Is Strength of Will good in Commander?

Strength of Will

Instant

Until end of turn, target creature you control gains indestructible and "Whenever this creature is dealt damage, put that many +1/+1 counters on it."

CMC: 2
Mana cost
Color identity: G
Rarity: rare
Set: Marvel's Spider-Man Promos
Price: —
EDHREC rank: #4691

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Strength of Will puts counters on the board immediately — no waiting, no setup — and the only price is the mana you spend to cast it. In Miles Morales and Walking Ballista shells, that instant distribution of counters converts directly into damage or triggers, making this a functional engine piece rather than a support card.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

Miles Morales

55.4% of decks · synergy 0.53

Miles Morales cares deeply about loading counters onto creatures fast, and Strength of Will delivers a burst of them at instant speed — letting Miles convert that distribution into damage before opponents can respond.

Venom, Deadly Devourer

30.7% of decks · synergy 0.29

Venom, Deadly Devourer feeds on +1/+1 counters to grow and threaten, and Strength of Will supplies a spread of them in one shot, accelerating the clock that Venom puts opponents on.

Peter Parker

26.1% of decks · synergy 0.25

Peter Parker rewards counter accumulation across the board, and Strength of Will fills that role efficiently — dropping counters wide rather than deep, which is exactly the texture Peter Parker's triggers want.

Wolverine, Best There Is

23.1% of decks · synergy 0.20

Wolverine, Best There Is scales with counters placed on him, and Strength of Will can concentrate or spread that investment depending on the board state, giving the deck a flexible piece it can deploy reactively.

Wayta, Trainer Prodigy

21.8% of decks · synergy 0.20

Wayta, Trainer Prodigy generates value off creatures receiving counters, so Strength of Will acts as a one-card trigger engine — hit multiple creatures, collect multiple Wayta triggers.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

Format	Verdict
commander	legal
legacy	legal
modern	legal
pioneer	legal
standard	legal
vintage	legal
pauper	not legal
oathbreaker	legal

Strength of Will is legal across Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Standard, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its home is unambiguously Commander. The singleton format rewards instant-speed counter distribution precisely because you have one copy to find and the table state is always messy enough that flexibility matters. In 60-card formats, Strength of Will competes against more focused counter payoffs that go deeper rather than wide, which limits its ceiling outside Commander — it's not that the card is bad, it's that 60-card decks rarely want the breadth it provides. In Oathbreaker, the compressed game length tilts toward it being solid rather than essential.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

1,378 decks