Crowd's Favor Synergy: Top Cards to Amplify It

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Crowd's Favor MTG card art from Magic 2015

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Crowd's Favor Synergy: Top Cards to Amplify It

Crowd's Favor is a nimble little spark in red tempos, a one-mana instant from Magic 2015 that loves to be convoked into a faster, punchier turn. With mana cost of {R} and a cheeky ability to pump a single creature by +1/+0 and grant it first strike until end of turn, this common instant becomes a perfect catalyst for a crowd-pleasing attack window. The flavor text paints a vivid scene of a cheering mass, and the mechanics deliver it in real gameplay: tap your creatures to help pay for convoke, cast a spell, and swap the table’s tempo in your favor. 🧙‍♂️🔥 In a red deck that wants to push through early damage, Crowd's Favor rewards you for being nimble, tapping your army for value, and striking first when the moment is right.

Convoke is the star here: you don’t need to splash extra mana—your creatures can help pay for the spell’s cost. That means your board presence can morph into a lever that flips combat in a single moment. It’s a quintessentially red move: turn a small, scrappy army into a sudden, surgical blow. The effect itself is simple but potent: boost a creature’s power and add first strike, so that even if your foe stumbles to block, your buffed threat will deal damage first and slice through their resistance. The overall plan invites tempo: pressure your opponent before they can set up, while anchoring your plan with a single, well-timed buff. 🔥⚔️

To maximize this synergy, you’ll want to weave a few complementary threads into the deck: mana acceleration to reach Crowd's Favor earlier, haste or first-strike enablers to keep tempo when the board state shifts, and cheap ways to push through with multiple attackers. You’ll also look for resilience—ways to keep applying pressure across turns even if your opponent responds to your initial burst. Below are five practical angles to amplify the Crowd's Favor strategy in red decks. 🧙‍♂️💎

Five top approaches to amplify Crowd's Favor

  • Haste acceleration — You want creatures that can strike quickly after you cast Crowd's Favor or immediately leverage your tap-committed board. Classic red tools that grant haste to your creatures keep the pressure constant and ensure that the +1/+0 boost translates into real damage with first strike protection. In game terms, this is the sort of card you cast early, attack immediately, then buff with Crowd's Favor to maximize first-strike efficiency. 🔥
  • Ramped, convoke-friendly mana — With convoke, every tapped creature reduces your reliance on mana. Spells like Desperate Ritual or Pyretic Ritual illustrate the idea: generate extra red mana to pay for additional convoked spells or to cast Crowd's Favor while still mounting a dangerous offense. The ability to push out multiple plays in a single turn keeps opponents guessing and your tempo fast. 🧭
  • Cheap pump and protection spells — Look for low-cost instants or quick buffs that can pair with Crowd's Favor’s grant-and-first-strike effect. A one-mana or two-mana pump spell that buffs a creature right before combat can turn a small threat into a major problem for blockers. The goal is a clean, efficient line: buff, swing, and leave your opponent scrambling for answers. 💥
  • Convoke-friendly creatures — Having a handful of cheap red creatures that you can tap to help pay for Crowd's Favor accelerates your plan. Creatures with low mana costs and efficient stats become dedicated convoke enablers, letting you flood the board, trigger convoke consistently, and still squeeze in the buff or a follow-up attack. It’s a game plan that rewards thoughtful tempo and careful tapping. 🎯
  • Board-wide or recurring buffs — You’ll want ways to keep your engine running. Spells or effects that provide bite-sized, repeatable buffs across turns help maintain pressure even if your first swing is answered. Combined with Crowd's Favor's instant boost, this approach creates a rhythm: drop a board, buff a creature, and push through with a well-timed first-strike strike while your opponent reorganizes. 🎨

As you craft the list, you’ll notice the throughline is tempo: Crowd's Favor thrives when you can speed up your damage curve without sacrificing board presence. The card’s rarity—common in Magic 2015—makes it a great candidate for budget-friendly red builds that still want to be aggressive and flavorful. The artwork by Slawomir Maniak captures the communal energy of a rallying crowd, and the card’s dynamics echo that sense of momentum on the battlefield. And yes, the lore of crowds cheering a bold play parallels the loud, joyful moments we all chase in draft pods and commander tables alike. 🧙‍♂️💎

When weaving this into a deck, think of Crowd's Favor as a flexible tool in your tempo arsenal rather than a one-off trick. Use it to punctuate your turns, or set up a sequence where you buff a key attacker and pitch a sudden first-strike strike that can slice through defenses. The card’s convoke feature invites you to lean into a board presence that’s always contributing; the result is a deck that rewards clever tapping, timely buffs, and a little bit of showmanship at the table. ⚔️

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Crowd's Favor

Crowd's Favor

{R}
Instant

Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)

Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn. (It deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.)

ID: 536b8104-9d8d-444b-8535-62bcbe279de2

Oracle ID: 7a23915f-8bce-4aad-8395-0c736450a62d

Multiverse IDs: 383219

TCGPlayer ID: 91312

Cardmarket ID: 267871

Colors: R

Color Identity: R

Keywords: Convoke

Rarity: Common

Released: 2014-07-18

Artist: Slawomir Maniak

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 18383

Penny Rank: 10497

Set: Magic 2015 (m15)

Collector #: 138

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — not_legal
  • Timeless — not_legal
  • Gladiator — not_legal
  • Pioneer — legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — not_legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

  • USD: 0.12
  • USD_FOIL: 0.32
  • EUR: 0.11
  • EUR_FOIL: 0.32
  • TIX: 0.03
Last updated: 2025-12-11