War Elephant
Creature — Elephant
Trample; banding (Any creatures with banding, and up to one without, can attack in a band. Bands are blocked as a group. If any creatures with banding you control are blocking or being blocked by a creature, you divide that creature's combat damage, not its controller, among any of the creatures it's being blocked by or is blocking.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Arabian Nights
- Price
- $16.60
- EDHREC rank
- #23634
War Elephant is a 2/2 trampling vigilance creature for four mana that costs exactly one mana too many for what it delivers in 2025 Commander. The body is undersized and the abilities, while useful together, don't compensate for the inefficiency.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
War Elephant is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but it sees essentially no play in any of them. In Commander, a 2/2 for four with trample and vigilance is too small to matter on a board with 40-life opponents and token armies that dwarf it. Pauper is the one format where War Elephant could theoretically find a home in a white weenie shell, but cheaper options crowd it out there too. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient creatures and ignore War Elephant entirely.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
War Elephant's trample-plus-vigilance combination is most closely replicated by creatures like Beloved Chaplain or, if you just want vigilance on a budget body, practically any white common from the last decade. If the goal is a white creature that blocks well and attacks through, Kor Outfitter or Staunch Shieldmate don't match the keyword suite but cost a fraction and at least contribute to synergy in dedicated strategies.
Price Context
Current price
$16.60 mid tier
At $16.60, War Elephant sits in mid-tier pricing driven entirely by age and collector demand rather than playability — this is a Reserved List card from Arabian Nights, and that scarcity alone explains the number. The price reflects nostalgia and collection value, not power; you won't recoup it through gameplay.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.