Thoughtflare
Instant
Draw four cards, then discard two cards.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RU
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Return to Ravnica
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #19077
Thoughtflare draws four cards and discards two — a net-two refill at instant speed for four mana, which is a real rate when you need to dig at the end of an opponent's turn. In Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot builds specifically, that instant typing means Lilah gets a +1/+1 counter trigger on top of the raw card selection.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot
Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot counts every instant and sorcery cast, so Thoughtflare slots in as a cheap way to fuel her counter triggers while keeping your hand stocked — a workhorse cantrip that also advances the combat math.
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, Thoughtflare earns its slot in Izzet spellslinger decks that want instant-speed card selection to maintain parity or reload at the end step before their own turn. In competitive formats like Modern and Legacy, four mana for draw-four-discard-two is well behind the format's bar — Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Faithless Looting do more for less. Pioneer has fewer broken alternatives, but Thoughtflare still sits at the slow end of what that format tolerates for card draw. It's a Commander card first, fringe consideration elsewhere.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Thoughtflare is pure bulk — a throw-it-in card that costs less than a sleeve. Bulk commons and uncommons at this price floor rarely move unless a new commander breaks them out, so don't expect this price to change.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.