Start // Finish
Instant // Sorcery
Create two 1/1 white Warrior creature tokens with vigilance.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Amonkhet Remastered
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #23035
Start // Finish does two things well: the front half creates a 1/1 Warrior token at instant speed, and the back half destroys a creature while letting you pay part of the cost with your own creatures as fodder. The split means a single card slot covers token generation and hard removal, which is exactly the kind of modal flexibility Commander rewards.
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 |
In Commander, Start // Finish earns its slot in any sacrifice-matters or token shell — the front half creates a body on demand, and the back half converts excess tokens into unconditional removal without spending extra mana if you have fodder available. In Modern and Pioneer the card is legal but rarely played; dedicated removal slots want efficiency, and a two-mana sorcery that creates one token or a five-mana split rarely competes with format staples. Legacy and Vintage have the same problem at a sharper degree — the rate is simply too slow for those formats. Oathbreaker gives it a similar home to Commander, particularly under a sacrifice-themed planeswalker, where both halves contribute to the game plan in a compact card slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Start // Finish is a bulk rare, typically available for well under a dollar, which makes picking up copies a no-brainer for sacrifice or token-focused Commander builds. At that price point there's no reason to hesitate — the modal flexibility alone justifies the slot even if you only ever cast one half per game.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.