Trial // Error
Instant // Instant
Return all creatures blocking or blocked by target creature to their owner's hand.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BUW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Commander 2016
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #24982
Trial // Error counters any spell for two mana or destroys all artifacts for three — two genuinely useful effects stapled together on one card. In Commander, modal flexibility is a real premium, and this split card earns its slot by covering two distinct threat categories without requiring you to commit deck slots to both.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Trial // Error pulls double duty in a way most counterspells can't: the Error half stops any spell cleanly at two mana, and Trial cleans up an artifact-heavy board later in the game without needing a second card. Legacy and Vintage have access to Force of Will, Counterspell, and Mox Emerald-fueled removal suites that make a three-mana Shatter effect uncompetitive, so Trial // Error doesn't see play there. Modern is similarly stacked with efficient, format-tested interaction at lower cost. Commander is the format where this card actually makes sense — lower power ceilings, longer games, and decks that welcome the redundancy of a counterspell that becomes a Shatterstorm halfway through the game.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Trial // Error is deep bulk — you're picking this out of a common box, not paying anything meaningful for it. Bulk split cards rarely appreciate unless they break into a competitive format, which hasn't happened here, so treat it as a cheap, functional tool and nothing more.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.