Unstable Footing
Instant
Kicker 
(You may pay an additional as you cast this spell.)
Damage can't be prevented this turn. If this spell was kicked, it deals 5 damage to target player or planeswalker.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Zendikar
- Price
- $0.07
- EDHREC rank
- #22903
Unstable Footing makes damage unpreventable and tacks on direct damage to a player for a single red mana — that combination on one card is the entire reason it exists. It's a niche finisher in burn-adjacent Commander builds, irrelevant everywhere else.
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, Unstable Footing is a role-player in dedicated burn or direct-damage shells — the unpreventable clause matters when opponents have Teferi's Protection, Deflecting Palm, or life-gain engines online, and a one-mana answer to all of that is worth a slot in the right 99. In Legacy and Vintage, the card simply doesn't compete: those formats have faster, more efficient burn, and the unpreventable rider rarely matters enough to justify the slot over Rift Bolt or Chain Lightning. Modern is the same story — playable in theory, practically absent in practice because the format's burn package is too tight to fit a conditional one-damage spell. Oathbreaker mirrors Commander in application; if your planeswalker signature spell is burn-based, Unstable Footing can sneak in as a meta call against prevention-heavy pods.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.07 bulk tier
At $0.07, Unstable Footing is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard and shipping, not the card. It won't hold or gain value, but that's beside the point: if it fits your deck, the cost is trivially irrelevant.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.