Will of the Mardu
Instant
Choose one. If you control a commander as you cast this spell, you may choose both instead.
• Create a number of 1/1 red Warrior creature tokens equal to the number of creatures target player controls.
• Will of the Mardu deals damage to target creature equal to the number of creatures you control.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander
- Price
- $1.97
- EDHREC rank
- #2632
Will of the Mardu puts a free 2/1 Warrior token into play alongside a Mardu commander the moment that commander enters — token and commander arrive together, ready to swing. The only cost is the Zurgo Stormrender slot it fills, and in that deck it earns that slot on raw efficiency alone.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Zurgo Stormrender
Will of the Mardu appears in over 80% of Zurgo Stormrender decks because it's essentially built for him — the free Warrior token triggers Zurgo's raid-style payoffs the same turn he lands, collapsing setup time to zero.
Silverquill, the Disputant
Silverquill, the Disputant cares about creating tokens to trigger spell-slinging payoffs, and Will of the Mardu delivers one for free on the commander's ETB, immediately fueling that engine.
Zurgo, Thunder's Decree
Will of the Mardu floods the board with Warrior bodies that Zurgo, Thunder's Decree can pump and weaponize, making every subsequent attack more threatening without spending an additional card.
Neriv, Crackling Vanguard
Neriv, Crackling Vanguard rewards having creatures ready to attack on the turn he enters, and Will of the Mardu guarantees at least one Warrior is waiting the moment he does.
Thalisse, Reverent Medium
Thalisse, Reverent Medium converts each token created during your turn into an additional Spirit at end step, so the free Warrior from Will of the Mardu quietly seeds that engine on the same turn your commander arrives.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Will of the Mardu is a Commander card through and through — its entire design assumes a legendary creature entering the battlefield, a condition that fires constantly in a format built around one. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but has no competitive footing; the effect is too conditional and low-impact for those formats. Oathbreaker is the one alternative home where it functions similarly, since the planeswalker-plus-signature-spell structure means your oathbreaker hits the field repeatedly and Will of the Mardu keeps pace.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.97 cheap tier
At $1.97, Will of the Mardu sits comfortably in the cheap tier — it's an auto-include ask for Zurgo Stormrender decks at a price that won't raise any eyebrows. Its near-universal adoption in that archetype should keep it from dropping much further.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Zurgo Stormrender
- Silverquill, the Disputant
- Zurgo, Thunder's Decree
- Neriv, Crackling Vanguard
- Thalisse, Reverent Medium
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.