What it does
Ward is a defensive ability that protects a permanent by taxing your opponents whenever they target it. When a creature, planeswalker, or other permanent with ward becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, that spell or ability is countered unless they pay the ward cost—usually mana, but sometimes life, discarding cards, or sacrificing permanents.
The biggest misconception: ward doesn't make your permanent untargetable, and it only triggers off your opponents' spells and abilities—you can freely target your own ward creatures. Ward also only cares about targeting, so board wipes, edicts ("each player sacrifices"), and other non-targeted effects ignore it entirely.
In Commander, ward shines as a soft protection layer for valuable creatures and commanders, forcing opponents to overcommit mana to remove threats. It's especially strong on voltron commanders, where ward discourages spot removal across multiple opponents.
Iconic cards with Ward
See all 178 →
