Selfless Squire
Creature — Human Soldier
Flash
When this creature enters, prevent all damage that would be dealt to you this turn.
Whenever damage that would be dealt to you is prevented, put that many +1/+1 counters on this creature.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Tales of Middle-earth Commander
- Price
- $0.29
- EDHREC rank
- #2469
Selfless Squire turns any damage-dealing attack or burn spell aimed at you into a 4/4 token that your opponents now have to answer — all for four mana at instant speed. The cost is real: four mana is a lot to leave up, and the token doesn't appear unless damage actually resolves, so it folds to combat tricks that redirect or reduce damage. Run it in decks that manufacture damage against you on purpose, like Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser or anything pairing with Wheel of Misfortune, and it pays off immediately.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser
Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser's entire engine forces opponents to attack you, which means Selfless Squire is almost guaranteed to trigger — you're manufacturing the damage that creates the token rather than hoping for it.
Éowyn, Shieldmaiden
Éowyn, Shieldmaiden rewards you for creatures dying in combat, and Selfless Squire converts the damage you take in those trades into a 4/4 that feeds right back into that loop.
Aragorn, King of Gondor
Aragorn, King of Gondor wants you swinging into opponents and creating board presence from combat, and Selfless Squire's token adds immediate power to that wide-board plan while also protecting you from a retaliatory pile.
Breena, the Demagogue
Breena, the Demagogue thrives in political pile-on tables where you're frequently in the crosshairs, and Selfless Squire converts that targeted aggression into a 4/4 threat that punishes opponents for pointing damage your way.
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill generates tokens whenever nontoken creatures die with counters, and Selfless Squire enters as a 1/1 with a counter already on it, making it a clean sacrifice target that replaces itself with tokens the moment it hits the graveyard.
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 |
Selfless Squire is a Commander card through and through — its political deterrent reads best in multiplayer, where opponents are constantly calculating whether attacking you is worth the 4/4 you get in return. In Legacy and Vintage, where it's technically legal, the four-mana investment for a conditional token is laughably slow against the threats those formats present. Oathbreaker is the one other format where it can earn a slot, particularly in white-based decks that lean on life-total manipulation or damage-redirection as part of the game plan. Outside of Commander, don't bother.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Selfless SquireWheel of Misfortune
Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.29 bulk tier
At $0.29, Selfless Squire is deep bulk — it costs less than a sleeve, so there's no financial barrier to testing it. Bulk rares with this narrow a use case rarely spike, so don't expect the price to move unless a new commander with overwhelming synergy drives demand.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.