Take the Bait
Instant
Cast this spell only during combat on an opponent's turn.
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to you and planeswalkers you control this turn. Untap all attacking creatures and goad them. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RW
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Murders at Karlov Manor Commander
- Price
- $6.12
- EDHREC rank
- #3238
Take the Bait forces a creature to attack and fight another target creature this turn, creating a combat trick that doubles as removal — all for two mana. Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser decks run it in nearly every build because it reliably triggers her bounty mechanic while eliminating a blocker on the spot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser
Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser needs creatures to attack, and Take the Bait delivers that on demand — forcing the attack triggers her bounty counter placement while the fight clause can take out a blocker or a problem permanent in the same action.
Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer // Noble Heritage
Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer // Noble Heritage rewards opponents for attacking, so Take the Bait nudges a reluctant creature into the red zone and collects that goad payoff while simultaneously clearing a threat via the fight.
Aurelia, the Law Above
Aurelia, the Law Above cares about creatures attacking into the right targets, and Take the Bait manufactures exactly those forced attacks — letting Aurelia levy her fines while the fight damage trades favorably.
Mathas, Fiend Seeker
Mathas, Fiend Seeker puts bounty counters on threats and wants them to die; Take the Bait prods a bounty-marked creature into a fight, cashing in the counter and removing the permanent in one move.
Queen Marchesa
Queen Marchesa thrives in political chaos where creatures are always swinging somewhere, and Take the Bait accelerates that chaos by forcing an attack and a fight, helping protect the monarch status while thinning the board.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Take the Bait is a Commander card in practice — the four-player pod is exactly where forcing one opponent's creature to attack and fight another opponent's creature creates the political cross-table tension the card is designed around. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but competes against a removal suite so efficient that a conditional fight spell at two mana rarely makes the cut. Oathbreaker gives it a marginally better home than those eternal formats, particularly in aggressive Mardu or Boros shells that want cheap interaction with political upside.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Tempt with Vengeance and similar political spells don't replicate the fight clause, but Provoke — an older keyword on creatures like Dwarven Patrol — covers the forced-attack half for free on attack, though without instant speed or the fight component. Incite at one mana forces a target creature to attack this turn and costs a fraction of Take the Bait, but it skips the fight entirely, meaning you lose the removal upside that makes Take the Bait worth the slot in the first place.
Price Context
Current price
$6.12 mid tier
At $6.12, Take the Bait sits in the mid tier — pricier than most single-set uncommons of comparable function, driven almost entirely by its near-universal inclusion in Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser builds. That demand is narrow enough that the price is likely to soften over time, so buying now versus waiting is a wash unless you're building Nelly Borca today.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser
- Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer // Noble Heritage
- Aurelia, the Law Above
- Mathas, Fiend Seeker
- Queen Marchesa
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.