Zealous Persecution
Instant
Until end of turn, creatures you control get +1/+1 and creatures your opponents control get -1/-1.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Modern Event Deck 2014
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #19478
Zealous Persecution is two spells stapled together for two mana — your creatures get +1/+1 until end of turn while every opposing creature takes -1/-1, a four-point swing in combat that routinely flips blocked or blocking trades in your favor. At instant speed, it doubles as a token board wipe against decks flooding the table with 1/1s.
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 |
In Commander, Zealous Persecution is a role-player in token-heavy WB builds — the -1/-1 clause routinely mass-kills Treasure tokens, Thopters, and Saprolings while the anthem pushes your own board through what would otherwise be a stalled combat. In Legacy, it sees fringe sideboard use in Death and Taxes and Humans-style shells, where it answers Lingering Souls tokens and simultaneously boosts your creatures for a combat blowout. Modern has largely moved past it as the format's threats outscale a +1/-1 differential, but it remains a clean answer to token flood in budget builds. Zealous Persecution is not legal in Pioneer or Standard, and Pauper excludes it by rarity, so those audiences can ignore it entirely.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Zealous Persecution is firmly bulk — the kind of card you grab as a throw-in and never think twice about. The price is stable; there's no scarcity pushing it up, and the narrow color identity (WB only) keeps demand low enough that it won't spike.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.