The Complete List of Modern Horizons 3 Combat Tricks and Instants

Pedro Furtado (djorso) June 3, 2024 Collecting, Deckbuilding, MTG Cards

Last updated on August 8, 2024

Null Elemental Blast | Illustration by Milivoj Ceran

When preparing to play Modern Horizons 3 Draft or Sealed games, be it in person or on MTG Arena or MTGO, you should prepare for what your opponents have at all times, or as we say in MTG lingo, try to play around what they might have.

Combat damage math is a tricky but vital part of MTG, and no two combats are the same. You and your opponents are constantly jockeying for position and trying to dominate the stack. The order of effects played matters, and there’s plenty of room for bluffing and mind games.

With that in mind, we prepared a full list of combat tricks, counterspells and instant-speed interaction, and this list aims to answer: What could my opponent have with that much open mana?

So here it is folks, a list of all combat tricks in Modern Horizons 3. Also, we’re emphasizing the common and uncommon spells in this Magic set since those appear more often in Limited games, but keep in mind that they could have a rare or even mythic trick up their sleeves.

Table of Contents show

What Is a Combat Trick?

Dog Umbra | Illustration by Brian Valeza

A combat trick is a card that can change the outcome of a given combat. These are done at instant speed, so we can consider only instant spells, flash spells, or special mechanics that work at instant speed, like channel, madness, cycling, among others.

The basic definition of combat trick is a card like Giant Growth which can affect the outcome of a battle by boosting one of the creatures involved. However, here we’re using a broader definition: What could my opponent have given their open mana, and why are they making this attack or this block?

So we’re considering a broad range of effects here, such as a flash creature that affects combat math, black removal that changes power and toughness, or a bounce spell that affects the outcome of a double block. Modern Horizons 3 has plenty of those tricks, as we’d expect from a powerful supplemental set.

One last thing: We've listed hybrid mana cards in both of their possible mono-colored sections – that's why you'll find Legion Leadership both in red and in white (rather than list it among multicolor spells).

With that in mind, here’s what your opponents could have based on the color and amount of mana available.

White

The most common combat-ready effects among white cards in this set cost 2 mana and do different things.

Wing It and Dog Umbra are mostly on the protective side if you’re attacking, but they can grant you evasion too.

Thraben Charm can nuke an enchantment at instant speed, which can be relevant if you’re playing or in this format.

Razorgrass Ambush only works during combat so if you want to keep your 4/3 out of danger, it can be a good idea to hold back.

Flare of Fortitude and Solitude are devastating, but it’s very hard to play around these, and they are rares or mythics. Solitude in particular will probably show up once in the entire format’s lifespan.

Last, your opponent may cycle Decree of Justice, so if they have open mana and you’re attacking, there’s a little chance you might be ambushed by 1/1’s

Blue

Some of these blue cards allow the player to gain energy at instant speed, like Tune the Narrative and Aether Spike. So that’s something in the range of the blue player at common, no less.

In the 2-mana range, you have to be aware of counterspells. Aether Spike is a Quench effect that can be better if your opponent has a lot of energy, while Consign to Memory is a great risk to you if you’re playing the Eldrazi/colorless deck.

Blue’s main tricks are in the 3-mana range, so if your blue opponent has 3 mana, you can expect a bounce spell like Sink into Stupor or flash creatures like Hydroelectric Specimen, Hope-Ender Coatl or Electrozoa.

Although it’s a rare, Flare of Denial can counter a spell for free if they have a blue non-token creature to sacrifice.

Subtlety at mythic will be a strong hit, combining a 3/3 flash with a bounce effect.

Black

Although uncommon, Revitalizing Repast will always be good interaction since it costs only 1 mana, protects your creature, and adds +1/+1 counters, a theme from black and green in this set.

The most feared instant-speed interactions among black cards are removal spells or shrink effects, many of which can kill small creatures. In the 2-mana range, you have to be aware of Wither and Bloom, which can kill your 3/3s or turn a 4/4 into a 1/1. Consuming Corruption will get you based on the number of swamps they control.

Breathe Your Last is the common Murder of the set, and black has also Fell the Profane, an unconditional removal spell at 4 mana that can also be played as a land. Hard removal costs , so if your opponent has only one black mana available, you know what they can’t have.

Last, there’s Dismember and Flare of Malice, removal spells that cost 1 or even no mana, but these are rare and mythic. Flare of Malice is likely the best of the flares for MH3 Limited.

Red

Like black, the most useful interaction found on red cards this set is their burn spells.

Red’s got an instant-speed Strangle in this set in Galvanic Discharge, so they can at least deal three direct damage at will for 1 mana, and more if they have energy.

Ghostfire Slice is another burn spell that deals 4 damage for 3 mana, or 1 if an opponent controls a multicolored permanent (note it doesn’t have to target that multicolored permanent). This is one of the best devoid cards in the game.

If they attack, you need to know that they can have Siege Smash for 2 mana, which gives +3/+2 and trample.This knowledge is very useful when calculating double blocks. They can also give +2/+0 at common with Inventor's Axe.

Legion Leadership will double their power and grant first strike, so that’s certain doom if you decide to double-block.

Green

The most common combat tricks among green cards in this set are Gift of the Viper for 1 mana and Fowl Strike for 3 mana from the Reinforce 2 mode. Of course, they can destroy a flying creature at instant speed with the same spell by paying 2. But if they’re attacking or blocking and have 3 mana, it’s noteworthy that the Reinforce 2 mode exists.

One thing that you’ll know when you’re playing is which creatures have +1/+1 counter synergies, so when attacking/blocking, be sure to take that into account – they can put +1/+1 counters at instant speed onto their creatures, also triggering different synergies.

If you want to target their creatures with removal, know that both Collective Resistance at 2 mana and Revitalizing Repast at 1 mana exist, and they’re both uncommons.

Signature Slam is very powerful, and it’s the defacto green removal spell at instant speed, but you may see it coming at 3 mana, and they need to have a significant creature in play.

Finally, Endurance costs 3 mana or 0 mana and a green card, but that’s a mythic rare.

Multicolor

The more powerful gold cards cost 3-4 mana, and it’s not evident that they’ll have them because they’re rare.

If an Orzhov player exiles and later casts your spell with Abstruse Appropriation, there’s very little you can do about, other than try to protect the creature.

Other than that, Izzet has a way to gain control of your spell with Invert Polarity if they win the coin flip, and Simic can make land drops at instant speed with Planar Genesis, which could be relevant should they have a landfall card in play.

If a Rakdos player has an expensive creature in their graveyard, Pyretic Rebirth can be a thing, too.

Colorless

With only a single colored mana, or an Eldrazi scion, they can cast Dismember or Null Elemental Blast, both uncommon cards. The Elemental Blast can deal with a multicolored permanent for just 1 mana, so keep in mind when attacking or blocking with a gold/hybrid creature.

Kozilek's Command is very powerful and modal, but that’s a rare.

If they have 6 colorless mana, beware: They are in Emrakul, the World Anew’s madness range. And if they manage to discard Emrakul and madness it, you’re doomed. Lucky for us, the card’s a mythic and this set doesn’t have a madness theme, so hopefully that will happen more in Constructed.

Wrap Up

Revitalizing Repast | Illustration by Raoul Vitale

So here we have it folks, all the ways your pesky opponents can surprise and trick you during combat. This is a complete list, so the more relevant aspects are the common and uncommon tricks, and if they have that rare or mythic, it’s very hard to predict – at least in game 1.

It’s interesting to note that blue’s 3MV slot, white’s 2MV slot, and red’s 1MV slot have different effects at common rarity to consider at any given time. Start by getting used to the common tricks and work your way up. And, of course, be sure to check our full Modern Horizons 3 Limited Set Review if you're looking for an in-depth review of every single card in the MH3 limited formats.

Did I miss any interaction? What cards are you most excited to play with? Thanks for reading, and for more Modern Horizons 3 content, check our Draftsim blog – there’s a ton of content there!

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Pedro Furtado (djorso)

Pedro started playing Magic way back when in Fourth Edition. After a long hiatus, he now plays mostly MTG Arena Standard and Limited. His biggest MTG regret is trading a bunch of Force of Wills for Serra Angels.