Semester's End
Instant
Exile any number of target creatures and/or planeswalkers you control. At the beginning of the next end step, return each of them to the battlefield under its owner's control. Each of them enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it if it's a creature and an additional loyalty counter on it if it's a planeswalker.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander Masters
- Price
- $1.16
- EDHREC rank
- #2555
Semester's End blinks any number of your creatures and planeswalkers at instant speed, returns them with a +1/+1 counter or loyalty counter each, and the whole thing costs four mana — flexible enough to dodge a wipe, generate value off enter-the-battlefield triggers, or recharge a low-loyalty planeswalker like Commodore Guff in a single response. The counter payoff is the part that separates it from generic protection spells: Venerated Rotpriest entering with a +1/+1 counter triggers its own ability, turning a defensive play into offense.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Commodore Guff
Commodore Guff runs Semester's End because it resets loyalty on every planeswalker you blink — use it in response to an attack to save a walker at one loyalty and return it with three or four, effectively undoing a full assault while advancing your board. At 56% inclusion across Guff decks, it's close to a staple.
Preston, the Vanisher
Semester's End is a mass blink that triggers Preston, the Vanisher's replacement effect on every creature returning, generating a wave of 1/1 Rabbit Illusion tokens in one instant-speed move. That's a full board rebuild disguised as a defensive response.
King of the Oathbreakers
King of the Oathbreakers cares about Rogues and tokens entering, so Semester's End turns a board wipe dodge into a simultaneous restock on both fronts. The +1/+1 counters landing on Rogues that re-enter can push through lethal damage the same turn.
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned
Semester's End targets any number of permanents you control, which means Hinata, Dawn-Crowned cuts its cost by one mana for each creature or planeswalker included — in a populated board state it can cost as little as one or two mana while saving everything. That efficiency ceiling is what makes it a 30% inclusion in Hinata lists.
Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener
Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener doubles counters placed on creatures, so the +1/+1 counter each creature receives from Semester's End immediately becomes two — a mass blink that also meaningfully scales your board's power in one instant-speed action.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Semester's End is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its true home is Commander — multiplayer gives you the critical mass of creatures and planeswalkers needed to make a four-mana instant pay off at full value. In Oathbreaker it's strong for the same reason: blinking your commander planeswalker to dodge removal while adding loyalty counters is exactly the kind of tempo reversal the format rewards. In competitive Modern and Pioneer it's too slow and too reliant on a wide board to see serious play, where single-target flicker effects at two mana do the job more efficiently. Legacy and Vintage move fast enough that Semester's End rarely resolves in a relevant window outside of fringe brews.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Venerated RotpriestStorm HerdSemester's End
Each opponent loses the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$1.16 cheap tier
At $1.16, Semester's End sits in the budget-staple tier — strong enough to show up in tens of thousands of Commander decks, cheap enough that there's no real barrier to picking it up. Demand is steady given its multi-deck utility, so don't expect the price to erode meaningfully.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.