War Report
Instant
You gain life equal to the number of creatures on the battlefield plus the number of artifacts on the battlefield.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- New Phyrexia
- Price
- $0.22
- EDHREC rank
- #10534
War Report gains you life equal to the number of creatures on the battlefield — in a four-player Commander pod with a developed board, that's routinely 15–30 life for three mana. Hope Estheim turns that life into cards, which is why War Report shows up in nearly a third of all Hope Estheim lists.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hope Estheim
Hope Estheim converts each point of life gained into card draw, so War Report — capable of netting 20-plus life off a single cast in a crowded pod — can draw you four or five cards in one shot for three mana.
The Archimandrite
The Archimandrite rewards high-volume life gain with stat boosts and momentum, and War Report delivers a single massive chunk of life that scales with the board, making it one of the most efficient single spells in that shell.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
War Report is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but it's a Commander card through and through. The effect scales with the number of creatures on the battlefield, and nowhere is that number higher than a four-player Commander pod — where 20-plus creatures in play is routine by turn five. In Pauper it's technically playable, but the format's boards are smaller and the payoff shrinks with them. Legacy, Modern, and Vintage don't want a three-mana sorcery that does nothing proactive, so it never shows up there competitively. Commander is the one format where War Report consistently overperforms its mana cost.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.22 bulk tier
At $0.22, War Report is deep bulk — you'll find it in any common box or dollar rare bin without trying. Given that it sees heavy play only in Hope Estheim lists and a handful of life-gain commanders, there's no pressure on the price and no reason to expect movement.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.