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Zada, Hedron Grinder

Zada, Hedron Grinder

Legendary Creature — Goblin Ally

Zada wants a deck that casts lots of instant and sorcery spells. It leads the ready-made Goblin Storm deck (2026).

  • Mana cost3 genericred
  • Red ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 3
  • RarityRare

Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only Zada, copy that spell for each other creature you control that the spell could target. Each copy targets a different one of those creatures.

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Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Zada, Hedron Grinder

Picked for what they do in Zada's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Zada'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 Zada, Hedron Grinder does6

The 6 Cards

Decks Led by Zada, Hedron Grinder

Zada leads a ready-made deck.PreconShort for preconstructed deck: a ready-to-play deck sold in a box by Wizards of the Coast. A Commander precon comes with its commander and all 100 cards, so you can play it straight away and change cards later.Open the full glossary

Rulings for Zada, Hedron Grinder

explain how Zada 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 16 Mar 2018

Any creature you control that couldn't be targeted by the original spell (due to shroud, protection abilities, targeting restrictions, or any other reason) is just ignored by Zada's ability.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Mar 2018

If the spell that's copied has an X whose value was determined as it was cast (like Rolling Thunder does), the copies have the same value of X.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Mar 2018

If the spell that's copied is modal (that is, it says "Choose one —" or the like), the copies will have the same mode. You can't choose a different one.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Mar 2018

If you cast an instant or sorcery spell that has multiple targets, but it's targeting only Zada with all of them, Zada's ability will trigger. The copies will similarly each be targeting only one of your other creatures. You can't change any of the copy's targets to other creatures.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Mar 2018

The controller of a copy can't choose to pay any alternative or additional costs for the copy. However, effects based on any alternative or additional costs that were paid for the original spell are copied as though those same costs were paid for the copy.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Mar 2018

The copies that the ability creates are created on the stack, so they're not cast. Abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell (like Zada's ability itself) won't trigger.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Mar 2018

You control all the copies. You choose the order the copies are put onto the stack. The original spell will be on the stack beneath those copies and will resolve last.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Mar 2018

Zada's ability triggers whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only Zada and no other object or player.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Zada, 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 glossaryRPlayers write colors as letters: R for red.SpellslingerSpellslinger decks cast lots of instants and sorceries, one-time spells, and play creatures that reward every spell you cast. Instants and sorceries take effect once and then go to your graveyard, and an instant can even be cast during another player's turn.Open the Spellslinger pageSpell CopyingCopies a spell or an ability. The copy is not cast, so it costs nothing extra and does not set off cards that care about casting a spell. Reverberate, Storm-Kiln ArtistOpen the Spell Copying pageSpellslingerRewards you for casting instants and sorceries, usually triggering each time you cast one. Storm-Kiln Artist, GuttersnipeOpen the Spellslinger page