Zealous Strike
Instant
Target creature gets +2/+2 and gains first strike until end of turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Conspiracy: Take the Crown
- Price
- $0.03
- EDHREC rank
- #26998
Zealous Strike gives a creature +2/+2 and first strike until end of turn for two mana — a combat trick that trades up in blocks or pushes through lethal damage in attacks. It's a narrow, replaceable effect, and in Commander especially, one-shot instants that don't generate card advantage rarely earn a slot.
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 |
In Commander, Zealous Strike is too low-impact to justify a slot — the format's scale means a temporary +2/+2 rarely changes a board state, and better pump spells or permanent buffs exist at the same cost. In Pauper, where combat tricks and common-only restrictions make every interaction count, Zealous Strike is a playable option in aggressive white decks that want to win combat on a budget. Legacy and Vintage have the raw card quality to make this irrelevant outside of fringe Pauper-adjacent brews. It's legal in Oathbreaker, but the same Commander-format reasoning applies — the 20-life starting total and singleton structure demand more durable effects.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.03 bulk tier
At $0.03, Zealous Strike is deep bulk — the kind of card you find in a common box at the bottom of a game-store shelf. There's no meaningful floor to fall through at this price, and no scenario where it appreciates.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.