Winnow
Instant
Destroy target nonland permanent if another permanent with the same name is on the battlefield.
Draw a card.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Invasion
- Price
- $0.27
- EDHREC rank
- #28660
Winnow destroys any nonland permanent that shares a name with another permanent on the battlefield for just two mana — a narrow but surgical effect that punishes token swarms, opposing commanders with their own copies, and any deck leaning on multiple copies of legendary permanents. The catch is real: it does nothing to a unique permanent, so it belongs only in decks that can reliably expect a matching pair.
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 |
Commander is where Winnow earns its keep — multiplayer tables routinely feature token armies (Treasures, Food, creature tokens from Doubling Season effects) and legendary permanents with duplicate copies floating around from effects like Strionic Resonator or Spark Double. In Legacy and Vintage, Winnow is legal but effectively unplayable; those formats move too fast and present too few name-sharing permanents for a conditional two-mana removal spell to compete with Swords to Plowshares. Oathbreaker is legal but shares Commander's logic at a smaller table, reducing the odds of a valid target even further.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.27 bulk tier
At $0.27, Winnow is deep bulk — pick it up for a quarter out of any common box. Demand is narrow enough that the price isn't going anywhere, but it's essentially free to include if the meta justifies it.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.