Setessan Tactics
Setessan Tactics: Instant, Journey into Nyx. Strive - This spell costs G more to cast for each target beyond the first. Prices and printings on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {1}{G}
- Mana value
- 2
- Type
- Instant
- Colour identity
- Green (G)
- Rarity
- Rare
- Set
- Journey into Nyx (JOU)
- Released
- 2014-05-02
- Collector number
- 140
- Artist
- Mark Winters
- Commander rank
- 11,539 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
- Keywords
- Fight, Strive
Build around this card with Grover
About Setessan Tactics
Setessan Tactics is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare green instant from Journey into Nyx (JOU), an expansion set released in May 2014. It is collector number 140 in that set, with art by Mark Winters. It costs {1}{G} (one generic and one green mana) to cast, for a mana value of 2. Its colour identity is green. It is legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and Penny Dreadful. Journey into Nyx is its only printing so far. The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.77 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-01).
Card text
Strive - This spell costs {G} more to cast for each target beyond the first.
Until end of turn, any number of target creatures each get +1/+1 and gain "{T}: This creature fights another target creature."
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.77 (as of 2026-11-01).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Setessan Tactics by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Pioneer | Legal |
|---|---|
| Modern | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
Official rulings
Six official rulings apply to Setessan Tactics, newest first.
- Each of the two creatures that fight deals damage equal to its power to the other. If either one of the creatures isn't on the battlefield when the ability that instructs them to fight resolves, no damage is dealt.
- The mana cost and mana value of strive spells don't change no matter how many targets they have. Strive abilities affect only what you pay.
- If a spell or ability allows you to cast a strive spell without paying its mana cost, you must pay the additional costs for any targets beyond the first.
- You choose how many targets each spell with a strive ability has and what those targets are as you cast it. It's legal to cast such a spell with no targets, although this is rarely a good idea. You can't choose the same target more than once for a single strive spell.
- If such a spell is copied, and the effect that copies the spell allows a player to choose new targets for the copy, the number of targets can't be changed. The player may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them. If, for one of the targets, the player can't choose a new legal target, then it remains unchanged (even if the current target is illegal).
- If all of the spell's targets are illegal when the spell tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. If one or more of its targets are legal when it tries to resolve, the spell will resolve and affect only those legal targets. It will have no effect on any illegal targets.
Similar cards
Other instant cards with a green colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.
In these card lists
These card lists include Setessan Tactics.