Illusionist's Gambit
Illusionist's Gambit: Instant, Bloomburrow Commander. Cast this spell only during the declare blockers step on an opponent's turn. On Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {2}{U}{U}
- Mana value
- 4
- Type
- Instant
- Colour identity
- Blue (U)
- Rarity
- Rare
- Set
- Bloomburrow Commander (BLC)
- Released
- 2024-08-02
- Collector number
- 166
- Artist
- Zoltan Boros
- Commander rank
- 3,786 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
Build around this card with Grover
About Illusionist's Gambit
Illusionist's Gambit is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare blue instant from Bloomburrow Commander (BLC), a Commander product released in August 2024. It is collector number 166 in that set, with art by Zoltan Boros. It costs {2}{U}{U} (two generic and two blue mana) to cast, for a mana value of 4. Its colour identity is blue. It is legal in Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and Penny Dreadful. It has been printed in 4 sets, from Commander 2013 (2013) to Bloomburrow Commander (2024). The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.37 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-03).
Card text
Cast this spell only during the declare blockers step on an opponent's turn.
Remove all attacking creatures from combat and untap them. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase. Each of those creatures attacks that combat if able. They can't attack you or planeswalkers you control that combat.
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.37 (as of 2026-11-03).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Illusionist's Gambit by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Legacy | Legal |
|---|---|
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
Other printings of Illusionist's Gambit
Illusionist's Gambit has been printed in 4 sets. The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Secret Lair Drop (SLD) #2750 | Rare | 2026 |
| Wilds of Eldraine Commander (WOC) #97 | Rare | 2023 |
| Commander 2013 (C13) #47 | Rare | 2013 |
Official rulings
Three official rulings apply to Illusionist's Gambit, newest first.
- If there's a cost associated with having a creature attack, the player isn't forced to pay that cost, so it doesn't have to attack.
- Creatures that didn't attack during the combat phase when Illusionist's Gambit resolved aren't required to attack in the additional combat phase, although they may. Those creatures can attack you or a planeswalker you control.
- If, during a player's declare attackers step, a creature is tapped, is affected by a spell or ability that says it can't attack, or hasn't been under that player's control continuously since the turn began (and doesn't have haste), then it doesn't attack.
Similar cards
Other instant cards with a blue colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.
In these precons
Illusionist's Gambit is in the decklist of these preconstructed Commander decks.