Wild Defiance
Enchantment
Whenever a creature you control becomes the target of an instant or sorcery spell, that creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Avacyn Restored
- Price
- $0.59
- EDHREC rank
- #11513
Wild Defiance turns every instant or sorcery you point at your own creatures into a free +3/+3 pump — stack that on a single-target spell and you're getting two effects for the price of one mana. At three mana with no immediate board impact, it earns its slot only in decks that are already slinging targeted spells at their own creatures every turn, and Sergeant John Benton is the clearest example of a commander built to do exactly that.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sergeant John Benton
Sergeant John Benton triggers whenever a creature you control becomes the target of a spell or ability, generating value every time you protect or pump it — Wild Defiance turns those protection spells into free +3/+3 counters on top of whatever the spell already does, stacking both payoffs on every single activation.
The Howling Abomination
The Howling Abomination rewards you for targeting your own creatures repeatedly, and Wild Defiance converts each of those targeting events into a +3/+3 boost that scales the Abomination's power faster than opponents can answer it.
Legolas, Master Archer
Legolas, Master Archer wants to tap and ping with a powered-up body, and Wild Defiance lets every cantrip or protection spell you fire at Legolas bulk up his stats before he untaps to deal damage again.
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 |
Wild Defiance is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it has never found a competitive footing outside Commander. In Modern and Legacy, the card saw fringe play in Infect shells where the +3/+3 bonus on pump spells became effectively +3 poison counters, but those decks have since found more consistent lines and Wild Defiance fell off. In Commander, it's a role-player rather than a staple — it rewards strategies built around targeting your own creatures repeatedly, and it punishes opponents who try to kill your creatures with targeted removal by handing you a pump at the same time. Outside of those dedicated archetypes, it's too passive at three mana to pull its weight in a 100-card singleton format.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.59 bulk tier
At $0.59, Wild Defiance sits firmly in bulk territory, which is accurate for a card with a narrow but real use case. The price is stable — it sees enough Commander demand in Benton and Infect-adjacent builds to keep it from dropping further, but not enough cross-format demand to push it higher.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.