First printed in Ice Age (1995)
Instant
Target creature gains first strike until end of turn.
Draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep.
"If you do it right, they'll never know what hit them."
—General Jarkeld, the Arctic Fox
- Illustrated by
- Harold McNeill
Legality
- Legal in
- Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, Penny Dreadful, Premodern, Commander, Duel Commander, Pauper Commander, PreDH, Tiny Leaders, Oathbreaker
- Not legal in
- Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Future Standard, Historic, Timeless, Alchemy, Old School 93/94, Gladiator, Brawl, Standard Brawl, Competitive Brawl
Rulings (2)
- If the targeted creature doesn’t have first strike, granting it first strike after combat damage has been dealt in the first combat damage step won’t prevent it from dealing combat damage. It will still assign and deal its combat damage in the second combat damage step.
- You may target any creature, not just one that doesn’t have first strike. If the targeted creature already has first strike as Lightning Blow resolves, Lightning Blow won’t affect it (since multiple instances of first strike are redundant), but you’ll still draw a card at the beginning of the next turn’s upkeep.
Prices
MTGO price: 0.002 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 1 Nov 2026).