Short Sword
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1.
Equip 
(: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Dominaria
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #16166
Short Sword puts a permanent +1/+1 on any creature for two mana total — one to cast, one to equip — which is the floor for equipment efficiency. Outside of commanders that care about the Equipment type or aura-adjacent triggers, that rate isn't worth a card slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame creates an Elemental token for each Equipment and Aura attached to him at combat, so Short Sword is essentially a one-mana token generator on a stick — the +1/+1 is almost beside the point.
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 Sword only earns its slot in decks where the Equipment subtype itself generates value — Valduk, Keeper of the Flame being the clearest example. In Pauper, cheap Equipment see occasional play in aggressive creature shells, but Short Sword's +1/+1 bonus rarely justifies a card in a format with better options at the same price point. Modern, Legacy, and Vintage have no competitive context for it. If you're building a dedicated Equipment or Voltron strategy, Short Sword is a cheap body-enhancer, but the moment your commander stops caring about the Equipment type specifically, it's a two-mana +1/+1 that doesn't replace itself — and that's a bad deal in any format.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Short Sword is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard and ink. It won't hold or gain value, but for Valduk, Keeper of the Flame players who need to hit a critical mass of Equipment, the price is low enough that the opportunity cost of including it is essentially zero.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.