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Commander Nexus
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  3. Lightning, Army of One

Command zone

Lightning, Army of One

Lightning, Army of One

Legendary Creature — Human Soldier

Lightning wants a deck that deals damage straight to its opponents. It also works in a deck built around Humans or Soldiers.

  • Mana cost1 genericredwhite
  • White, Red ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 2
  • RarityMythic

First strike, trample, lifelink

Stagger — Whenever Lightning deals combat damage to a player, until your next turn, if a source would deal damage to that player or a permanent that player controls, it deals double that damage instead.

Build a deck with Lightning Find it in the app

Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Lightning, Army of One

Picked for what they do in Lightning's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Lightning's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

Does what Lightning, Army of One does6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Lightning, Army of One

explain how Lightning works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 6 Jun 2025

If another effect (or effects) modifies how much damage a source you control would deal—by preventing some of it, for example—the player being dealt damage or the controller of the permanent being dealt damage chooses the order in which any such effects (including Lightning's) apply. If all of the damage is prevented, Lightning's effect no longer applies.

Wizards of the Coast 6 Jun 2025

If damage dealt by a source you control is being divided or assigned among multiple permanents and/or players, that damage is divided or assigned before doubling. For example, if you attack with a 5/5 creature with trample and it's blocked by a 2/2 creature, you can assign 2 damage to the blocker and 3 damage to the defending player. Those amounts are then doubled to 4 and 6, respectively.

Wizards of the Coast 6 Jun 2025

The damage is dealt by the same source as the original source of damage. The doubled damage isn't dealt by Lightning unless it was the original source of damage.

3 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Lightning, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWRPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, R for red.BurnBurn decks win by dealing damage straight to opponents with spells and abilities, rather than by attacking with creatures. Damage that hits every opponent at once counts three times over at a four-player table.Open the Burn pageDamage DoublerIncreases damage that is already being dealt, usually doubling it. It turns an attack that was survivable into one that is not. Twinflame TyrantOpen the Damage Doubler pageLife GainGains you life, once or over and over. Soul Warden, The Great Henge. In Commander life is something to spend, not just a cushion, and many of these cards also set off others that reward gaining life.Open the Life Gain pageSaboteurTriggers when a creature deals combat damage to a player, so the reward comes from connecting rather than from the damage itself. Evasion makes these far more reliable. Ragavan, Nimble PilfererOpen the Saboteur page