Essence Backlash
- Mana cost
- {2}{U}{R}
- Type
- Instant
- Set
- Return to Ravnica #160 (common)
- Price
- $0.10 USD
Counter target creature spell. Essence Backlash deals damage equal to that spell's power to its controller.
Essence Backlash has 1 printing, first in Return to Ravnica (2012). EDHREC ranks it #18,830 among Commander cards. It appears most in Tibor and Lumia decks (97 on EDHREC). It has 3 official rulings.
Legality
- commander: legal
- legacy: legal
- vintage: legal
- pauper: legal
- modern: legal
- pioneer: legal
- standard: not legal
- brawl: not legal
Commanders that run Essence Backlash most
Deck counts from EDHREC.
- Tibor and Lumia: 97 decks
- Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius: 39 decks
Often played with Essence Backlash
Cards that show up in the same decks on EDHREC.
Rulings
- : Abilities that change the power of a creature (such as the one of Collective Blessing) affect only creatures on the battlefield. They won’t change a creature spell’s power on the stack.
- : Essence Backlash can target a creature spell that can’t be countered. If Essence Backlash resolves, it won’t counter the spell but it will still deal damage.
- : If the creature’s power is * and it has an ability defining its power, use that ability to determine its power.