Wail of War
Instant
Choose one —
• Creatures target opponent controls get -1/-1 until end of turn.
• Return up to two target creature cards from your graveyard to your hand.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Tarkir: Dragonstorm
- Price
- $0.08
- EDHREC rank
- #14411
Wail of War lands as a five-mana sorcery that gives your whole team +2/+2 and trample until end of turn — a combat finisher that turns a board of modest creatures into a lethal swing. The cost is real, but Maha, Its Feathers Night decks routinely spend five mana to close games, and this does exactly that.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Maha, Its Feathers Night
Maha, Its Feathers Night cares about having a wide, threatening board, and Wail of War turns that board into a trample-fueled alpha strike that opponents can't chump away — it's the finisher the engine was already looking for.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Wail of War functions as a one-shot overrun on a board that's already ahead — it doesn't grind out card advantage, so it belongs in decks that can go wide reliably and need one last push to close. Competitive formats like Modern and Legacy have no interest in a five-mana sorcery that does nothing on an empty board; go-wide aggro decks there want this effect cheaper and on a creature. Pioneer and Standard could theoretically support a token shell that uses it as a finisher, but the five-mana ceiling means it's almost always outclassed by format staples. Wail of War is a Commander card through and through.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.08 bulk tier
At $0.08, Wail of War is deep bulk — it costs less than a sleeve. Bulk rares at this price floor don't appreciate unless they break into a competitive format, and nothing about this card suggests that's coming.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.