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.
This printing is one of 3 catalogued treatments from ME3 — the lineup includes Foil and Nonfoil alongside the standard finish. Across our catalog the Rarix library tracks every variant in the same family so collectors can compare price, scarcity and demand inside a single lineage.
Card #18 of *Masters Edition III*, the set that shipped alongside the September 2009 Masters Edition III release.
Card type: Instant, color identity white, printed at common. Commons fill the bulk of a booster pack's volume. Mana cost: {1}{W} (2 converted).
Legal in Legacy, Vintage, Commander, and Pauper. This printing is on Wizards of the Coast's Reserved List — Wizards has committed never to reprint cards on that list, which underwrites a structural scarcity floor on every surviving copy.
EDHrec ranks this card #26,912 in Commander, putting it in the fringe-play tier of the format's playable pool.
Illustrated by Harold McNeill. Rarix catalogs 64 other cards credited to this artist.
Magic: The Gathering · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · Illus. Harold McNeill
Card data via Scryfall. Rarix is fan-made; not endorsed by the rights holders.
