Scars of the Veteran
Instant
You may exile a white card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Prevent the next 7 damage that would be dealt to any target this turn. If it's a creature, put a +0/+1 counter on it for each 1 damage prevented this way at the beginning of the next end step.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Masters Edition II
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #26334
Scars of the Veteran blankets a permanent with seven days of protection at instant speed — answered on the stack or in response to a wrath, it's one of the most efficient saving throws in Commander. Seven mana across two turns is a real cost, but the upside of keeping a commander or engine piece alive through anything makes it worth serious consideration in slower, value-oriented shells.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Scars of the Veteran actually earns its slot — protecting a commander that wants to stay in play (rather than be recast) is exactly the niche this card fills, and seven days of protection is functionally permanent on any reasonable game clock. In Legacy and Vintage it's nearly unplayable; those formats move too fast for a suspend-based protection spell that doesn't resolve until your next upkeep. Oathbreaker shares enough of Commander's threat-protection logic that Scars of the Veteran is at least worth evaluating there, particularly for planeswalkers that die to a single ping.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Scars of the Veteran isn't available in our system — check Scryfall or TCGplayer for the most accurate number. It's a niche instant with a narrow audience, so copies tend to sit at bulk or near-bulk prices; if you want one, the window to buy cheaply is almost always open.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.