Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist
Creature — Human Werewolf // Creature — Werewolf
Menace, haste
Whenever this creature attacks, it deals 1 damage to each of up to one target creature, up to one target player, and/or up to one target planeswalker.
Daybound (If a player casts no spells during their own turn, it becomes night next turn.)
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Innistrad: Crimson Vow Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #12370
Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist lands as a 5/4 with trample, haste, and a Shock stapled to its attack — immediate damage and pressure the turn it enters. The five-mana cost is steep, but in werewolf shells like Tovolar, Dire Overlord that want both a threatening body and a day/night trigger on a stick, it earns the slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tovolar, Dire Overlord
Tovolar, Dire Overlord draws cards off each Wolf and Werewolf that deals combat damage, so Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist — attacking with trample and pinging for extra damage the same turn it enters — is exactly the kind of threat that converts immediately into card advantage without waiting a full rotation cycle.
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 |
Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker. Commander is its natural home — the singleton format slows the game down enough that a five-mana hasty threat with built-in chip damage fits comfortably into the curve of midrange werewolf or Gruul stompy builds. In Modern and Pioneer it faces stiff competition from cheaper, more efficient threats, and the day/night mechanic is hard to build around in non-singleton formats where consistency matters more. Legacy and Vintage have no interest — five mana is a lifetime in those formats.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Bruce Banner // The Incredible HulkVolatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist
Infinite combat phases; Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist isn't available here, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the latest figure. As a rare double-faced card with niche tribal appeal, it typically sits in budget-to-mid range territory — worth picking up if you're building Tovolar, Dire Overlord, but don't overpay chasing it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk
- Tovolar, Dire Overlord
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.