What it does
Bushido N is a triggered ability on creatures that says: whenever this creature blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +N/+N until end of turn. It's a combat-boosting ability designed to make blocking or attacking with these creatures favorable, often letting them win fights they'd otherwise lose.
The key nuance people miss: the bonus only triggers when the creature is blocking or blocked, not when it simply attacks unblocked. So a Bushido creature swinging into an open board gets no bonus. Also, the trigger happens once per combat when blocks are declared—it won't re-trigger if a blocker is removed and another assigned later, and multiple blockers don't stack the trigger.
In Commander, Bushido is mostly a relic of older Kamigawa cards and rarely impactful at the format's higher power level. It can occasionally surprise opponents in combat math, but with so many large creatures around, a small temporary buff seldom changes outcomes.
Iconic cards with Bushido
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