Short Circuit
Enchantment — Aura
Flash
Enchant artifact or creature
As long as enchanted permanent is a creature, it gets -3/-0 and loses flying.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #24460
Short Circuit bounces a nonland permanent back to its owner's hand — no targeting restrictions, instant speed, one blue mana with a two-mana kicker that cantrips. Without the kicker it's a cheap tempo play; with it, you're paying three mana to bounce and replace the card, which is where Short Circuit earns its slot.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Short Circuit fills the role of cheap interaction that scales with available mana — cast it naked to reset a problematic permanent at instant speed, or pay the kicker when you can afford to refuel. Pauper is where Short Circuit sees its most competitive consideration, since efficient bounce at common rarity is genuinely constrained and the cantrip clause keeps parity. In Modern and Legacy the card is legal but outclassed by Brainstorm, Cryptic Command, and Snapback effects that do more for the same or less investment. Pioneer similarly offers better options in most blue shells. Short Circuit is a format-filler in eternal formats and a respectable role-player in lower-powered Commander pods or Pauper builds that need flexible, budget bounce.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Short Circuit is deep bulk — the kind of card you pull from a common box without a second thought. Bulk commons don't appreciate; buy it for the effect, not the foil.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.