponents can react — either by doubling your attacks or granting double strike across your board, and it can do both simultaneously with entwine. The five-mana ceiling is real, but Magar of the Magic Strings circumvents it entirely by imprinting Savage Beating and recasting it for free off a 3/3 token, making this a one-mana game-ender in that shell.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Magar of the Magic Strings

Magar of the Magic Strings

45.4% of decks · synergy 0.44

Magar of the Magic Strings imprints Savage Beating onto the exiled card it creates, then turns any 3/3 token into a free recasting — effectively converting a five-mana spell into a zero-mana combat finisher that fires every turn Magar connects.

02
Etali, Primal Storm

Etali, Primal Storm

31.0% of decks · synergy 0.29

Etali, Primal Storm already demands opponents answer a six-mana trampler swinging every combat; Savage Beating gives Etali a second trigger in the same turn, doubling the free casts and collapsing the game in one attack step.

03
Gornog, the Red Reaper

Gornog, the Red Reaper

26.2% of decks · synergy 0.24

Gornog, the Red Reaper scales on dead creatures, so a double-strike effect from Savage Beating doesn't just deal more damage — it multiplies the trigger count Gornog generates in a single swing.

04
Otharri, Suns' Glory

Otharri, Suns' Glory

20.5% of decks · synergy 0.19

Otharri, Suns' Glory accrues experience counters and spawns tokens on each attack, so Savage Beating's extra combat step creates a second wave of tokens and a second experience trigger before opponents untap.

05
Ozai, the Phoenix King

Ozai, the Phoenix King

19.9% of decks · synergy 0.18

Ozai, the Phoenix King rewards attacking with multiple creatures, and Savage Beating either doubles that reward with an extra combat or pumps every attacker with double strike when the board is already wide enough to close the game.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Savage Beating lives — the combination of its two modes is uniquely positioned to end multiplayer games in a single attack step that opponents can't plan around. In Legacy and Vintage, it's legal but functionally absent; five mana at instant speed for a combat trick doesn't compete with the speed of those formats. Modern is technically on the table but the same logic applies — the format is too fast for Savage Beating to resolve into a meaningful game state. Oathbreaker offers the same appeal as Commander at a smaller scale, and any aggressive spellslinger signature spell shell can exploit the entwine mode for a full kill on a open board.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

2,359 decks
Surge to VictorySavage Beating

Surge to VictorySavage Beating

Infinite combat damage; Infinite combat phases; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite mana creatures you control can produce; Infinite storm count; Infinite untap of creatures you control

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Aggravated Assault covers the extra-combat angle on a repeatable enchantment for around $9, but if that's still too steep, Moraug, Fury of Akoum generates extra combats off landfall for under $3 and requires no mana investment after it resolves. Neither option replicates the instant speed or the double-strike half of Savage Beating, which is exactly what makes this card irreplaceable in Magar shells — budget swaps buy you volume, not the same surprise factor.

Price Context

Current price

$7.80 mid tier

At $7.80, Savage Beating sits in the mid tier — not a throwaway pickup, but not a barrier to entry either. It holds that price on the strength of its Magar inclusion rate and the fact that it's a unique effect with no direct reprint in a cheaper product, so it's unlikely to crater anytime soon.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.