Teach by Example

Commander is where Teach by Example actually earns a slot — copying a late-game Torment of Hailfire or Time Stretch at instant speed is a game-ending move, and the low mana cost means it rarely feels like a tempo loss. In competitive formats like Legacy and Vintage, Fork effects exist on a spectrum of power and this one sits in the middle: legal, playable in storm or big-spell shells, but rarely the first choice when Twincast and Reverberate compete for the same role. Pioneer and Standard give it the most room to breathe as a budget copy spell in decks that can't access older options, though its ceiling there is lower without the broken targets those formats restrict. Pauper is where Teach by Example quietly overperforms — common-legal copy spells are scarce, and two mana for a fork is competitive with anything else available at the rarity.